[ Anish Kapoor ] ArcelorMittal Orbit

The Arcelormittal Orbit is a stunning new artwork being built in London’s Olympic Park for the 2012 games. It will ensure the Park remains an unrivalled visitor destination long after the Games and it’s another way we’re ensuring the Games provide a long-lasting legacy for London. 

The sculpture will be designed by award winning London-based artist Anish Kapoor.

About the Orbit

The breathtaking sculpture – the tallest in the UK - will consist of a continuous looping lattice of tubular steel. Standing at a gigantic 115m, it will be 22m taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York and offer unparalleled views of the entire 250 acres of the Olympic Park and London’s skyline from  special viewing platforms. The basic structure is a square rotated in space at 45 degrees.

The Orbit’s design was unveiled on 31 March 2010 by Mayor Boris Johnson and Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal. ArcelorMittal will fund up to £16million of the £19.1million project, with the outstanding £3.1 million provided by the London Development Agency.

About the designer

Anish Kapoor is one of the most influential sculptors of his generation. Born in Bombay in 1954, he has lived and worked in London since the early 70s. He studied at Hornsey College of Art, London (1973 – 1977) and at Chelsea School of Art, London (1977 – 1978). His first solo exhibition was held at Patrice Alexandre, Paris in 1980. His international reputation was quickly established with an array of solo exhibitions held in countries around the world. He represented Britain in the Paris Biennale in 1982, and again in 1990 at the Venice Biennale, for which he was awarded Premio Duemila.

The following year he won the prestigious Turner Prize Award. He recently acted as Guest Artistic Director of the Brighton Festival 2009. He was elected Royal Academician in 1999 and has been awarded Honorary Fellowships by the London Institute and Leeds University (1997), University of Wolverhampton (1999) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (2001). He lives and works in London. His recent major solo exhbition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (26 September – 11 December 2010) showcasing a number of new and previously unseen works, was the most successful ever presented by a contemporary artist in London.

Visit Anish Kapoor’s website

Bringing the Orbit to life

Cecil Balmond and the Advanced Geometry Unit at Arup are completing the architectural design of the Orbit as well as the engineering.

Cecil Balmond, the structural designer of the Orbit, has helped build a catalogue of outstanding buildings through the dynamic design company Arup. Arup are behind landmark buildings such as the Sydney Opera House, Beijing's Water Cube and the Beijing Olympic Stadium. 

Visit Arup's website

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel company, with operations in more than 60 countries.

Visit Arcelormittal's website

from  london