B of the Bang

B of the Bang

Artist	Thomas Heatherwick
Year	2005
Location	Beswick, Manchester, England

B of the Bang is a sculpture in Manchester, England, located next to the City of Manchester Stadium at Sportcity. Commissioned to mark the 2002 Commonwealth Games, it is one of the tallest structures in the City of Manchester and was the tallest sculpture in the UK until the completion of Aspire in 2008. It is taller and leans at a greater angle than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The sculpture takes its name from a quotation of British sprinter Linford Christie in which he said that he started his races not merely at the 'bang' of the starting pistol, but at 'The B of the Bang'.

Commissioned in 2003, construction overran and the official unveiling was delayed until 12 January 2005. Six days before the launch, the sculpture suffered the first of three visible structural problems as the tip of one of the spikes detached and fell to the ground. Legal action started a year later, resulting in an out-of-court settlement totalling £1.7m. In February 2009 Manchester City Council announced that the sculpture would be dismantled and placed in storage, as the "only practical alternative".^[1] The council has expressed its commitment to working closely with the design team in order to "determine whether there is a robust and affordable strategy for the re-construction of the structure on the site".^[2]

Contents 1 Design 2 Construction and Funding 3 Structural problems and legal action 4 Future 5 References

Design

B of the Bang is 56 metres (184 ft) tall^[3] and has 180 hollow tapered steel columns or spikes radiating from a central point. It is angled at 30 degrees,^[4] and is supported by five 25 m (82 ft) long, heavy steel tapered legs,^[5][6] which connect to the spikes 22 m (72 ft) above the ground. The sculpture weighs 165 tonnes,^[7] with the concrete in the foundations weighing over 1,000 tonnes,^[8] including a 400 m² (4,300 sq ft) reinforced concrete slab.^[9] The foundations are 20 m (66 ft) deep.^[8] The sculpture is made from the same Weathering Steel (also known as Cor-Ten) as the Angel of the North sculpture, which gradually develops a tightly adhering oxide layer as it is exposed to the elements. This layer inhibits further corrosion by reducing its permeability to water. As part of the design, the spikes sway slightly in the wind^[10] in order to withstand gusts in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h).^[8] There is a time capsule in the centre of the sculpture containing children's poems and paintings, due to be opened circa 2300.^[11]

The sculpture is located next to the City of Manchester Stadium at Sportcity, in Beswick, at the corner of Alan Turing Way and Ashton New Road,^[12][13] at coordinates 53°28′55″N 2°11′46″W / 53.48194°N 2.19611°W / 53.48194; -2.19611Coordinates: 53°28′55″N 2°11′46″W / 53.48194°N 2.19611°W / 53.48194; -2.19611. It takes its name from a quotation of British sprinter Linford Christie in which he said that he started his races not merely at the 'bang' of the starting pistol, but at 'The B of the Bang'.^[5] The artwork has been nicknamed KerPlunk by the locals after the popular children's game from the 1970s.^[3]

Prior to the construction of Aspire at the University of Nottingham, B of the Bang was Britain's tallest sculpture at twice the height of the Angel of the North's^[13] 66 feet (20 m). It was designed to look like an exploding firework,^[3] and is taller and leans at a greater angle than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.^[5] It was commissioned by New East Manchester Limited to mark the 2002 Commonwealth Games.^[4] The design was selected by a panel consisting of both local residents and art experts via a competition in 2002,^[10] and was designed by Thomas Heatherwick.^[12]

Construction and Funding

The sculpture was constructed in Sheffield^[4] by Thomas Heatherwick Studio, Packman Lucas, Flint and Neill and Westbury Structures.^[14] It was approved at the start of 2003^[12], with the central core arriving in Manchester on the 13 June 2004.^[4] This was the largest load that could be transferred via road from the factory, and required a police escort.^[8] This central core was lifted into place in August 2004, after which the 180 spikes could begin being attached. Early estimates had given an optimistic completion date of July 2003, which contributed to the sculpture gaining the nickname The G of the Bang.^[13]

The official unveiling by Linford Christie took place on 12 January 2005^[3].

