A decommissioned North Sea offshore platform, soon to be turned into a giant art installation, arrived in Weston-super-Mare, England, on Tuesday, 12 July, BBC has reported.
Last year, Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town in Somerset was selected as home to the installation, which will be called ‘SEE MONSTER’, and will be transformed into a huge public art installation, "aiming to inspire global conversations about the repurposing of large industrial structures and design-led solutions to sustainable futures."
The platform will be located on the site of the town’s disused former lido, Tropicana, in what is said will become "a sensory show-stopper."
The 450-tonne platform has been transported on a flatbed barge as large as a football pitch to its new home at the Tropicana. The platform will be lifted by a crane over the seawall onto pre-constructed legs. The entire construction will be 35m tall at its highest point.
"The transformation of this decommissioned North Sea offshore platform is a world first that is set to become one of the UK’s largest public art installations, aiming to inspire global conversations about the repurposing of large industrial structures and design-led solutions to sustainable futures," the project website says.
Credit: SEE MONSTER
According to the website, visitors and residents to Weston-super-Mare will witness the transformation of SEE MONSTER, commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, as construction takes place over the coming weeks.
Once the installation is completed, SEE MONSTER will be experienced from the seafront, beach and on board. It will feature four publicly-accessible levels animated by a 10-meter-high waterfall; a 6,000-piece kinetic installation forming the monster’s shimmering scales; an onboard oasis of grasses, plants, and trees selected to thrive in a seaside micro-climate; and a seated amphitheater and broadcast studio, "forming a platform for conversations about reuse and sustainable futures."
According to press statements issued last year, the giant platform will have planted gardens and a waterfall with places to meet, be a fun and educational place that will focus on weather, climate change, and green technologies, and will have a dedicated outreach team with a science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) focus.
SEE MONSTER is expected to attract up to 200,000 visitors over the two months it will be in Weston-super-Mare. Entry to SEE MONSTER will be free, with local residents getting a first look.
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