0:00:02 > 0:00:05I'm Andy Scott, I'm a sculptor specialising in public artworks.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09I've been involved in a project for the past eight years that's become
0:00:09 > 0:00:11just about an obsession for me.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26I've sketched and drawn this project, I've lived and breathed it,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29and modelled it, welded it for the last eight years
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and now I'm going to see it the way I've never seen it before.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48This fantastic.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57These horses heads, the Kelpies,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00started off as a drawing on my girlfriend's kitchen table.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08It's just amazing to see them like this after looking at the plans
0:01:08 > 0:01:10so many times for so many years.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11Wow.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14They stand 30m high
0:01:14 > 0:01:18and took more than 300 tonnes of steel each to construct.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20And they now stand guard over the eastern entrance
0:01:20 > 0:01:24of the Forth and Clyde Canal between Falkirk and Grangemouth.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I don't know. I'm quite emotional, to be honest.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37My dad died six years ago, he was a Falkirk man.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41I just think that, you know, maybe he's up here looking at them
0:01:41 > 0:01:44from here, you know. It's just amazing.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09The Kelpies are my contribution to the Helix project, a massive
0:02:09 > 0:02:13£43 million regeneration scheme here in Scotland's central belt.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17But it all started a long time ago.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35This is me seven years ago in the spring of 2007.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I was throwing myself into an exciting new project -
0:02:38 > 0:02:41two vast pieces of public art to be known as the Kelpies.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44And inspired by the heavy horses that once powered Scotland's canals.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52In a sense, it's more to do with running my hands over them
0:02:52 > 0:02:55than taking pictures, because it's committed to my memory
0:02:55 > 0:02:57in a weird way and I can then go back with that
0:02:57 > 0:03:01sort of weird knowledge of fusion of brain and hands.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03And bash into these sculptures with big hammers
0:03:03 > 0:03:07because I know I've got a few things wrong. But no, it's been fantastic.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10It was the biggest commission I'd ever had
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and would take me two years, or so I thought.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24This is the Mackintosh Building of the Glasgow School of Art,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26where I came in the 1980s.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30I studied sculpture.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Back in those days, the first year course was a general study year
0:03:33 > 0:03:36where you tried a bit little bit of everything, and during
0:03:36 > 0:03:39the course of that year the idea was you would pick up enough knowledge
0:03:39 > 0:03:42or you would get a feeling for one subject in particular.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45And once I tried sculpture for the first time, that was it,
0:03:45 > 0:03:46I was hooked.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50I suppose this building really had quite a lot to do with it
0:03:50 > 0:03:53because you couldn't help but be influenced by the craftsmanship
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and the real sort of artisanship that is so evident in this building.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00The ironwork around it, the woodwork, was just fantastic,
0:04:00 > 0:04:01it was a real eye-opener.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I sold out my degree show, if I remember rightly.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Which was quite unusual back then.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09It really gave me a sort of bolster of my confidence
0:04:09 > 0:04:12that you could actually make a living out of selling sculpture.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14To put it in historical context,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17the famous Glasgow Boys of Stephen Campbell and Adrian Wisniewski
0:04:17 > 0:04:20were a couple of years before me in the art school,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23who were fantastically successful figurative painters.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25But as I recall, they hadn't been, or weren't many,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27successful figurative sculptors.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29And most of the sculpture at that time
0:04:29 > 0:04:31was very much in the abstract realm of art.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I stuck to my guns and then the fact that I sold out
0:04:33 > 0:04:36really did give me some fire in my belly in terms of
0:04:36 > 0:04:38there was potential to make a living from this.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41And by sticking to what I suppose at the time was looked at as
0:04:41 > 0:04:43a traditional or conservative way of making sculpture.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45But it didn't bother me two hoots.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52The sculpture that started it off in terms of the big outdoor stuff
0:04:52 > 0:04:54was the heavy horse at the M8 motorway.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59I love the idea of the heavy horse as a kind of emblem for the city.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03And for me, it was about the reinvention of the city of Glasgow
0:05:03 > 0:05:06from its once industrial history of the shipyards,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09which were all gone and the locomotive works were shut down.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12And the city was really inventing itself as the Garden Festival,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15the Year of Architecture and Design, the Year of Culture,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19and for me, the horse became emblematic of that reinvention.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21And it's something I try and do in nearly all my sculptures,
0:05:21 > 0:05:23is put a deeper level of narrative through them
0:05:23 > 0:05:26and if the very least that the public see is something that
