Lighting columns measuring 17m (55ft) in height will begin to be installed at City Park today (September 20) as activity continues on the major regeneration scheme in Bradford.
The galvanised steel columns have been designed to look like stylised reeds and rushes sitting at the edge of the park’s 4,200sq m mirror pool.
It is the latest step towards completion of the Bradford Council project this winter.
Earlier this month three sculptures by award-winning Wolfgang Buttress were delivered on site. The final stage of their installation, involving polishing and filling of the stone pieces, is due to be completed this week while workers are also close to laying the last of more than 277,000 granite cubes at the base of the mirror pool.
All ten lighting columns, which have also been designed by Wolfgang Buttress, are due to be in place by the end of October.
Each column features up to seven lighting units which will illuminate causeways around the water’s edge and the mirror pool itself.
Four of them will feature laser lighting equipment and four others motion sensor cameras which will be used as part of a large scale digital public artwork being created by Usman Haque.
Coun David Green, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration and Economy, said: “The arrival of these lighting units is another visible sign that City Park is ‘coming to life’.
“They have been designed to complement their setting around the mirror pool and given their size they should be a striking feature in the park.”
Artist Wolfgang Buttress said: “The lighting columns will serve a practical purpose within City Park but hopefully do so in a quiet and elegant way.
“I’ve tried to reflect the discreet nature of reeds and rushes sitting at the water’s edge in the design and choice of materials.”
The six-acre City Park will include the biggest man-made water feature in a UK city as well as 100 fountains and is designed to create a vibrant public space that supports the Bradford district economy over the long-term.
It will be an adaptable public space for people of all ages to enjoy, with areas for rest, relaxation and play, and also capable of hosting small or large-scale events.
Detailed commissioning of the lighting columns began in April 2009 and the final contract was awarded in March 2010.
