Unusual Brunel Statue Planned For Rotherhithe

M@
By M@ Last edited 170 months ago
Unusual Brunel Statue Planned For Rotherhithe

brunelstatue.jpg Plans to erect a 15 metre statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel near the Rotherhithe tunnel have met with disdain from local residents (and probably approval as well, but disdain is much more fun to report). One of the main criticisms is that it looks, frankly, a bit daft. The design, by local blacksmith Kevin Boys, depicts the Great Briton in a stylized, ribbon-like representation, juggling a locomotive and other symbols of Victorian engineering. The effect is somewhat akin to a giant protein crystal structure rebelling against its synchrotron, or 'a stickman throwing a hula hoop', as someone more down-to-Earth put it. The £500,000 plans include landscaping and an amphitheatre to create a new open space that we'd like to dub the Rotherhithe Embouchement. A planning committee will make a decision on the scheme later this week.

Last Updated 19 January 2010