Bleigiessen

One of the highlights of the Gibbs Building is the stunning sculpture 'Bleigiessen'. For details of this striking work, watch the short video below or scroll down for more information.

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Thomas Heatherwick Studio was commissioned to create this major work for a spectacular 30-metre-high vertical void in the NW corner of our international headquarters.

Consisting of 150 000 specially processed glass spheres, suspended on almost one million metres of fine stainless steel wire, the sculpture glows with a constantly shifting rainbow of colours. This effect was created through a unique process of sandwiching reflective 'dichroic' film within the glass.

Bleigiessen - 'lead-guessing' - is a New Year's Eve activity in central Europe. Lead is poured into water, producing extraordinary shapes from which your fortune can be predicted for the coming year.

Public tours

The Wellcome Trust runs public tours of 'Bleigiessen' on the last Friday of every month at 14.00. These tours are bookable, and anyone who is interested should contact Elayne Hodgson: e.hodgson@wellcome.ac.uk. In addition, tours can be arranged for groups, which will run at mutually convenient times.

Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick's work ranges from creating discrete objects, such as the 'B of the Bang' in Manchester, to designing cityscapes and the interface between them. He collaborates with practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, and together they harness architecture, art and design, to offer a different creative approach to art and design in the built environment.