Special made for the sixteenth Good wood Festival of Speed, Gerry Judah has designed and produced a central piece sculpture for the Festival. The sculpture which is sponsored by Lotus, has six historic “Lotus Formula 1” cars that have been tied into the shape of a half-hitch knot. The sculpture is daring and beautiful, and more spectacular than ever before.
The sculpture is a triangular section, each of the three sides is what we call a continuously variable curve developable surface. This means that we start with flat sheet metal curves that can be rolled up and joined into three dimensional luxurious shapes. The sculpture itself weighs 60 tonnes and it has six classic Formula 1 cars hanged to it: the Lotus 32B (Jim Clark 1965), Lotus 49B (Graham Hill 1968), Lotus 72E (Emerson Fittipaldi 1973), Lotus 79 (Mario Andretti 1978), Lotus 99T (Ayrton Senna 1987) and the latest Lotus F1 Team challenger. The sculpture is 98% empty space. In automobile terms this would be a monocoque body, a tribute to the legendary designer and Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s introduction of monocoque chassis construction to automobile racing.
Photography: DAVID BARBOUR
Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.