The City of Westminster Council on behalf of the Mayor and Citizens of Westminster approached Wildstone and Architen Landrell with a very interesting design challenge.  In the centre of Piccadilly Circus is one of the most iconic statues in London, Shaftesbury Memorial, more commonly known as Eros*.

Eros has a long history of being a target for spirited personal attention in the lead up to New Years Eve.  As a way to protect the aluminium sculpture and get everyone in the West End ready for Christmas, the idea was to have Eros in the centre of a larger than life Snow Globe.

On 20 September 2013, Architen Landrell was awarded the contract to design, manufacture, test, and install the Worlds Largest Snow Globe over Eros. We won the job because of our ability to: work with fabrics and air-filled structures, satisfy regulations in working in a very public area and fast track a project of this scale.

The Snow Globe will be up for everyone to enjoy throughout the holidays until 4 January.

Entertainment Mecca:

With its prominent position, the octagon base of the Snow Globe houses eight of some of Europes highest resolution LED video screens. The screens will broadcast an outdoor advertising campaign created by Wildstone, industry leaders in outdoor marketing.

Overcoming Challenges:

As a Snow Globe of this scale has never been attempted before, we installed it (minus Eros) in our car park earlier this month.  This was part of our research and development strategy to ensure that when we went live in London, everything would run seamlessly.

Our Site Operatives worked around the clock last week to meet the completion date of 17 November. The lights, video and snow is being switched on 18 November at 18:00.  Im sure it will catch everyones attention its already trending on Social Media.

Besides the logistical challenges of closing roads and bringing a 30 ton crane into central London for the installation, we had less than two months to take it from concept to completion in the heart of one of the busiest intersections in London.

Festive Touch:

When asked about the Snow Globe and its impact on the area, Conservative Councillor Robert Davis, deputy leader of the council, said: “We believe this is an exciting project which will add a real sense of entertainment and wonder around an iconic landmark at Christmas. Eros will be able to add its own festive touch to the West End.”

Facts & Figures:

• Fabric: 685 m2 of clear PVC fabric weighing a half ton
• Inflation: 2 fans running (alternately) to keep the globe pressurised at all times
• Snow Blowers: 8 snow blowing machines strategically installed around the inside of the base
• Snow: Artificial – enough to create a blizzard around Eros
• Air Pressure in the globe: .029 psi
• Volume of Air in the globe: 1,800 cubic metres or 63,565 cubic feet
• The Base: 12 meters across, 4 meters high, made of steel & filled with ballast weighing 21 tons
• The Globe: 15 meter diameter
• Entertainment: High resolution LED video screens 2.5m x 2.5m each and of course the Snow!
• Height: 19m 5 storeys

Eros*:

The monument, erected in 1892, is topped by Alfred Gilbert’s winged nude statue originally intended to be the Greek god Anteros, sometimes referred to as The Angel of Christian Charity but generally known as his brother, Eros.

Acknowledgements:

David Dexter Associates, Structural Engineer

XL Video, Video Screens