''Breathing'' is a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

situated on the roof of the Peel Wing of

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...

, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The sculpture commemorates

journalists A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and associated staff who have been killed whilst carrying out their work. It consists of a 10-metre (32 ft) high glass and steel column, with a torch-like, inverted spire shape, decorated with words. It also features a poem by

James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. At night the sculpture gently glows, then at 10 pm every evening (coinciding with the broadcast of the ''

BBC Ten O'Clock News ''BBC News at Ten'' formerly known as the ''BBC Ten O'Clock News'' or the ''Ten O'Clock News'' is the flagship evening news programme for the BBC News channel and British television channel BBC One on weekdays and Sundays at 10:00pm. Huw Edwa ...

'') the memorial shines a beam of light into the sky for 30 minutes, which reaches up to . It was reported in 2012 that the BBC was not turning the sculpture's lights on as often as it should be. The memorial was officially unveiled on 16 June 2008 by the UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

. The sculpture is by Spanish artist

Jaume Plensa Jaume Plensa i Suñé (; born 23 August 1955) is a Spanish visual artist, sculptor, designer and engraver. He is a versatile artist who has also created opera sets, video projections and acoustic installations. He worked with renowned Catalan th ...

, working in collaboration with the Broadcasting House architect Sir Richard MacCormac and his team at MJP Architects, Modus Operandi

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

consultants and the engineers Whitby Bird & Partners. It was commissioned and selected as a result of an international competition for the BBC's public art scheme. The shape of the sculpture is inspired by the spire of the adjoining

All Souls Church All Souls Church, All Soul's Chapel, and variations, may refer to: United Kingdom *Church of All Souls, Bolton *All Souls' Church, Halifax *All Souls Church, Hastings *All Souls' Church, Blackman Lane *All Souls Church, Langham Place * All Souls C ...

, and the radio mast on the roof of Broadcasting House. The architecture critic Ellis Woodman, of ''

Building Design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complica ...

'' magazine, called ''Breathing'' the "most misconceived public artwork in London since the Queen Mother's gates".

References

External links

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''Breathing'' – a new sculpture for Broadcasting House
{{Portal bar, BBC, Journalism, London, Visual arts Monuments and memorials in London Outdoor sculptures in London BBC offices, studios and buildings Glass works of art Steel sculptures in England 2008 sculptures Sculptures by Jaume Plensa