Dongoor Plaza - College lawn re-opens as statue plans seen
Dangoor Plaza opens and plans for a questionably looking statue are seen for the first time.
The Dangoor Plaza was opened on Wednesday, allowing access to the renovated space for students, staff and the public.
The works, originally scheduled to be complete by the beginning of this term, are the result of a £5 million donation from the Dangoor family and the Exilarch's foundation. The Dangoor family say "Our family has a long history in South Kensington and many of us are also Imperial College alumni".
The donation has been used to transform the plaza, as well as funding a cancer research centre on the South Kensington campus and The Invention Rooms at White City.
The sculpture, called ALERT, will weigh 67 tonnes and be comprised of a type of steel called Corten. It will stand 6.12 meters tall, 2.7m wide and 3.9m, um, deep.
The, er, shaft, will be 1.14m in girth and 81cm off the ground.
Donated by alumnus Brahmal Vasudevan and his wife Shanthi Kandiah, the piece will be installed at a prominent location where Imperial College road used to run. The suggested positioning can be seen in the accompanying images. The figure will be inserted into the South Kensington landscape in Summer 2022.
The sculpture is the latest work of renowned artist Antony Gormley, whose previous work includes the widely-known sculpture the Angel of the North, which remains the largest sculpture in Britain. On his work, Gormley said "Through the conversion of anatomy into an architectural construction I want to re-asses the relation between body and space. Balancing on the balls of the feet while squatting on its haunches and surveying the world around it the attitude of this sculpture is alive, alert and awake".
He added "The work will beckon towards the passers-by on Exhibition Road, providing a point of interest and intrigue, and encouraging a closer look".
The renovations will leave the most central part of Imperial College's South Kensington campus with 250 meters of extra green space, with parking spaces and part of Imperial College road removed. The road has now been pedestrianised. Deliveries to the College can still be made using this section of the road, however planning documents state that this will generally be kept to the early morning hours, leaving the area pedestrian-only for the majority of the day.
Most significantly, a 3m wide path has been added diagonally across the Queen's Lawn, connecting the SAF and Sherfield buildings. The path and surrounding areas are lit up by ground lights which will provide illumination for people using the path after sunset.
Effort has been made to remove unnecessary changes in levels, making the whole plaza more accessible to everyone. Particular care seems to have been taken to avoid damage to the trees that line Imperial College Road.
The Plaza makes up part of Imperial College's "Masterplan", commissioned in 2018 with architects Allies and Morrison to set out "a vision for the best version of the campus we can imagine".
The Masterplan includes potential for "animated spaces" being installed around the Queen's Lawn, which can be altered to facilitate different activities depending on requirement.
Despite the opening of the plaza, the Queen's Tower will remain fenced off. Restoration of the Tower will commence in January 2022, and will involve replacing the copper domes at the top of the tower as well as generally cleaning the masonry and windows.
The tower has been fenced off for safety reasons, as debris recently fell, presenting a hazard to passers by.
Both the Plaza and sculpture came at no extra cost to the College.
