Sky Mirror: Nottingham Playhouse

This stunning sculpture is situated outside the Playhouse Theatre, providing the centrepiece for the re-development of the forecourt area. I thought I would take some pictures of it yesterday.

http://www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/skymirror

Facts & figures

Sky Mirror is nearly 6 metres in diameter and weighs nearly 10 tonnes. Blimey!

A smaller sculpture was made to test the manufacturing process. The safety of both any reflections and it’s strength in adverse weather conditions have been checked.

The stainless steel for the sculpture is from Sweden and Sky Mirror was manufactured in Finland through a process of cold forging. It was then taken to Wellingborough for final polishing to create the highly reflective surface.

The forecourt re-development uses 900 sq. metres of granite paving. The grey granite for the forecourt was quarried in South Africa, the water feature granite quarried in Zimbabwe.

The granite was cut and finished in Germany and installed by specialists from Portugal.

150 cubic metres of concrete was used for the forecourt with 10 tonnes of steel reinforcement.

Sky Mirror is attached to the water feature by 18 stainless steel bolts, each 1.6metres long.

Contrary to rumour the Sky Mirror does not pose any danger to pigeons in the form of a barbecue ray. Boffins have plotted the sun’s movement and erected a temporary sun screen on the roof of the playhouse to prevent direct sunlight hitting the Sky Mirror for two months each year.

Some have dubbed the six-metre sculpture “a giant shaving mirror”.