The first ring of Temenos goes up in Middlesbrough

The first ring of Temenos being lifted into place

Teesside's steel heritage is becoming part of a giant public art display on the North East corner of Middlehaven Dock - near the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.

Two large rings will form Temenos - and will cost over £2.5m.

It will take three days to lift the structure into place, as all in all Temenos will weigh 156 tonnes.

It is made from 8200 metres of stainless steel cable, and will span 110 metres.

The first ring spans 32 metres and draping through the centre of it is a number of large steel wires that will be woven, stretched and tightened to hold the second, slightly smaller ring in place.

New Middlesbrough icon?

The Project Manager of Tees Valley Regeneration, Sean Egan, told BBC Tees' Jonathan Kearsley he hopes Temenos will become the new landmark for Middlesbrough's postcards:

"The Transporter Bridge has always been an icon for the area, but I think the area needs some new icons for the 21st Century and Temenos will be one of those icons that will be the postcard of Middlesbrough for years to come.

How Temenos will hopefully look when it's finished in April 2010

"It represents a monumental state of confidence in the town that is at the forefront of a cultural renaissance."

The use of steel in Temenos was a deliberate reminder of the heritage of Teesside:

"The original thoughts of the artist were to capture some of the industrial heritage and you can see references to that in the piece." Explains Sean Egan.

Temenos is expected to be completed in April 2010, and on it's completion, work will start on one of the four other similar projects planned for across Teesside, all by world renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor, as part of a 10 year programme. That means one piece of artwork in each of the boroughs in our region.