The Orbit | 115m | Visitor attraction | Completed - Page 3

Manuel · November 9th, 2009, 07:10 PM

Thanks. What about the initial plan for a proper information centre where people can pop up when they have the time?
I've also heard that some tours of the olympic site are organised, but at a cost ? is that true?

WintrySarcasm · November 11th, 2009, 11:04 AM

Mmmmmmmm this would get my vote

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8350770.stm

http://raisethecloud.org/

Edit to add - could work as a virtual cauldron too - http://raisethecloud.org/gallery/hig...lame_Rev_A.jpg

DarJoLe · November 11th, 2009, 12:01 PM

The idea is visionary in principle, but it sounds exactly like what a lot of the stuff in the Dome was billed as, and look how that turned out.

I like that sculpture in the German park though, maybe this dreamcloud thing is trying too hard to be something it's not?

RobH · November 11th, 2009, 12:17 PM

The spirally bit as the cauldron tower would be good, then put the cloud on top after the Games. This will look ridiculous right next to the stadium if it isn't the cauldron tower in Games-time though.

Having said that, it's far better than the Red Indian Pylon anyway.

DarJoLe · November 11th, 2009, 12:21 PM

I agree with Rob, the spiral structure would make an excellent cauldron, and the the cloud on top after the Games to make it a landmark to visit. No idea what the cloud would be made of, it looks far too conceptual.

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

RobH · November 11th, 2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

I agree with Rob, the spiral structure would make an excellent cauldron, and the the cloud on top after the Games to make it a landmark to visit. No idea what the cloud would be made of, it looks far too conceptual.

From the Beeb

It is envisaged that the spheres would be made of a plastic known as Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), the material used to build the Beijing Aquatic Centre.

southseasteve · November 11th, 2009, 12:59 PM

A giant "digital cloud" that would "float" above London's skyline has been outlined by an international team of architects, artists and engineers.

The construction would include 120m- (400ft-) tall mesh towers and a series of interconnected plastic bubbles that can be used to display images and data.

The Cloud, as it is known, would also be used an observation deck and park.

The unconventional structure was originally envisaged as a centre piece of the city's Olympic village.

The building draws inspiration from the work of Tomas Saraceno
Its designers plan to raise the funds to build it by asking for micro-donations from millions of people.

"It's really about people coming together to raise the Cloud," Carlo Ratti, one of the architects behind the design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) told BBC News.

"We can build our Cloud with £5m or £50m. The flexibility of the structural system will allow us to tune the size of the Cloud to the level of funding that is reached."

The size of the structure will evolve depending on the number of contributions, he said.

Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York who has seen the design described it as a "sculptural spectacle" and "a celebration of technology".

'Data streams'

The Cloud was shortlisted in a competition set-up by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The Mayor has committed to build a tourist attraction in the Olympic Park "with a legacy for the east end [of London]".

Other finalists are thought to include the former Turner prize winner Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, the designer of the Angel of the North.

The Mayor is still in the "process of deciding" which design will be commissioned, according to a spokesperson.

However, the team, which also includes the writer Umberto Eco and engineers from Arup, has decided to push ahead and publish details of its design.

The structure draws on work by artist Tomas Saraceno, a German-based designer who has previously shown off huge inflatable sculptures.

RobH · November 11th, 2009, 01:03 PM

Although, looking at the pics again, that tower would be way too tall to have the cauldron on top! It's four times higher than the stadium!!

DarJoLe · November 11th, 2009, 01:09 PM

The higher the better as far as I'm concerned, that way it can seen from all across London.

Gherkin · November 11th, 2009, 01:10 PM

How many of you would walk up the spiral rather than using the lift? Some cathedrals charge you to use the lifts but walking up is free (or discounted price), perhaps this could be looked at...

@ darjole, looking at the renders, they appear to just be geodesic domes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_dome

...but I can't find any examples of them being connected like that! Especially not 100m in the air

EnglishKevin · November 11th, 2009, 01:11 PM

OMG !

