Zephyrometer

Coordinates: 41°18′43″S 174°47′46″E / 41.31194°S 174.79611°E

Zephyrometer
Artist Phil Price
Type Kinetic art
Location Wellington, New Zealand

The Zephyrometer is a civic sculpture by Evans Bay, Wellington. It was made by Christchurch artist Phil Price and installed in 2003.[1] It is a kinetic sculpture consisting of a concrete cylinder holding a 26m tall needle which sways to show wind direction and speed (Wellington is known to Kiwis as "Windy Wellington"). The needle consists of fiberglass exterior around a wooden framework. It was damaged by lightning on August 14, 2014.

Zephyrometer was the second of five major wind sculptures commissioned by the Wellington Sculpture Trust over the period 2000 – 2010, which now make up the Meridian Wind Sculpture Walk. This is beside the main route from Wellington International Airport to the central city. Each sculpture shows a creative and different response to the wind by, in the order listed below, bending, pivoting, creating light, spinning and making sound – although some do more than one of these.

The five sculptures are Pacific Grass by Konstantin Dimopoulos, Zephyrometer by Phil Price, Tower of Light by Andrew Drummond, Wellington Urban Forest by Leon van den Eijkle, and Akau Tangi (roughly The Sighing Sound of the Wind) by Phil Dadson.

Lightning strike

On 14 August 2014 at approximately 2:30pm, the Zephyrometer was struck by lightning during a hail storm, leaving the tip of the sculpture frayed. A spokesman for Wellington City Council confirmed that the "needle" is "completely stuffed" [2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New sculpture to gauge Wellington's wind". Wellington City Council. 2003-11-10. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  2. ↑ "Sculpture struck by lightning". Dominion Post. 14 Aug 2014. Retrieved 14 Aug 2014.

External links