The newest addition to Belfast’s landscape has won its first international award.

RISE, the public artwork on the city’s Broadway Roundabout, won the 'Small Projects' category at the annual Institution of Structural Engineers' Structural Awards, which were presented in London on 2 November.

The 37.5 metre high sculpture was designed by the Nottingham artist Wolfgang Buttress.

A sculpture would not usually be nominated for these awards. It is thought RISE is one of the first such structures to have won one.

In their commendation, the judges said: "Pure sculptural structures are amongst the most difficult to achieve successfully, as everything is on view, and will be scrutinised down to the finest detail. It is therefore a real pleasure to find a creation such as this, which admirably projects the artist’s original vision and at the same time celebrates the aesthetic beauty of pure, efficient structure for its own sake."

Other winners on the night included the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, the redevelopment of King's Cross Station in London, the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne, the VanDusen Botanical Gardens in Vancouver and the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The Peace Bridge in L’Derry was also commended in its category.

The RISE sculpture consists of over 65,000 individual parts and was manufactured by M Hasson and Sons Ltd of Rasharkin.

It is a metre taller than the spires of nearby St Peter`s Cathedral, three metres taller than the Albert Clock and twice the height of Gateshead`s Angel Of The North.

It is also just 8.5 metres shorter than the Statue Of Liberty and weighs the equivalent of six double-decker buses.

(IT)