Well....er....blimey, I think the spiral walkway is inspired, possibly dangerous and potentially the most exciting thing for skateboarding loonies ever.

A three tower structure should be more substantial than this shouldn't it ? Three towers holding up a load of plastic bubbles ? This is to rival the EIffel Tower ? Wouldn't it be better to have something that doesn't need three legs in a line ? Nope, don't like it. Hideous. I concede light projections on it would look really great though.

I think we can safely say that Piffle Tower is going to be the cauldron. Doesn't take much figuring out.

£50 million ? I think not !

Metroguy78 · November 11th, 2009, 01:15 PM

Im still not sure about it, as it looks there the spiral ramps make it look like a cooling tower with bellowing smoke. If the ramps, stairs and lift could be camouflaged toned down then it would be a lot better and make it appear to be a floating cloud.

Would be interesting to see the projections and images on it, i guess like the fish they had in Beijing on the aquatic centre.

Metroguy78 · November 11th, 2009, 01:19 PM

Im still not sure about it, as it looks there the spiral ramps make it look like a cooling tower with bellowing smoke. If the ramps, stairs and lift could be camouflaged toned down then it would be a lot better and make it appear to be a floating cloud.

Would be interesting to see the projections and images on it, i guess like the fish they had in Beijing on the aquatic centre.

Metroguy78 · November 11th, 2009, 01:20 PM

oops. double post.

potto · November 11th, 2009, 01:40 PM

this is the sort of thing London should be doing, its the sort of thing London gets gifted on a plate and is the sort of thing some Londoners have a habit of writing its death note.

EnglishKevin · November 11th, 2009, 02:08 PM

Right , initial shock over and I've been to the website to investigate. I've seen how tall it is - awesome. I've seen the views over the stadium and city from inside- awesome. Not so brilliant post games when half the stadium will be gone. I've read about the environmental ethos, bringing the world together, separate olympic display area etc.

My shock at the £50 million potential cost is negated by the fact that the idea is for it to be globally funded. This strikes me as extremely naive. Will the whole word come together to build an inconic structure for London's olympic park ? I doubt it. Is the environmental marketing of this sound given the gigantic building projects involved in the construction of, not only the olympic park and all of its venues, but giant shoping malls too ? Won't people spot the hypocrisy ?

Having said all of that, and realising that I was too quick to judge without investigating, I think it could be absolutely amazing.

I'm not a great fan of those plastic Eden Project bubbles.They look cheap during the day and only impress at night. Great lighting will more than compensate for it though.

potto · November 11th, 2009, 02:21 PM

their other point is that the structure is flexible in regard to the amount of funding it receives, could be potentially embarrassing if they only receive a few donations and we end up with a crystal maze dome for the kids.

EnglishKevin · November 11th, 2009, 02:29 PM

I can't stop looking at it . I think it's totally brilliant . I think it should be double the width.

Manuel · November 11th, 2009, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by potto

this is the sort of thing London should be doing, its the sort of thing London gets gifted on a plate and is the sort of thing some Londoners have a habit of writing its death note.

Hope you're wrong. This looks fantastic aestheticaly and symbolicaly.

WintrySarcasm · November 11th, 2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

I agree with Rob, the spiral structure would make an excellent cauldron

The spiral walkway could be used to light it - obviously would get boring watching someone walk all the way to the top, so imagine if they rigged some form of pyro to the spiral walkways; the torch bearer could touch it at the bottom and flames would race around the walkways to ignite a large flame at the top.

Potentially impossible, but would surely create a visual to rival Beijing?

