Artist Anish Kapoor has given a preview of his Olympic Orbit tower sculpture, but admitted the £15 ticket price was "a hell of a lot of money".


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ttal_Orbit.jpg


The twisting red steel tower - known as ArcelorMittal Orbit - was officially unveiled to the media on Friday.

Designed by Kapoor and structural designer Cecil Balmond, the Orbit is the tallest sculpture in the UK - twice the height of Nelson's Column.

It will be open to visitors to the Olympic Games and Olympic Park in July.

Turner Prize-winner Kapoor said he thought the sculpture was beautiful, but added: "I think it is awkward. It has its elbows sticking out. It refuses to be an emblem. It is unsettling."

Visitors will be able to go up the 35-storey structure in a lift, and have the option of walking down its spiralling staircase.

During the Games the ticket price will be £15 for adults and £7 for children.

Kapoor said: "£15 is a hell of a lot of money, frankly. This thing has to be paid for, and there are all sorts of equations, but there's a push to keep that cost as low as possible and make it as available as possible."

The £22.7m Orbit is due to become a full-time ticketed visitor attraction in Easter 2014 as part of the phased re-opening of the Olympic Park after the Games.

Andrew Altman, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, which is in charge of the Park's future, said a lower pricing system for 2014 was yet to be worked out.

At 114.5 metres (376ft), The Orbit gives panoramic views across London's skyline of up to 20 miles.

The helter-skelter-like sculpture took 18 months to build, with 60% of its 2,000 tonnes of steel coming from recycled sources.

"We wanted to make something that was kind of a deconstruction of the tower," Kapoor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"Towers are almost always symmetrical," he continued, saying the Orbit's twisted loops were "the refusal of a singular image".

The Orbit has two observation floors, a 455-step spiral staircase, a lift and restaurant.

At ground level, visitors are greeted by a massive steel horn which hangs overhead.

The uppermost observation floor is flanked by two concave mirrors which disorientate the visitor before they get to see the skyline beyond.


Sky

Originally Posted by Mrluvaluva (Post 5131848) I would rather use £15 to go to the dungeons. That would be more value for money.

Originally Posted by Marc (Post 5131854) Why would you even want to go up in that. LOL

Originally Posted by Novo (Post 5131922) Reasonable enough price

Originally Posted by arista (Post 5131863) To Photograph the amazing view

Originally Posted by Mrluvaluva (Post 5131957) There you go. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B059rmTL7w...e%2Borbit2.jpg

Originally Posted by kizzy (Post 5131966) What a hunk of junk...Looks like someone wrapped a rollercoaster round a helter skelter!

Originally Posted by Mrluvaluva (Post 5131994) Apparently "it is being hailed as London's answer to the Eiffel tower". I believe it cost around 19.1M. Suppose they have to get their costs back somehow. I bet the price goes up in 2014 anyway.

Originally Posted by Mrluvaluva (Post 5132070) It is sort of cool though. From a certain angle you can see the image or man. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Cloud_2000.jpg Just in entirely the wrong place. Mind you, the dome was expected to be more of a success than it actually was. I don't know why? Well with insufficient transport links and putting it in the middle of a wasteland, it was to be expected really...