London 2012: Work begins on ArcelorMittal Orbit tower
From left to right: Lakshmi Mittal, CEO and Chairman of ArcelorMittal, Anish Kapoor, Award winning artist, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company. Photo: ODA
Work began last Thursday (4 November) on a £22.3 million sculpture on the 2012 Olympics site that is sure to be a dramatic addition to the Hackney skyline.
It may not have a catchy name, but it’s hoped the 114m high ArcelorMittal Orbit – named after the steel company set to fund most of the project – will be recognised all over the world both during the Games and for years to come.
The design, a giant, red, looping trellis of tubular steel, is the work of Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor and has been described as being at the cutting edge of architecture and engineering.
“The Orbit will not only be an amazing piece of art, but it will draw visitors from every corner of the globe to east London,” said London Mayor Boris Johnson. “I am delighted we are breaking the ground and I can’t wait to see the red steel of the Orbit reaching for the sky.”
Visitors to Britain’s tallest sculpture-to-be, expected to be completed in March next year, will be invited to take a lift to the top, admire the views over the Olympic Park and capital and then descend the structure’s spiral staircase. After a period of closure post-Games it will re-open as a tourist attraction in spring 2013.
“This is my gift to London,” said Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal CEO and chairman. He said he hoped the Orbit will endure long after the Games and remind visitors of the great versatility of steel. ArcelorMittal are to fund up to £19.2 million of the project, with the remaining £3.1 million being provided by taxpayers (via the the London Development Agency).
“The ArcelorMittal project is a great opportunity for us to create a living laboratory of design that blurs boundaries between different disciplines: art, architecture and structure,” said designer Cecil Balmond, who has worked in collaboration with the artist on this and other projects. “For me, creativity has always gone hand in hand with innovation and new thinking about our experience of space.”
He continued: “To make a sculpture that is a journey into form for its viewers is an exceptional opportunity. It really is a great privilege to work with the London 2012 team and ArcelorMittal on this major work of public art.”
The work of Indian-born artist Anish Kapoor has been shown over the world, including solo exhibitions at the Tate Gallery in London, the Guggenheim in New York and Reina Sofia in Madrid. He said last Thursday he was delighted that construction of the Orbit had begun – and thanked all those that had supported the project.
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