November 9th, 2009, 07:10 PM	#41
Manuel Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 9,952 Likes (Received): 10	Thanks. What about the initial plan for a proper information centre where people can pop up when they have the time? I've also heard that some tours of the olympic site are organised, but at a cost ? is that true? __________________ >>>>>>>>>> Mon album Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/manuel69/<<<<<<<<<<

November 11th, 2009, 12:01 PM	#43
DarJoLe Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Posts: 15,782 Likes (Received): 483	The idea is visionary in principle, but it sounds exactly like what a lot of the stuff in the Dome was billed as, and look how that turned out. I like that sculpture in the German park though, maybe this dreamcloud thing is trying too hard to be something it's not? __________________ "I can quite confidently and with pride say that if everything goes to plan London 2012 will be the best Olympic Games and will surpass Barcelona and Sydney in terms of atmosphere, style and achievement. And not just about the sport. The whole city and its people will come alive and want to be a part of this. It just feels right." DarJoLe, May 19th 2006.

November 11th, 2009, 12:21 PM	#45
DarJoLe Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Posts: 15,782 Likes (Received): 483	I agree with Rob, the spiral structure would make an excellent cauldron, and the the cloud on top after the Games to make it a landmark to visit. No idea what the cloud would be made of, it looks far too conceptual. image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr __________________ "I can quite confidently and with pride say that if everything goes to plan London 2012 will be the best Olympic Games and will surpass Barcelona and Sydney in terms of atmosphere, style and achievement. And not just about the sport. The whole city and its people will come alive and want to be a part of this. It just feels right." DarJoLe, May 19th 2006.

November 11th, 2009, 12:59 PM	#47
southseasteve Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Brighton Posts: 438 Likes (Received): 1	2012 Cloud A giant "digital cloud" that would "float" above London's skyline has been outlined by an international team of architects, artists and engineers. The construction would include 120m- (400ft-) tall mesh towers and a series of interconnected plastic bubbles that can be used to display images and data. The Cloud, as it is known, would also be used an observation deck and park. The unconventional structure was originally envisaged as a centre piece of the city's Olympic village. The building draws inspiration from the work of Tomas Saraceno Its designers plan to raise the funds to build it by asking for micro-donations from millions of people. "It's really about people coming together to raise the Cloud," Carlo Ratti, one of the architects behind the design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) told BBC News. "We can build our Cloud with £5m or £50m. The flexibility of the structural system will allow us to tune the size of the Cloud to the level of funding that is reached." The size of the structure will evolve depending on the number of contributions, he said. Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York who has seen the design described it as a "sculptural spectacle" and "a celebration of technology". 'Data streams' The Cloud was shortlisted in a competition set-up by London Mayor Boris Johnson. The Mayor has committed to build a tourist attraction in the Olympic Park "with a legacy for the east end [of London]". Other finalists are thought to include the former Turner prize winner Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, the designer of the Angel of the North. The Mayor is still in the "process of deciding" which design will be commissioned, according to a spokesperson. However, the team, which also includes the writer Umberto Eco and engineers from Arup, has decided to push ahead and publish details of its design. The structure draws on work by artist Tomas Saraceno, a German-based designer who has previously shown off huge inflatable sculptures.

November 11th, 2009, 01:09 PM	#49
DarJoLe Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Posts: 15,782 Likes (Received): 483	The higher the better as far as I'm concerned, that way it can seen from all across London. __________________ "I can quite confidently and with pride say that if everything goes to plan London 2012 will be the best Olympic Games and will surpass Barcelona and Sydney in terms of atmosphere, style and achievement. And not just about the sport. The whole city and its people will come alive and want to be a part of this. It just feels right." DarJoLe, May 19th 2006.

November 11th, 2009, 11:04 AM	#42
WintrySarcasm Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 333 Likes (Received): 0	Mmmmmmmm this would get my vote http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8350770.stm http://raisethecloud.org/ Edit to add - could work as a virtual cauldron too - http://raisethecloud.org/gallery/hig...lame_Rev_A.jpg

November 11th, 2009, 12:17 PM	#44
RobH SPURRED Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: London / Kent Posts: 8,446 Likes (Received): 203	The spirally bit as the cauldron tower would be good, then put the cloud on top after the Games. This will look ridiculous right next to the stadium if it isn't the cauldron tower in Games-time though. Having said that, it's far better than the Red Indian Pylon anyway.

