A spiraling sculpture designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor, in collaboration with leading structural designer, Cecil Balmond, has been chosen as the monument to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games. When finished, the 377-foot sculpture will stand taller than Big Ben or the Statue of Liberty and is set to dominate the east London landscape, perhaps as a permanent attraction for generations to come. Kapoor and Balmond’s Orbit, which will be placed between the aquatics center and the main stadium, was chosen from a shortlist of three, beating tower-based bids by the artist Antony Gormley and the architects Caruso St John.Indian steel magnet, Lakshmi Mittal, is providing about $24 million of the total cost of the structure, with the remaining amount coming from the Greater London Authority. From the beginning, the award of the Olympics to London has been regarded as bad news and so, the unveiling of this colossal monument has provided much opportunity for jestering. Officially titled ArcelorMittal Orbit, suggested nicknames are rolling in thick and fast: The Guardian favored suggestions such as ‘The Leaning Tower of Umbilical Cord’, another suggested ‘Hubble Bubble’ or the ‘Colossus of Stratford’
A full round-up of links after the jump……
Now we’ll be able to inhabit one of Kapoor’s signature shapes [Evening Standard]
120m high and very, very red: the best seat at the Olympic Games [The Independent]
The horrible possibility of good news [Jon Snow - Channel 4 News]
Anish Kapoor chosen for landmark 2012 sculpture [BBC News]
Plan For 2012 London Olympic Tower Is Unveiled [NY Times]
Anish Kapoor’s tangled tower at the heart of London 2012 [The Guardian]
Anish Kapoor’s Towering Olympic Sculpture Revealed [The Londonist]
‘Mind boggling’ artwork that will tower over London [The Independent]
Design of £19m Olympics tower unveiled [Financial Times]
Olympic Park to get tower ‘to rival Eiffel’ [Telegraph.co.uk]
Boris Johnson’s ‘Hubble Bubble’ 2012 tower is a real eyeful [Evening Standard]
