{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1261679"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1261679/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HC9730/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HC9730/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2014HC9730","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HC9729","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HC9731","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HC9732","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HC9733","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HC9734","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HC9735","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HC9736","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1261679","accessionNumber":"E.287-2013","objectType":"Model","titles":[{"title":"London Olympic Cauldron model","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":" In late 2010 the Heatherwick Studio were commissioned by LOCOG (London Organising  Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) and Danny Boyle, artistic director of the  Olympic Opening Ceremony, to design the Olympic Cauldron for the London 2012 Games.  Designed as a moment rather than simply an object, the cauldron provided a memorable climax  to the ceremony. 204 individually sculpted copper ‘petals’, each representing a participating  country, were brought into the stadium during the athletes’ parade. Assembled into a radiating  pattern at the heart of the growing crowd of athletes, these precious objects were each ignited by  the Olympic torch. Watched by 90,000 people in the stadium, and an estimated global TV  audience of 900 million, these petals were carried upwards on stems in concentric waves,  converging to reveal a cauldron form with a unified flame.\r\nThe cauldron ‘moment’ provided an image which has proven to be one of the most significant,  lasting memories of a bold opening ceremony which itself was both critically well-received and  captured the public’s imagination. The Olympic Cauldron won Product Design of the Year at the  2012 Icon Magazine Awards, and was shortlisted for the Design Museum’s  Designs of the Year 2013.\r\nThis model is an exact scale replica of the Olympic cauldron. It was created by the Heatherwick Studio workshop for the V&A exhibition,  ‘Heatherwick Studio: Designing The Extraordinary’. \n\nThomas Heatherwick is one of the most important creative practitioners working in the UK today.  He has been a recipient of the Prince Philip Designers Prize and the London Design Medal, and  in 2004 became the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry. At the  heart of his Studio’s practice is a profound commitment to elegant, integrated design solutions  and the absolute dedication to materials research, prototyping, industrial collaboration, tactility,  texture – and above all, extraordinary form-making.\r\nHaving completed his MA at the Royal College of Art, Heatherwick established his Studio in  1994. Rejecting conventional classifications, his team explore the thresholds between standard  design categories. Celebrating the pure joy of creating 3-dimensional forms, the Heatherwick  Studio has earned an international reputation for creating works that span a breathtaking array of  disciplines: from architecture, furniture, product design and fashion, to engineering, sculpture,  transport and urban planning. The team’s work to date includes a spinning chair, a rolling  bridge, an expandable zip bag, a power station, an ‘endless’ bench and a brand new bus for  London.\r\n","physicalDescription":"Scale model of the 2012 London Olympic cauldron made in brass, copper-plated brass, and steel. The model consists of a circular base supporting 204 stems with copper 'petals'. Each petal is unique and hand-crafted to exactly reflect the cauldron used during the Opening Ceremony of the Games.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Thomas Heatherwick","id":"A24163"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Heatherwick Studio","id":"AUTH324028"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"copper","id":"AAT11020"},{"text":"brass","id":"AAT10946"},{"text":"steel","id":"AAT133751"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"The Heatherwick Studio are rare in maintaining all of their model-making activities in-house and are known for the level of fine craftsmanship applied to their models.","categories":[{"text":"Designs","id":"THES48968"},{"text":"Olympics","id":"THES260705"},{"text":"Architectural models","id":"THES274433"},{"text":"Architecture","id":"THES48993"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"PDP","id":"THES48595"},"images":["2014HC9730","2014HC9729","2014HC9731","2014HC9732","2014HC9733","2014HC9734","2014HC9735","2014HC9736"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES342934"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Model","id":"x40106"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"2012","earliest":"2012-01-01","latest":"2012-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Image © V&A/International Olympic Committee","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"730","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Measured by Nigel Bamforth"},{"dimension":"Width","value":"490","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Measured by Nigel Bamforth"},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"390","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Measured by Nigel Bamforth"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Model of the 2012 London Olympic cauldron, designed by Heatherwick Studio, London, 2012","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Model","id":"THES48867"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["E.287-2013"],"accessionNumberNum":"287","accessionNumberPrefix":"E","accessionYear":2013,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-09-19","recordCreationDate":"2013-03-11","availableToBook":false}}