DESIGN

Aluminium Overhead at London's St. Pancras

London's St. Pancras, built in 1868, is a jewel of Victorian architecture.
17 August, 2016
Since major renovations were completed in 2007, the historic train station has also welcomed travelers with truly modern flair.
The latest public art installation to greet visitors at the historic St. Pancras International, situated in the London borough of Camden, is "Thought of Train of Thought," an enormous 18-meter-long twisted blade made entirely of aluminium and suspended by wires from the train station's Barlow shed roof. The aluminium fan rotates slowly above the railway, creating an intentional calming effect as part of the vision artist Ron Arad planned.
Images: Twitter
Arad, an Israeli sculptor who is internationally recognized for public art installations in Madrid and Tokyo, and other work in Paris and New York, says the aluminium art creates a hypnotic effect. It's his hope that "Thought of Train of Thought" resonates with the 48 million people who pass through St. Pancras each year.

The CIG Architecture firm hired specially trained aluminium boat builders to execute Arad's vision. The work is done through Terrace Wires, a public art commission of the Royal Academy of Arts now in its fourth year and designed specifically for the St. Pancras location. The new sculpture, with its shimmery motion and its mirror effect of colors and activity from the Eurostar lines below, will be on display until January.
Image: Ron Arad
Arad, who recently made headlines for his role in renovating the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. – site of the infamous 1972 U.S. election scandal – works extensively in architecture and studio design. He loves to create and innovate in steel and aluminium, delivering masterpieces whether in downtown public art or interior-space décor. His creations are available through longstanding relationships with international companies that include Magis and Moroso, reflecting his love of metal and metalwork.

The artist also explores technology in his creations. His summer exhibit, in the Annenberg Courtyard at the Royal Academy, is a kinetic piece called "Spyre." The 16-meter tall sculpture is made of segments of weathering steel, at joints that move at different speeds, with a camera eye that peers around the courtyard and projects what it sees onto a wide screen. As part of the exhibit, Arad designed limited edition Spyre lamps in collaboration with Ingo Maurer, to make the same experience available in miniature.

The 3D-printed lamp incorporates aluminium, along with steel and plastics, and is currently displayed with other Arad pieces at the Ben Brown Fine Arts gallery in London's Mayfair neighborhood. A wide range of materials, from cedar and hand-blown glass to various steel treatments, is reflected in the exhibit.
Some Brown gallery pieces echo earlier Arad creations, which – like "Train of Thought" and "Spyre" – explore unusual shapes, with curves and angles often seen in Arad furniture designs. Chairs, tables, vases – even table serviceware – are all within Arad's range. So is an impressive range of architectural projects across the globe that integrate aluminium and other nontraditional materials into their design. They include a Marrakesh villa in Morocco, the Mediacite in Liege, Belgium, and a Covent Garden site.
Images: Ron Arad
The latter, for Belgo, is a 350-seat beer hall with a more intimate restaurant, connected by a bridge that spans the kitchen with its modern industrial décor. Brick arches, cast-iron columns and stone flooring are put to great effect along with stainless steel mesh, aluminium benches, galvanized steel benches and copper partitions. It reflects the breadth of materials that Arad might choose for any of his projects.

The floating, wing-like installation at St. Pancras is just the latest to reflect the breadth of Arad's expertise in a long and internationally acclaimed career – and the novel choices he makes in his art.