Focus on B of the Bang and explore the Structural problems and legal action.
The tip of one of the 2.1 m (6.9 ft) spikes detached and fell from the sculpture on 6 January 2005, only six days before the official unveiling. After inspection, the event went ahead as planned.
Four months later, in May 2005, a second spike had to be cut off by firefighters after it was discovered hanging loose. At that time the sculpture was closed off to the public, and the junction and pathway near the sculpture were temporarily closed. As a result, some of the joints were re-welded, with equipment put in place to prevent excessive movement. This consisted of retrofitting tip weights to 70% of the spikes' weights.Despite these modifications, B of the Bang remained fenced off, prompting a local newspaper campaign to 'Get It Sorted'. In May 2006 a total of nine spikes were removed from the sculpture and taken away for metallurgical analysis, to discover the stresses being placed on the steel.Weld defects were identified within the sculpture, which cracked when wind blew through it. Weights affixed to the tips to reduce vibrations did not solve the problem. Replacing the spikes with heavier steel was proposed, at a cost of £3.5 million, with a reduction of the size of the spikes that the council described as "unacceptable on aesthetic grounds". Another option would have been to replace the spikes with carbon/glass fibre composite, which would have cost around £3 million.It was announced in October 2007 that Manchester City Council were taking legal action against the makers of the sculpture, with the aim of completing the necessary repairs to the sculpture. In November 2008, this culminated in an out-of-court settlement being reached between Manchester City Council, the project's designers Thomas Heatherwick Studio Ltd, and the engineering and construction subcontractors Packman Lucas Ltd, Flint and Neill Partnership and Westbury Structures Ltd. The agreement was to pay the council £1.7m in damages for breach of contract and negligence.
metallurgical Manchester Thomas Heatherwick Manchester City Council