Overview
Stainless steel has wide applications in almost every walk of life. This week, we will introduce stainless steel applied in sculpture through the case study of a huge memorial sculpture in London. It says it takes something really weird to stand out among all the bizarre architecture in a strange city like London. Let’s explore this Mysterious Shiny Stainless Steel Box together.
The Mysterious Shiny Stainless Steel Box in London
The mysterious shiny stainless steel box located in the middle of Elephant & Castle roundabout, was built in 1961 as a memorial to Michael Faraday.
The Elephant & Castle
The Elephant & Castle, originally known as Newington, a transportation hub in Central London, England, derives its name from its historical background of using elephant ivory for making knife handles.
Elephant & Castle went through several rounds of reconstruction over its long history commenced 1618. A vast reconstruction happened after World War Two, while Faraday Memorial was the very first construction completed during the reconstruction of this area.
Michael Faraday
Faraday is known to the world for the discovery of electromagnetic induction, the invention of the electric motor, transformer and generator. To commemorate Faraday’s achievements as a scientist, this shiny stainless steel cube came here in Elephant and Castle where Faraday was born. Albeit its existence, few people realize what it is for. A sign is now put there to give a brief introduction of this memorial.
Design with Stainless Steel
The confusion comes from the design which brings out its designer. Rodney Gordon was then a fresh graduate from the Architectural Association School. Design and construction of this memorial was his first job at the London County Council Architects department.
It seems very nature to design it like an electrical substation considering the construction purpose. Initially Rodney planned on inverted glass pyramid design so that the workings of the transformer can be seen. The interior of the memorial contains a London Underground electrical substation for the Northern Line and Bakerloo Line.
However, the glass material ended up being replaced with stainless steels for fear of vandalism and distraction, as it notes "Rodney's first design... was for an inverted glazed pyramid revealing glowing mercury vapour rectifiers. This was abandoned for fear of distracting motorists."
The change of material surely changes what it looks like. It may seem a bit alien with this change, but the advantages of stainless steel materials surely worth the shift. The memorial was designed in 1959 and completed in 1961. It stands unwaveringly in the roundabout of the Elephant and Castle gyratory system unchanged in design and color for over 60 years. The construction consists of 728 stainless steel square panels purposely dented in total.
Stainless Steel at CIVMATS
At CIVMATS, we have in stock stainless steel flat products stainless steel coils from famous brands, which can be processed into the small stainless steel panels like above for your designed purpose. Meanwhile, the finish and dimensions can also be customized per your requirement.
If you are looking for reliable stainless steel suppliers from China, welcome to CIVMATS. We are all you want. Call us and let us talk.