In total the sculpture cost £1.42 million to design and construct^[9] — twice the original estimate,^[13] as the initial costing had neglected to include installation costs.^[15]. Funding was sourced from a European Regional Development Fund contribution of £700,000, the North West Development Agency, contributing £500,000, and Manchester City Council providing £120,000.^[16]

Structural problems and legal action

The tip of one of the 2.1 m (6.9 ft) spikes fell off on the 6 January 2005, only six days before the official unveiling.^[17] After inspection, the event went ahead as planned.

Four months later, in May 2005, a second spike had to be cut off by firefighters after it was discovered hanging loose.^[18] At that time the sculpture was closed off to the public, and the junction and pathway near the sculpture were temporarily closed. As a result some of the joints were re-welded, with equipment put in place to prevent excessive movement.^[19] This consisted of retrofitting tip weights to 170 of the spikes.^[20]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: B of the Bang

Despite these modifications, B of the Bang remained fenced off, prompting a local newspaper campaign to 'Get It Sorted'.^[20] In May 2006 a total of nine spikes were removed from the sculpture and taken away for metallurgic analysis, to discover the stresses being placed on the steel.^[21]

It was announced in October 2007 that Manchester City Council were taking legal action against the makers of the sculpture, with the aim of completing the necessary repairs to the sculpture.^[14] In November 2008 this culminated in an out-of-court settlement being reached between Manchester City Council, the project's designers Thomas Heatherwick Studio Ltd, and the engineering and construction subcontractors Packman Lucas Ltd, Flint and Neill Partnership and Westbury Structures Ltd. The agreement was pay the council £1.7m in damages for breach of contract and negligence.^[22]

Future

Acting on a report in January 2009,^[23] the city council recommended that B of the Bang should be dismantled and placed in storage until funds can be raised for its safe reinstatement.^[24] The report recognised the sculptures' aesthetic value for Manchester and Manchester City Council has committed itself to working with the artist to reach a long-term solution. One possibility involves the replacement of the steel spikes with alternatives made from carbon fibre, although the report underlines the necessity for extensive testing.^[25]

In January 2009, Antony Gormley, creator of the Angel of the North — to which B of the Bang is often compared — spoke out in support of the sculpture, stating that, "It is a great tribute to Manchester that this ground-breaking work was commissioned. To allow it to disappear would be a loss not just of an inspirational artwork but also of the council's nerve." ^[26]

Dismantling began in April 2009.^[27]

References

v • d • e Buildings and structures in Manchester, England Highrises/ Skyscrapers 1 Hardman Square · Albany Crown Tower · Arndale Tower · Beetham Tower · CIS Tower · City Tower · Civil Justice Centre · Great Northern Tower · North Tower · Palace Hotel · Piccadilly Tower · Portland Tower · Town Hall Notable lowrises Afflecks · Alan Turing Building · Bridgewater Hall · Central Library · Central · Contact Theatre · Cornerhouse · Free Trade Hall · The Green Building · John Rylands Library · John Rylands University Library · The Haçienda · London Road Fire Station · Midland Hotel  · Murrays' Mills · Museum of Science and Industry · Opera House · Palace Theatre · Royal Exchange Theatre · Royal Eye Hospital · Spinningfields Business District · St Mary's Hospital · Upper Brook Street Chapel · Urbis · Watts Warehouse · Whitworth Art Gallery Major railway stations Airport station · Deansgate station · Piccadilly station · Victoria station · Oxford Road station Major complexes Arndale Centre · The Great Northern Warehouse · Manchester Airport · Parrswood Entertainment Complex · RAF Ringway • The Printworks · Trafford Centre Sports venues Aquatics Centre · City of Manchester Stadium · MEN Arena · National Squash Centre · Old Trafford Cricket Ground · Old Trafford Football Stadium · Velodrome Sculptures Alan Turing Memorial · B of the Bang Bridges Hulme Arch Bridge · Store Street Aqueduct Lists of buildings Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester · Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester · List of castles in Greater Manchester · List of tallest buildings and structures in Manchester

escort

stock | retire | vm
Why are we here?
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
This page is cache of Wikipedia. History