Thomas Heatherwick’s competition-winning…

Thomas Heatherwick’s competition-winning sculpture B of the Bang is unveiled in Manchester this week. Standing at 56 metres high, it is the tallest sculpture in the UK. It is made of steel specifically designed to weather to varying degrees over the surface of the sculpture. Inclined at an angle of 30 degrees from the vertical – a tilt that is ten times greater than the Leaning Tower of Pisa – it presented an enormous design and engineering challenge. Its radiating spikes are hollow, while the five supporting legs are made from thick, heavy steel.