November 11th, 2009, 01:03 PM	#48
RobH SPURRED Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: London / Kent Posts: 8,446 Likes (Received): 203	Although, looking at the pics again, that tower would be way too tall to have the cauldron on top! It's four times higher than the stadium!!

November 11th, 2009, 01:10 PM	#50
Gherkin actual gherkin Join Date: May 2005 Location: Leeds Posts: 13,454 Likes (Received): 198	How many of you would walk up the spiral rather than using the lift? Some cathedrals charge you to use the lifts but walking up is free (or discounted price), perhaps this could be looked at... @ darjole, looking at the renders, they appear to just be geodesic domes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_dome ...but I can't find any examples of them being connected like that! Especially not 100m in the air Last edited by Gherkin; November 11th, 2009 at 01:24 PM.

November 11th, 2009, 01:11 PM	#51
EnglishKevin BANNED Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 578 Likes (Received): 0	OMG ! Well....er....blimey, I think the spiral walkway is inspired, possibly dangerous and potentially the most exciting thing for skateboarding loonies ever. A three tower structure should be more substantial than this shouldn't it ? Three towers holding up a load of plastic bubbles ? This is to rival the EIffel Tower ? Wouldn't it be better to have something that doesn't need three legs in a line ? Nope, don't like it. Hideous. I concede light projections on it would look really great though. I think we can safely say that Piffle Tower is going to be the cauldron. Doesn't take much figuring out. £50 million ? I think not !

November 11th, 2009, 01:15 PM	#52
Metroguy78 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 614 Likes (Received): 0	Im still not sure about it, as it looks there the spiral ramps make it look like a cooling tower with bellowing smoke. If the ramps, stairs and lift could be camouflaged toned down then it would be a lot better and make it appear to be a floating cloud. Would be interesting to see the projections and images on it, i guess like the fish they had in Beijing on the aquatic centre.

November 11th, 2009, 01:19 PM	#53
Metroguy78 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 614 Likes (Received): 0	Im still not sure about it, as it looks there the spiral ramps make it look like a cooling tower with bellowing smoke. If the ramps, stairs and lift could be camouflaged toned down then it would be a lot better and make it appear to be a floating cloud. Would be interesting to see the projections and images on it, i guess like the fish they had in Beijing on the aquatic centre.

November 11th, 2009, 01:20 PM	#54
Metroguy78 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 614 Likes (Received): 0	oops. double post.

November 11th, 2009, 01:40 PM	#55
potto Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Posts: 13,605 Likes (Received): 424	this is the sort of thing London should be doing, its the sort of thing London gets gifted on a plate and is the sort of thing some Londoners have a habit of writing its death note.

November 11th, 2009, 02:08 PM	#56
EnglishKevin BANNED Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 578 Likes (Received): 0	Right , initial shock over and I've been to the website to investigate. I've seen how tall it is - awesome. I've seen the views over the stadium and city from inside- awesome. Not so brilliant post games when half the stadium will be gone. I've read about the environmental ethos, bringing the world together, separate olympic display area etc. My shock at the £50 million potential cost is negated by the fact that the idea is for it to be globally funded. This strikes me as extremely naive. Will the whole word come together to build an inconic structure for London's olympic park ? I doubt it. Is the environmental marketing of this sound given the gigantic building projects involved in the construction of, not only the olympic park and all of its venues, but giant shoping malls too ? Won't people spot the hypocrisy ? Having said all of that, and realising that I was too quick to judge without investigating, I think it could be absolutely amazing. I'm not a great fan of those plastic Eden Project bubbles.They look cheap during the day and only impress at night. Great lighting will more than compensate for it though.

November 11th, 2009, 02:21 PM	#57
potto Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Posts: 13,605 Likes (Received): 424	their other point is that the structure is flexible in regard to the amount of funding it receives, could be potentially embarrassing if they only receive a few donations and we end up with a crystal maze dome for the kids.

November 11th, 2009, 02:29 PM	#58
EnglishKevin BANNED Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 578 Likes (Received): 0	I can't stop looking at it . I think it's totally brilliant . I think it should be double the width.

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