ArcelorMittal Orbit

The ArcelorMittal Orbit can be found in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was designed by Sir Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond. The structure was funded by ArcelorMittal hence lending itself to the namesake. It is Britain’s tallest sculpture towering high at 114.5 metres eclipsing the height of the Eiffel Tower. The structure is made up of steel with 69% recycled materials, which were produced by ArcelorMittal’s plants in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. The Orbit was re-opened to the public after the Olympics and Paralymics on 5 April 2014.

The views are at 76 and 80 metres high looking into distances of up to 20 mile, which is if you don’t go on a foggy and cloudy day. You can see many landmarks such as the O2, the Gherkin and the Shard from the Orbit. You can also view the city turned upside down from the two mirror sculptures created by Sir Anish Kapoor at opposite ends of the room. The mirrors also allows two people to be seen at opposite sides of the room standing at specific spots marked out by a pair of footprints.

There are two options on getting to lower grounds being the lift or the stairs as opposed to the only way getting up was the lift. The option of going down the stairs gave “Soundscapes” of different noises ranging from construction noises to market noises coming out of speakers placed throughout the journey down the stairs. The stairs are 350 metres long with 445 steps with an occasional checkpoint telling you how many steps are left to the bottom.

Here are some quotes said about the ArcelorMittal Orbit:

"A bold, beautiful and magnificent sculpture that also showcases the great versatility of steel."

Lakshmi Mittal

"It would have boggled the minds of the Romans. It would have dwarfed the aspirations of Gustave Eiffel."

Boris Johnson

"It is an object that cannot be perceived as having a singular image, from any perspective."

Anish Kapoor

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