50ft high illuminated flower set to be inspirational public art sculpture (From Runcorn and Widnes World)

50ft high illuminated flower set to be inspirational public art sculpture

12:30pm Tuesday 16th June 2009

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A GIANT flower designed to light up by catching energy from the wind will soon shine as a beacon on the new look Widnes Waterfront.

Plans to build a 50ft high illuminated flower out of galvanised metal, with 120 petals were approved by Halton councillors on Monday evening.

Architect Anna Liu, aged 43, who won a competition to design the public art sculpture, spoke exclusively to the World this week.

She said: “We are very excited about it.

“This very beautiful site has this incredible light. The sky is vast and expansive.

“We wanted to pursue something industrial and natural.

“When you do something quite bold on a big scale it does attract criticism but it also provokes discussion and makes people want to go and see it.”

The North West Development Agency has paid £30,000 for the pre-construction and plans for the ‘Future Flower’ and will be asked to fund the creation of the sculpture.

Beneath the head of the flower, three wind turbines will be attached to the stem to allow the flower to be illuminated by an array of LED lighting.

“As the wind passes through it, the petals light up,” said Anna.

“You will get a different experience every time you look at it.

“As you go up closer, you will be able to interact with it on a more intimate scale.

“It will be quite unexpected in this industrial area to come across something very serene.”

The sculpture will be erected on rough pasture land beside a metal walkway and observation deck that looks over the Mersey estuary.

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