Meccano at the Vintage Festival 2010

An ambitious art installation constructed entirely out of Meccano was created by hundreds of people at 2010's most stylish new festival, Vintage at Goodwood.

"I was delighted to be invited by the Vintage Festival to work with Meccano on a temporary monument to the visionary designer and inventor - R. Buckminster Fuller. With assistance from Portsmouth and Brighton University students (and visitors to the festival) I used over 40,000 pieces of Meccano to construct a large 'BuckyBall' structure."

Co Founder of Vintage at Goodwood , the designer Wayne Hemingway, personally invited Meccano to get involved in the festival celebrating five decades of British cool after he recalled fond memories of playing with Meccano as a child.

"Meccano is one of Britain's most enduring inventions that has inspired and encouraged creative minds for generations. The idea that every visitor to Vintage at Goodwood can contribute to an architectural Meccano artwork is truly in the participatory spirit of this festival,” said Hemingway.

Lead and designed by sculptor Will Nash, festival goers helped to create the eight metre long monument out of more than 50 spherical ‘Bucky Balls’ inspired by visionary inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller. The finished balls were put together into a mass of structural bubbles to create a fantastic spectacle. 40,000 pieces of traditional Meccano – the classic construction toy brand that has inspired generations of designers and engineers – were used to create the piece over the three day festival. On the final day of the festival, the Bucky Balls were be given away to visitors.

Sue Barratt, Country Manager of Meccano UK, added: “We are thrilled to be part of such an ambitious and exciting project. Vintage at Goodwood is the perfect stage to demonstrate the creativity people can have with Meccano; it really is a toy with no limitations other than your imagination. We’ve advanced massively in recent years and we hope this iconic design will get people interested in today’s Meccano and the process of design and construction.”

Nash will be worked in collaboration with Artworks, who project manage art commissions and collections for public and private projects; a team of 14 volunteers including three Portsmouth University engineering students and four University of Brighton 3D Design students who cast an expert eye over proceedings as well as festival goers who are invited to contribute to the build of the structure.
 
Will Nash said: “I am very excited to be building a huge Meccano Buckminsterfullerine structure at the Vintage at Goodwood Festival. It is a great opportunity for me to work with visitors to the festival and experiment with pure geometric form on a large scale in what looks to be a very special environment.”
 
This project follows on from James May’s Toy Stories which saw a team of engineering students build a Meccano bridge across the Leeds Liverpool canal last year.

More information about Meccano at www.meccanouk.co.uk