Decommissioned oil rig transformed into See Monster art installation
An oil rig that spent three decades in the North Sea before it was retired last year is being transformed into an interactive art installation in Weston-super-Mare, UK.
Called 'See Monster', the 450-tonne structure is the brainchild of design company Newsubstance.
Described as a "celebration of the great British weather and British eccentricity", visitors will have the opportunity to travel up and inside the structure, which features a waterfall, a seated amphitheatre and an art installation. When complete, it will also be covered in plants and trees.
Newsubstance said: "Guests will pass behind the thrashing cascade of a 12-metre waterfall, and under the shimmering scales into the cavernous underbelly of the beast.
"Within the wild garden, they will find hidden routes to explore the rehabilitated See Monster, where embedded throughout will be new approaches to a more sustainable and greener future.
"They may encounter sudden showers of rainfall from above or find yourself engulfed within a playful collection of clouds.
"Whatever the weather, See Monster will encourage interaction and playfulness at the heart of Britain’s cultural cornerstone: creating the sense of children gleefully jumping in puddles, whilst adults grumble at drizzly grey skies and strangers bond over something mutually shared."
"As a creation of new from old, the regeneration of the rig, transformed from its former life, will champion the role of re-use and creativity within our future."
See Monster is part of Unboxed: Creativity in the UK, a celebration of creativity, taking place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and online from March to October 2022.
The structure arrived at Weston-super-Mare on 13 July and is expected to open to guests this summer.
See Monster Newsubstance art installationCoastal heritage gets a £1m boost from UK Government
'The worst views in the world': Banksy opens hotel overlooking West Bank barrier
FEATURE: Attractions – Banksy’s Dismaland


Therme appoints UK CEO as £250m Therme Manchester gets planning approval

Construction work to begin on Universal Resort Beijing's second phase 'by 2025'

Sparcstudio gives Center Parcs' Aqua Sana concept an extensive forest-inspired makeover

Studio Apostoli plans wellness oasis in Mongolian national park

Soho House to expand with new properties in UK, North America and Latin America

Art Processors win Fast Co Design Award for Sydney Opera House 50th anniversary synchronised show

September reopening for Britain's oldest lido following £9m transformation

Rixos to open Turkish-inspired beachfront spa resort in Dubai Islands

Rosewood’s second Austrian Asaya spa to open in restored 15th-century castle

1 Hotel Mayfair launches with Bamford Wellness Spa and biophilic design by GA Group

Otherworld Philadelphia is a place where 'anything is possible'

Mandarin Oriental opens first retreat in Greece and announces upcoming Sardinian property and spa

Third Space joins Six Senses at luxury development The Whiteley

GymNation – owned by JD Gyms – opens latest club in Dubai and plans Middle East expansion

Entertainment resort and waterpark planned for Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Plans revealed for US$2bn Oklahoma theme park

Nike gets into the health club market with the launch of group exercise studios

Canyon Ranch receives additional US$150m investment from VICI Properties to fund expansion

Communal bathhouses and self-care inspire LA's upcoming wellness club, Hume

Foster + Partners slated to design Equinox Resort Amaala

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios' Eden Project Dundee will celebrate myth-makers and alchemists

Noa* creates elemental spa for alpine eco-resort in Austria

Meow Wolf opens The Real Unreal psychedelic experience in Grapvine, Texas

Boutique Greek island retreat unveils new spa with waterfall treatment rooms

PLP Architecture's Mandarin Oriental Bankside will be part of UK's first operationally fossil fuel-free mixed-use development

Fletcher Priest creates new design for Therme Manchester

Buro Happold hosts active transport event at World Congress of Architecture in Copenhagen

Aardman Animation and design studio, Katapult, launch new attraction concept

Anotherform and Fluxprojects create immersive fitness concept for Blok in London

FaulknerBrowns delivers new Lee Valley Ice Centre with two Olympic rinks
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates
Early-onset MS inspired Adria Lake to explore resilience as both a healing modality and an approach to design in the creation of her new home and company headquarters in Colorado