Parallel Development is a site-specific public art project by London Fieldworks for the NOVO residential development on the southern fringe of Cambridge. Developed through a three-stage process, the project combines artistic research, ecological engagement and digital fabrication to respond to the area’s distinctive biodiversity.

The artists worked with ecologists and engaged with local residents to understand the wildlife habitats and environmental conditions shaping the site. This research informed a series of sculptural interventions designed to sit within the public realm while quietly supporting local invertebrate life. The works were conceived not as decorative objects, but as functional habitats embedded within everyday landscapes.

The resulting sculptures are formed from Portland stone and designed to provide protected internal environments for insects. Drawing on natural habitat forms such as caddisfly cases and hollow timber, the artists used a combination of hand-making and digital processes to develop the final forms, which were carved in stone using robotic fabrication. Small apertures connect the external surface to the interior, allowing wildlife to occupy the sculptures while remaining protected.

A later phase extended the work through carved stone reliefs that reveal the internal structures of the sculptures, making visible the otherwise hidden spaces that support life. Installed in 2015, the works also became the focus of a collaborative film project with local residents, encouraging observation and discussion of the relationship between new development, ecology and everyday life.