0:05:26 > 0:05:29enhances their everyday life, then I've done my job.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32So the heavy horse is the one that really got me going.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35And after that, there was no looking back.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47This is the early stages of the pair of maquettes.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49This fellow here with his head down
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and this one here with the head raised.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53And as I say, these are the working models,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56and I'm just trying out the different forms of the horse.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57And a system for cladding them.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And to give you some idea of scale, this is one 10th scale,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03so this one is going to be 26m high,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and this fellow is going to be 29m high,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09which will make them among the biggest sculptures in Britain.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13The theme is the kelpie.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15The kelpie is a mythological Scottish sea horse,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19and for me there was this whole history of horses in terms
0:06:19 > 0:06:22of the agriculture and of course the canals.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Horses were used to draw the barges along the canal systems.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32If you can imagine, around the Falkirk area,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34all the foundries around the River Carron,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37there would have been heavy Clydesdales and heavy horses
0:06:37 > 0:06:39dragging materials between the various factories.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Of course, all the agriculture and farmland along the way of the canal
0:06:43 > 0:06:46would all have been ploughed and worked with these big horses.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57When I went over to see the big horses in Pollok Park,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Glasgow City Council as you know owns a few big Clydesdales.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03So I took some fantastic photographs, but in the process,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06actually running my hands over the necks of these big creatures,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09I realised I'd got the first take of the anatomy slightly wonky.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13So there's a fine line between abstraction and downright wrong.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15So unfortunately I was on the side of wrong.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17So I decided to remodel.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21As you can see from the pile of scrap steel in the corner,
0:07:21 > 0:07:22I had to do some surgery.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26All I've done here is drawn out the form of the horse.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29This one obviously head down. This fellow here with head up.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32In reality, when the boat displacement lock system works,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35this horse is going to dip forwards by 5m.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39And the other fellow will raise backwards by 5m,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41creating a 10m separation.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45The principle is that as they move inside their own basin of water,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47they'll displace enough water into the central lock to lift
0:07:47 > 0:07:51boats up and then they can pass on into the Forth and Clyde Canal.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54So if you like, it's a new gateway from the eastern edge
0:07:54 > 0:07:59of the River Carron and the Forth into the low-level canal system.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04It's going to be a very... extremely involved process
0:08:04 > 0:08:05to make them into reality.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Really we are talking about engineering or construction,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11fabrication on the scale of shipbuilding here.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Just beginning to feel my way into it.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16I've got until the end of... the beginning of May to get this
0:08:16 > 0:08:19part of the job finished. So it's full steam ahead,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22in amongst all the other projects I'm doing, so busy times.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28It all seemed to be going so well.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33So much so that Scottish Canals held a photo call to unveil the plans.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37I'll be getting some suntan off this.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41There's no money for them yet,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43so we're crossing our fingers for a Lottery grant.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46I'm calling this one Carnera.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48It was the biggest horse that ever lived in Britain,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50and he lived in Falkirk.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53He was named after the heavyweight champion boxer in 1932,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56an Italian monster guy. It's too good, isn't it?
0:08:56 > 0:08:58I've not come up with a name for this one yet.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08I've got two weeks get these things finished, so time is of the essence.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12But thereafter, these are simply working models
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and providing funding falls into place, then I anticipate probably
0:09:16 > 0:09:19maybe two to two and a half years
0:09:19 > 0:09:21to see them come to fruition in full-scale.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25I need to get the my finger out actually. Time you guys were away!
0:09:29 > 0:09:33The Kelpie maquettes, one-tenth of the size of the final sculptures,
0:09:33 > 0:09:34are going to be on public display.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37So they are on their way to be galvanised.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43It's quite emotional, actually. Quite strange.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46I think because these have been such hard work.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53After me saying I can't wait to see the back of them, now I'm,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55"Look after my horses. Be careful."
