Weather Morning: 8°c Mostly cloudy Afternoon: 9°c Sunny spells

News

Tower of bubbles floated for Olympics

Katharine Barney
12 Nov 2009


A cloud of inflatable plastic bubbles could float above London's skyline as part of a new Olympic monument.

The "digital cloud" displaying images and data such as race results would be secured by metal cables to a group of 120-metre towers in the Olympic Park in Stratford.

Ramps, stairs and lifts would take visitors into the main inflatable bubble from which they could view the city.

It has not been determined how many towers would be built but, according to preliminary designs, visitors would be able to walk around several of the bubbles and onto a "walking membrane" between spheres.

After the Olympics, transport information, weather forecasts and details of events would be displayed.

The bubbles are one of the entries in a design competition run by Boris Johnson to build a £15million lasting monument to the 2012 Games.

City Hall refused to confirm that the project was on the shortlist of finalists but said the number of contenders remaining "could be counted on one hand". The shortlist is thought to include former Turner Prize winner Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, the designer of the Angel of the North.

The bubbles were designed by architects from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The spheres would be made from an extra strong plastic, known as ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) which was used in the Beijing Aquatic Centre. Technology used in Japanese skyscrapers to resist earthquakes would prevent the towers being moved by the wind.

A presentation on the bubbles has been seen by the Mayor and his team. The MIT architects said: "It proposes an entirely new form of observation deck, high above the Olympics - one from which one can not only see the whole of London, but the whole of the world, immersed in the euphoric gusts of weather and world data.

"It offers London's highest park and an immersion within both our great clouded skies and the cosmos of our dataworlds - as well as a live information system transmitting data and imagery from around the city and the world."

Although the £15 million funding for the Art in the Park project is thought to be coming from steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal - Britain's richest man - those behind the cloud project are also in talks with Google.

A design for an iron construction that would have been six times taller than the Angel of the North has not made the shortlist of finalists.

The proposed monument featured a translucent structure with viewing decks above the Olympic Park.

It was nicknamed the "piffle tower" after Mr Johnson's "inverted pyramid of piffle" comments made when the Mayor denied an extra-marital affair in 2004.

Reader views (0)

 Add your view

No comments have so far been submitted.


Add your comment

 

Terms and conditions Make text area bigger You have  characters left.

We welcome your opinions. This is a public forum. Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.

For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.


 

 

  • David Cameron calls for unified Britain in Scottish visit Cameron Salmond David Cameron will vow to fight to keep the United Kingdom together, just hours before a key meeting with Scotland's First Minister on an...
  • Olympic ticket 'secrecy' criticised Olympic Tickets London 2012 has been criticised for potentially damaging public trust, support and confidence by being unnecessarily secretive about ticket...
  • Whitehall staff paid £4m through limited companies Danny Alexander Salaries totalling more than £4 million paid to 25 Whitehall advisers were made through limited companies, it has been reported
  • Violent sex offender deported A violent sex attacker who continued to commit crimes while using human rights laws to fight efforts to deport him has been sent back to Sierra Leone.
  • Man hit by lorry in first crash on 'shared space' of Exhibition Road New Exhibition Road A man suffered head injuries when he became the first to be knocked down in Exhibition Road since it was turned into a "shared space" for...
  • Woman to face court over girl death Elmfield Park A woman is due to appear in court charged with the murder of a 13-year-old girl who was found fatally stabbed in a park
  • Chris Huhne and ex-wife to appear in court Chris Huhne Vicky Pryce Former energy secretary Chris Huhne is expected to make his first appearance in court today accused of perverting the course of justice
  • Diesel prices near record high Petrol pump Diesel prices are almost back to record levels, figures from the AA have shown
  • Student loan repayment penalty plan scrapped Graduated students Plans to impose penalties on students who pay off university loans early are being ditched, the Government is expected to announce next week
  • Schools take on private tutors as volunteers to boost GCSE grades Gwyneth Paltrow Some of London's most sought-after "super tutors" are working free in state schools to help boost grades
  •  

    Don't Miss
    • London Gateway

      Supersize superport: London Gateway

      London Gateway, the £1.5bn container port under construction on the Thames at Thurrock, will have capacity to unload six of the world's largest ships at one time and have as much impact on the capital as a new airport or half a dozen Westfield shopping centres
    • Matthew Williamson

      One stylish affair: Matthew Williamson

      With London Fashion Week kicking off on Friday, British designer Matthew Williamson tells Rosamund Urwin about breaking up with his ex, post-show partying and his new model man