Londoners give thumbs up to Olympic logo

By Rebecca Hewitt and Claire Hubble

When the Olympic Logo was revealed five years ago in June 2007, its design was met with controversy. Its appearance was compared to swastikas, crude sex acts and the word ‘Zion’, which offended Iranian officials.

We hit the streets of London to see how attitudes had changed towards the logo five years after the initial reveal. Roger Wilson, a 56-year-old from Islington, said: “It represents what the Olympic bid was based on, which was for the youth.” Student Bryony Swinger, 20, said: “It’s modern and I like the colours and use of Olympic rings.” As our video shows, not all Londoners have warmed to the logo, but many are embracing the Olympic spirit.Despite costing an impressive £400,000, the Olympic logo was seen as immature, and was subject to widespread ridicule in the press and by the British public. As the logo had come under much scrutiny it was important for organisers to make other designs related to the Olympics impressive.

The logo wasn’t the only design to come under fire initially. In 2010 the Olympic mascots and viewing structure were both revealed. The mascots, which were supposedly made from drops of molten steel from a factory in Bolton, were met with confusion. The one-eyed designs, named Wenlock and Mandenville were said to resemble cartoon aliens, not dissimilar to those in Disney Pixar’s Monster’s INC.

Although designers refused to disclose how much the mascots cost to design, organisers project that the mascots will rake in £16million from sales of mascot merchandise. This sum will predominantly come from the sales of soft toys, which seemed popular with children when initially revealed.

The 114.5 meter high ArcelorMittal Orbit structure was met with similar amounts of criticism.  The structure that was designed by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmand cost £20 million to construct. It was compared to a helter-skelter ride and was seen as an obstruction to the London sky-line.

However, as time passed and the anticipation for the Olympic games increased, the controversy seemed to die down and people have come to accept the designs.

Take a spin around Heatherwick’s exhibit

By Georgia Humphreys and Mahana Hunkin
Photograph by Mahana Hunkin, Georgia Humphreys (Pictured)

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A London bridge that folds into a circle every Friday, chairs that spin around like a “fairground ride” and a seed cathedral made up of 60,000 optical strands each embedded with its own seed. On display in the V&A Museum in South Kensington, Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary showcases the inspiration behind some of their mind-blowing modern designs, until September 30th.

The whole exhibit is testament to Thomas Heatherwick’s genius and is enjoyable for those of us who know as much about design as we do about 18th century Scottish poets, for only six pounds a ticket. Perhaps the best way to describe Heatherwick’s designs is to say they look like he had a bad, but beautifully creative, acid trip.

The most enjoyable bit of it all though, is before you step inside. Heatherwick’s spinning top- styled chairs are, coming in at 320 pounds, perhaps too expensive for the average visitor, or those of us stuck eating Ramen for dinner but “they’re great for all ages”. The chairs themselves can complete a full rotation when you sit, we know, we checked, and Henry, 12, remarked “it’s fun, but after a while they make you feel sick”.

The entire exhibition will have you questioning your life choices, as it features extravagant moving greeting cards Heatherwick made as a child, that make your store-bought cards seem like you were the least caring child on Earth. Meanwhile it becomes apparent relatively quickly that alarmingly odd shapes, and the clever repetition of shapes, form the overwhelmingly dominant part of Heatherwick Studio’s works.

Structurally sound, and making your house look as though a giant forgot one of his toys when visiting, you’ll leave the exhibit wishing you had a garden big enough for one of the Studio’s designs.

Can art be under house arrest?

By Rudy Hakeem and Yayoi Hassall

A spectacular tourist attraction opened in London this week, to tie in with London 2012. The pavilion at London’s Serpentine Gallery for this summer was created by the trio of artists who designed the Bird’s Nest stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

But the most famous of the three, Ai Weiwei, is unlikely to get the chance to see his installation. He has been under house arrest in China since 2011. The authorities there claim he has been arrested for tax evasion, though suspicions persist that it has more to do with his criticism of the Chinese authorities.  He had to work with his partners via Skype from his home in Beijing.

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, the Swiss architects of the Tate Modern, and Ai Weiwei were invited to contribute their work as part of the London 2012 Festival, for the Olympic Games. The temporary building, which is open to the public from 1 June to 14 October in Kensington Gardens, was designed to inspire visitors to look beneath the surface of the park covered by a floating platform roof.

Lirong Soon, 33, architect from Singapore:

Raised during up the Culture Revolution, Weiwei hopes for social change within his country and his work has had a large political influence in China.

One of the gallery assistants said: “An average of 1,200 people turn up daily to experience the pavilion. Some are art enthusiast whilst others are people who are here to enjoy this public space.”

Kim, a housewife from Korea, said: “I’m disappointed at the installation this year. I was here last year and I prefered how the exhibition was more lively with flowers. I don’t know who Ai Weiwei is, so I might not appreciate his message as much as others do.”

The Serpentine Gallery annually invites artist from around the world to contribute their pieces as part of their exhibition.

Iconic vessel’s new design is a Sark-cess

By Joseph Holding & Tom Harrison: Video written & presented by JH, edited & produced by TH. Photography by JH.

 

Visitors to the recently reopened Cutty Sark have reacted positively to the boat’s £50 million restoration.

The Greenwich-based tea clipper has undergone five years’ worth of major refurbishment after a fire caused considerable damage to its structure in 2007.

The new design sees the deck appear to rest upon a glass roof, while the entire underside of the ship can be observed inside a new, interactive museum.

Daniel Sutton, Creative Director for the project, said: “I believe that having creative control over all elements of the scheme has led to a completely integrated design.”

The design and presentation of the famous ship has been greeted with widespread praise by those who have visited the redeveloped area.

One returning UK expat observed: “£50 million is a lot of money to you and I, but in the great scheme of things, to preserve something historical, I don’t think it is. The test of time will be when people look back and think ‘Yes, that was money well spent’.”

Former Greenwich man John Rogers, who now lives in Aldershot, said: “It’s a trip back down memory lane. I used to live in the area and know the quayside very well, so I thought I’d come back and have a look. I’m very impressed.

“It’s preserving it for the next generation, and attracting more people into the area to spend their money.”

But not everybody agreed. Tim Speechly, from Cambridgeshire, said: “I love it but I hate the way that roof goes two-thirds of the way up the ship. In my opinion, it should be another two metres lower down so you can see more of the hull.

“But generally it’s very impressive, and it obviously accommodates a bigger museum now.”

Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, officially reopened the vessel to the public on April 25 after a 14-month delay prevented the completion of the conservation effort.

The regeneration of the site will ensure that no significant maintenance work will be required for at least 50 years.