0:09:55 > 0:09:59I still use a good guy, he always looks after my stuff.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01A lot of admiring glances on the motorway to Cumbernauld.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04It's a wee bit different for him, you know.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11They are plunged into molten zinc.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17When they come out, they really look like mythical creatures.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19They have the sheen that the full-size Kelpies will have
0:10:19 > 0:10:21and are protected from the elements.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42The galvanised maquettes are now on display at the Falkirk Wheel.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47And so am I.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I've committed to it and it's a very, very heartfelt commitment
0:10:50 > 0:10:54from my perspective. And it's been really, really hard work
0:10:54 > 0:10:58to do them and I can see one of the nose just poking over there,
0:10:58 > 0:10:59taunting me from above.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04But once I got into it, it was a very enjoyable experience.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07I've made a list here, I won't go on too long
0:11:07 > 0:11:09but this gives you some idea of what was involved.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13954m of flat bar, 240m of round bar,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15two 10 millimetre thick steel plates,
0:11:15 > 0:11:1848m of 150 by 80 angle,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20six bottles of ferromax welding gas,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23two bottles of oxygen, one bottle of acetylene,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26eight rolls of welding wire, 9,000 - approximately -
0:11:26 > 0:11:27cuts on the guillotine.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29A BA honours in postgraduate sculpture.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30LAUGHTER
0:11:30 > 0:11:3420 years professional practice, 186 cups of tea.
0:11:34 > 0:11:3832 packets of Jaffa cakes and about 45 bottles of Irn-Bru.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42And that's gone into making these things.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43APPLAUSE
0:11:49 > 0:11:51At this stage in the proceedings,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55it's beginning to dawn on me that this is a waiting game.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56Public art often means public money,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00and there's no way that the Kelpies, or the Helix Project,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04can go ahead without serious finance from the Big Lottery Fund.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10The latest I heard just this morning was November, mid November,
0:12:10 > 0:12:11that we should hear.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14They are obviously taking some considerable time to go over it.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16That's a good thing because I'd hate to think
0:12:16 > 0:12:17they'd make a rushed decision.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20But it's very frustrating for me to have put so much effort
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and energy into meeting deadlines they set,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26only to have their return deadline stretch out seemingly for ever.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29It's difficult, a hard thing to get your head round.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34But as I said, I've just got to force myself to get on with other jobs, not worry about them too much.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37They'll do what they do and hopefully we'll hear before Christmas.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41You put your heart and soul and a huge amount of education
0:12:41 > 0:12:43and experience into that.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45How would the rejection feel?
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Rejection? Never. Well, it would be hard. I mean...
0:12:50 > 0:12:55I suppose in your darker moments you obviously have to think about that.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58It would be a sore one, it would be very difficult.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00But you can only look at these things...
0:13:00 > 0:13:04It's a much bigger project than just the Helix. Sorry, just the Kelpies.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06It's the Helix, it's a bigger environmental project.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09And I'm not fully aware of all the very varied
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and detailed criteria by which it is being assessed.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16I can only be sure that I did my best with the Kelpies.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19And if it doesn't work out, such is life,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22move on and do other projects.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And hide from the embarrassment for a couple of months.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I no longer have to worry about embarrassment.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Six months later, at Falkirk Stadium, my lottery number came up.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42And I'm absolutely delighted to announce that the Helix Project,
0:13:42 > 0:13:47led by Falkirk Council and its partners, has been successful.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49APPLAUSE
0:14:07 > 0:14:09I think that the Kelpies
0:14:09 > 0:14:12and the rest of the project have the potential to be as iconic
0:14:12 > 0:14:17as something like the Angel of the North for Falkirk and Grangemouth.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- Hiya.- We got a reference from last year and...
0:14:20 > 0:14:21Well done, well done.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Such a thrill. It's absolutely brilliant.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Finally, a result.
