Stratford’s ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture, built as an eyecatching centrepiece for London’s 2012 Olympic Park, isn’t the most attractive feature of the city’s skyline. Frankly, it looks a bit like things got out of control at a metalworks.
But like it or lump it, Sir Anish Kapoor’s tangle of metal struts and observation platforms is here to stay. And Bblur, a London-based architecture firm which really does spell its name that way, has found a new, more exciting use for it: it’s proposing the installation of a five-twist helter skelter slide around one of the sculpture’s legs. The slide would offer an alternative route down from the viewing platform at the top of the structure.
The slide plans have been submitted by Bblur to the London Legacy Development Corportion (LLDC), which oversees the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and have made it through the first stage of the planning process. A spokesperson for the LLDC told the Metro:
The addition of a slide would be an exciting and alternative way to descend from the viewing platforms, and will give a different perspective of Britain’s tallest sculpture.
Exciting, yes, but also potentially quite frightening: the sculpture stands at a full 114.5 m tall. Not ideal for anyone afraid of heights.
These renderings from the LLDC show the location and interior of the slide:
Overall, it seems like an excellent idea. Wonder how they came up with it?
Image: TripAdvisor.
Oh.
