The ‘CityLink’ walking route is a public art trail for the Co-op Live arena in Manchester City Centre. Conceptualised, designed and delivered by NEWSUBSTANCE to encourage sustainable travel choices to and from the venue, Stage One was honoured to be involved in this 11-part installation, a legacy that will remain for years to come.
“It has been a pleasure working with Stage One on these installations having partnered on successful previous projects. The team’s collaborative nature and dedicated hard work ensured the successful fabrication and installation of key pieces for Co-op Live’s 11-part public art trail walking route.”
Mike Birch, Technical Director, NEWSUBSTANCE
THE BIG M:
Weighing in at 15 tonnes, ‘the big M’ is the final installation of the trail, the Co-op Live arena visible in the background to provide a photo opportunity for visitors.
A colossal structure, over five metres in height and ten metres in width, the M was created in three sections, two legs and a central V shape. It was formed using 12mm mild steel plate. Created by first pre-welding 200x200mm steel boxes that were then fabricated together with gaps of equal width between them to provide visibility through the structure.
We manufactured bespoke jigs for its transportation to site. Located on uneven ground, there was limited space available to manoeuvre an installation of this scale and therefore a site inspection was carried out to identify the optimal position that would allow the crane to be able to lift off the truck as well as lower into the new location.
The placement area was pre-marked, and the legs lifted into position and bolted into the floor. The centre V was lifted into place, sandwiched between the two legs and supported by the crane whilst our team up high in a cherry picker secured it into place.
All materials were pre-fitted at Stage One, the inner mirrored stainless steel, the outer powder coated in black with LED extrusion to create the lightbar that illuminates the letter from dusk.
These projects also form part of the ‘CityLink’ public art trail for the Co-op Live arena in Manchester City Centre:
Light Antennas
Hive Tunnel
Climate Pledge Arch
Walk This Way
