B of the Bang to be dismantled
Manchester City Council's executive committee has today made a decision to dismantle Thomas Heatherwick's B of the Bang sculpture at Sportcity in east Manchester.
The committee approved option 2 in a report and said parts of the sculpture, the core and possibly the legs, will be stored for possible use as part of a rebuilt structure.
The rebuilt structure may be constructed on the Sportcity site, either in its current location or elsewhere on the site as part of its comprehensive redevelopment.
Following today's meeting, leader of Manchester City Council Sir Richard Leese said: "B of the Bang is a magnificent artistic statement that was just right for modern Manchester. It is regrettable that technical problems have undermined that artistic vision.
"After taking into account expert views, the only practical alternative is to take the sculpture down. We have committed ourselves to continue to work with the artist to determine whether there is a robust and affordable strategy for the re-construction of the structure on the site.
"We have, however, made it clear that there will be no city council funding made available to support it's rebuilding even if the further work shows this to be a feasible option."
