The Steel Man

The Steel Man is a true grass roots project with a simple idea to create a 32 metre landmark artwork that would act as a beacon for the Yorkshire region and a catalyst for change. The birth of the project began with the demolition of the Tinsley Towers in 2008, which also coincided with the one of the deepest economic recessions in living memory!

Funding a private sector led project of this scale was always going to be a big challenge, even though some help arrived in the form of several companies who pledged expertise and materials. Moving from an idea to a fully designed structure would also involve appointing a number of professionals to turn the concept into reality. It soon became clear the cost of the structural design was only one of many challenges. Another was the location chosen to build it. The land was a former landfill site known as Kimberworth Hill, on the edge of Rotherham overlooking the M1 and the city of Sheffield. Building foundations into landfill would escalate the budget even further. With each layer of discovery the overall budget to build the sculpture continued to expand, with no obvious solution in sight.

More recently the impact of Brexit and COVID 19 has disrupted our plans and delayed progress still further. While traditional funding routes still remain beyond our grasp (for now) we have decided to relaunch, with a global crowd funding campaign. More about this will be announced in the coming months. To begin with we have carried out a full revision of the structural engineering and come up with a lighter design approach, using less materials, and reducing the overall costs dramatically. A team of design engineers are now working to complete the design.

In the meantime the Heart of Steel sculpture, which is an integral part of the Steel Man project, has achieved enormous success since it was launched in 2015. Thousands of individuals from across the world have donated to add a name to the Heart of Steel to honour, celebrate, and remember loved ones, colleagues, and friends. Every donation carries with it an emotional story.