Tower of Now: Engineering a Portrait of Place

A Celebration of Multiculturism

The Tower of Now, a sculpture by artist Saad Qureshi, has been constructed in Bradford as part of the city’s UK City of Culture 2025 celebrations.

Constructed in steel, wood and fibreglass, and coated in sandy plaster, the sculpture references architectural motifs from mosques, temples, pagodas, synagogues and Bradford’s gothic-style City Hall. Qureshi who was raised in the city from the age of eight, drew inspiration from his early memories of vibrant markets and multicultural communities.

Quote

“It’s not a piece about religion — it’s about how the architecture surrounding us anchors us to a specific locality. It’s a portrait of community — the big groups of people that come together to attend these buildings.”

Saad Qureshi, Artist

Designing with Reuse in Mind

We delivered a structural solution that prioritised both integrity and material reuse. With the temporary sculpture scheduled for deconstruction after a year, we sought every opportunity to reduce waste and lower embodied carbon.

Located on the site of a former nine-storey car park, now transformed into a pocket park, we recognised the opportunity to retain and repurpose the existing foundations. Creating a durable base suitable for future art installations and saving on both embodied carbon and construction costs.

Above ground, we sourced reclaimed steel to form the structural frame. The sculpture's form allowed us to use shorter sections that typically go unused in conventional buildings with large spans — reducing waste and avoiding the use of virgin steel on the temporary structure.

Purposeful Engineering in Public Art

Given the structure’s height and distinctive form, wind performance posed a critical design constraint. We used spectral frequency testing to mitigate resonance effects and modelled the irregular geometry to minimise vortex shedding. Ensuring structural integrity without compromising the artist’s vision.

The result is a sculpture that realises artistic ambition through robust, sustainable design.