Following an international design competition in 2010, won by architects Tonkin Liu, the Widnes Future Flower is constructed of 120 galvanised steel petals around a central stem, standing 14m high and 3m in diameter.
3 mini wind turbines power 60 LED lights which reflect off the petals, with the intensity and colour determined by the wind speed and direction.
It stands between the river Mersey and the Sankey canal on a 300 acre site blighted by former chemical works but now reclaimed and remediated as a nature reserve.
It represents the combination of industry and nature on the same site, and the successful transformation of one of the many such areas in this part of the country.
The flower rises quite dramatically out of the mud flats and reed beds and, on a sunny day, makes a good mid-point on a stroll from the award-winning Catalyst Museum, through Spike Island park and upstream along the Mersey.
Unfortunately, on a bad day, it can all be just a bit too grey and, whilst in theory the lights are a lovely idea, in practice you don’t want to be in an isolated spot in Widnes, between a river and a canal, at night.
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