Ken Shuttleworth attends the completion of UK's tallest freestanding piece of public art

The UK’s tallest piece of freestanding public art, designed by architect Make for the University of Nottingham, was completed yesterday.

Ken Shuttleworth of Make was on site to see the 60m sculpture, called Aspire, being craned into position.

Shuttleworth said: “Creating a sculptural form on this scale and for this setting has been a fascinating design challenge.”

Aspire is three times as tall as the Angel of the North at Gateshead and 8m taller than Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square.

Its total height comprises an 8m concrete column topped by a 52m steel mast. The mast, which weighs almost 50 tonnes, is made of 1,250m of hollow, 140mm-diamater steel tubing, formed into a lattice design that transfers loads efficiently down to the ground.