Felling the towers - 24/8/2008
Photo: BBC web site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/7578266.stm
Sheffield's landmark 70 year old cooling towers were demolished at 02.00 GMT today.
Links to video and BBC web site description of the towers falling.
[Previously updated 27/9/2007]
These two cooling towers above are on the edge of Sheffield, where I live, in South Yorkshire, England. They are next to the vast Meadowhall shopping centre, and the Tinsley Viaduct of the M1 motorway. Taking a leaf out of Soweto's book (see also the picture on the right), 
there is a campaign to turn them into massive works of public art to reflect what Sheffield is now: "green, creative and different". Funds are stacking up to make the project a reality. The Channel 4 TV company is committed to the idea. But there is a problem. Eon, owners of UK electricity company Powergen and the towers, wants to demolish them.
If you would like to help prevent this, and support the towers being transformed, here are some things you can do:
- sign this online petition and encourage others to do so;
- write to Eon's UK Chief Executive - Dr Paul Golby - paul.golby"AT"eon-uk.com;
- switch from Powergen to an alternative supplier, for example Ecotricity.
You can also "show your face" in a "picture petition" that is currently being created, by sending a picture of yourself, or the towers, or of you holding the phrase 'THE TOWERS ARE OURS' to go.sheffield"AT"gmail.com.
UPDATE: 27 Septemer 2007
A NEW
ART WORK FOR THE CITY
We wanted a massive space for public art, like
the Tate Modern turbine hall, like the Gasometer in Oberhausen, Germany. We
thought that a bold, creative, dynamic gesture in these two structures, next to
the biggest motorway in the country, would be a brilliant way to capture the
world’s attention. To make people think about Sheffield. To change what the
city means.
We’ve spent the last two years trying to achieve
this, and to convince the owners of the towers (Eon) and the leadership of the
city that this is a good idea.
But now we have to face facts: Eon will not
budge in their determination to demolish the towers. This is despite a costed
and timed proposal for a work of art in the towers, by an internationally
acclaimed artist. This is despite all the work and goodwill of the people of
Sheffield.
We think that this is a waste and a tragedy.
Eon, and the city, have missed an opportunity to do something inspirational
here.
------
However. In place of the towers, there is the
possibility of bringing a new artwork to the city. Eon have identified some
funding, and have also offered a piece of land on which to site the new work.
If Sheffield can get a beautiful, challenging
and amazing piece of art, that changes what the city means in other people’s
heads, then we want to see it happen.
But, we see the following approach as crucial if
the project is to achieve this:
1) The art has to be amazing. We want something
that changes the game in Sheffield, something that people from other cities
come to see, to experience. We want something challenging. We do not want
something inoffensive, family friendly, or bland. We do not want a stainless
steel phoenix. We have enough of those.
2) This has to be a real project. Though there
is currently some money on the table for a work of art, there is no process to
decide what to do with that money. We have to agree on a delivery structure: we
feel that the Big Art Trust are best place to pull this project together, to
set out how the project is going to work, and start to make it happen.
3) It has to be art led. We want an expert
curator to lead the process. We want to set up a steering group to manage the
project, and work with the curator. This group should be drawn from the wider
Sheffield
community: local
stakeholders, people from arts, culture and local government who share our
vision for a world class piece of public art.
4) It has to be a viable project. This project
needs money and administrative support. Funding for this should be drawn from
the money that Eon have identified. It needs to be able to stand up on its own.
5) We’ll need more money. £500 000 is a good
start, but we’ll need to find other funding to achieve the quality of art we
want.
6) We need to involve the community. We
recommend that an open community consultation event be organised at the
earliest opportunity in
Sheffield
, involving Sheffield City Council , Eon, the Big Art Trust and
community stakeholders to make the wider public aware of this new proposal, and
to give them the opportunity to air views on how it should now be taken
forward.
7) This project needs integrity. It needs to
exist in its own right, and be led by people who want to put art first.
Decisions about the art need to be led by people from the art world. (You
wouldn’t ask an artist to build a power station, would you?). We see
professional support and expert advice, along with wider community involvement,
as essential to its success.
-----
If a project that meets these criteria can be
established, we are very willing to be involved in it.
We think it is better to try to make something
happen than to walk away.
Sheffield is the city we love. We’ll miss the
cooling towers very much.
Thanks
GO X
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