Rise (sculpture)

Rise (also unofficially known as the Balls of the Falls,Belfast Ball,Westicle and Broadway Junction Art Piece), is a concept £400,000public art spherical metal sculpture by Wolfgang Buttress. It is 37.5 metres (123 ft) high and 30 metres (98 ft) wide and was constructed in early 2011 in the centre of the Broadway roundabout, at the junction of the Westlink and M1 motorway, a main gateway to the city where (as of 2009) more than 80,000 cars on average flow past it each day.

Rise is visible for miles around the city. The area is part of a multi-million pound road improvement programme. It is the biggest public art sculpture in Belfast. Work on Rise was due to begin in August 2009 and end in October 2009, however due to delays the completion date was changed to March 2011. It was finally completed in September 2011, nearly two years behind the original schedule. When completed it became Belfast's largest public artwork.

Construction

The globe-shaped, white and silver steel sculpture is a representation of a new sun rising to celebrate a new chapter in the history of Belfast.