Aspire (sculpture)

Aspire is a work of art, constructed on the Jubilee Campus of the University of Nottingham, in Nottingham, England.[1] It is a 60-metre (200 ft) tall, red and orange steel sculpture, and was, until overtaken by Anish Kapoor's Orbit, the tallest free standing public work of art in the United Kingdom.[2] It is taller than B of the Bang (which was dismantled in 2009), Nelson's Column, the Angel of the North, and the Statue of Liberty (excluding the pedestal).[3] The name Aspire was chosen after a competition to name the sculpture, which was open to staff and students at the university.[4]

Aspire
ArtistKen Shuttleworth
Year2008
TypeHyperboloid structure
MediumSteel
Dimensions60 m (200 ft); 4.820 m diameter (15.81 ft)
Weight854 tonnes
LocationNottingham, England
OwnerUniversity of Nottingham

Design and fabrication
Aspire towers above all other buildings in the area

Aspire is a type of hyperboloid structure, designed by Ken Shuttleworth and Make Architects.[5] It consists of an 8 m (26 ft) high concrete foundation and 52 m (171 ft) high red and orange steel tower. The sculpture weighs 854 tonnes, and cost £800,000,[6] which was donated by an anonymous benefactor.[7] The sculpture is lit during the hours of darkness.[4]

Fabrication of the sculpture took 23 weeks and was completed by Watson Steel Structures Ltd in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It was then transported to Widnes, Cheshire, where Merseyside Coatings Ltd applied the distinctive red and orange colour scheme.[4] The structure was fabricated in three parts and lifted onto the concrete foundation by cranes on-site.[4]

References
  1. "The University of Nottingham - Jubilee Campus Extension / Make Architects". ArchDaily. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  2. BBC News - University reveals 60-metre spike
  3. "Sky high aspirations" (PDF). 31 January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2014.
  4. "Press Release: Unveiled: design for Britain's tallest free-standing work of public art". 18 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  5. "Skyscraper News". Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  6. Kera.name - Eight Hundred Grand to Aspire
  7. World Architecture News
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52.9512°N 1.1844°W / 52.9512; -1.1844

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