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Ian Ritchie Architects won a competition to design a monument that would serve as a symbol of 21st century Dublin, Ireland. The monument was to be built for the year 2000 and was called Millennium Spire. However, the Monument of Light was surrounded by controversy and protests and was not completed until 2003.
About the Monument:
Location: O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland
Height: 120 meters (394 feet)
Diameter: From 3 meters (10 feet) at the base, gradually becoming more slender at the top, rising to a diameter of only 15 centimeters (6 inches)
Weight: 126 tons
Sway: Maximum of 1.5 meters (about 5 feet movement in extreme wind); the top 12 meters (about 39 feet at the top) has 11,884 holes drilled through the metal.
These perforations, each 15 millimeter (about 1/2 inch) in diameter, allows wind to pass through the structure.
Construction Materials and Design: Hollow, stainless steel cone. Up to approximately 10 meters (33 feet) from the base, the surface is polished and with a design. The tube is generally highly reflective with a light beacon on top. A concrete foundation has 9 piles to anchor the structure.
Bolts: 204 hold together stainless steel plates
Thickness: The cone is hollow, but the steel is from 35 to 10 millimeters thick (from 1.4 inches thick at the base to 1/2 inch thick at the top)
Architect: Ian Ritchie
In the Words of the Architect:
"It has its roots in the ground and its light in the sky. The bronze base is flush with the surrounding paving, allowing individuals and groups to stand on the base and touch the spire surface. The base incorporates a spiral alluding to the continuity of Ireland’s history and an expanding future. The historical role of bronze in the development of Irish art is continued into the future as the base acquires both the patina from the Irish climate and the golden polish of human contact.
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Sources: The Spire, Visit Dublin; Ian Ritchie Architecture Projects [accessed November 10, 2014]
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