0:14:26 > 0:14:27Time to get a welding.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Of course, I wasn't just sitting twiddling my thumbs
0:14:34 > 0:14:36when I was waiting for the Lottery announcement.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Rise is a recent commission for Glasgow Harbour
0:14:45 > 0:14:48which is being installed on South Street.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51She's over 6m high and weighs nearly two tonnes,
0:14:51 > 0:14:52so she's a big girl.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55But tiny compared to the Kelpies.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10- See, you can move these no bother! - HE LAUGHS
0:15:10 > 0:15:14'We need to build public interest and support for the Kelpies,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17'so we hold a media event at the studio and invite
0:15:17 > 0:15:21'Glasgow City Council's Clydesdale horses along to take some of the attention away from me.'
0:15:24 > 0:15:26'The Kelpies are newsworthy.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29'But pretty soon, in the autumn of that year,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33'journalists have a very different story to report.'
0:15:33 > 0:15:37The latest official prediction that Britain will be in recession by the end of the year.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40The plan to rescue the British banks could
0:15:40 > 0:15:43cost £400 billion of taxpayers money.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45It's official - Britain IS in recession
0:15:45 > 0:15:47and it's deeper than predicted.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49The British economy is officially in recession.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56The recession of 2008 nearly killed off the Kelpies.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00It didn't, but it set the project back years.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10But in these dark times I had something else and something
0:16:10 > 0:16:13very wonderful on my mind, I married my girlfriend Hanneke.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15She's a Dutch architect I met in Amsterdam.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22We were set up by a friend, a mutual friend.
0:16:22 > 0:16:28And basically Andrew came over to Amsterdam after an e-mail exchange.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34And, um, yeah, it was a blind date. And then I moved here in 2007.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38We got married in 2008, so it was a year after.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42The Kelpies, er, started when I was still lived in Amsterdam
0:16:42 > 0:16:45and I remember Andrew telling me about it and thinking,
0:16:45 > 0:16:50this was quite an unusual project, I didn't know whether to believe it
0:16:50 > 0:16:55was going to happen or not because it sounded such a fantastic opportunity.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And I remember him sitting on the kitchen table,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02at the kitchen table, drawing the first sketches for the Kelpies.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06So that's where the original design started.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Andrew protects themselves at the beginning of a project
0:17:11 > 0:17:15because it might not happen, so he is not too excited in the beginning.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17But I am more positive person
0:17:17 > 0:17:20and I always believe that there is a way that you can make it
0:17:20 > 0:17:24happen yourself, so I'm trying to make him think positively.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38At the moment we're on the top of the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42down on the Clydeside here, towering 100-and-something feet above the river.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47And, for me, this is just the most fantastic icon of the city of Glasgow and all that it...
0:17:47 > 0:17:48or once stood for.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51I wrote about it recently in a magazine article
0:17:51 > 0:17:53as being my favourite building in Scotland.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56I think I've said... "He's punching the skyline"
0:17:56 > 0:18:00and it really is quite a magnificent thing in the landscape of the city.
0:18:00 > 0:18:06I'm delighted to say that he's a listed monument, so they will not be able to obscure the sightlines.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10It is quite an amazing experience being up on top of this big structure, you know?
0:18:10 > 0:18:13It's always been a kind of shadow or a presence in my life.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16I was born and bred in Glasgow and it's just fantastic.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18You know, if you cut me, the Clyde would come out, I think.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20It's just incredible.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23I was born and first lived over in Springburn, up there.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Then we moved over to East Pollokshields over there.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Then I went to art school just over there,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31I moved to the West End over there.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33I got married in there in July and I live quite close to there,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36so it's just incredible to be able to see the whole of my life.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40I hope it doesn't turn out to be one of those moments where the whole of my life is passing before my eyes!
0:18:40 > 0:18:43But it really is incredibly poignant.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53The ingenuity and the craftsmanship and the engineering, you know -
0:18:53 > 0:18:56everything that I really feel are important to me as an artist,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58living and working in the city of Glasgow,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00are kind of summed up in this one big structure.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03I think there are obvious parallels there between, you know,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06as I said, the engineering and the skill and craftsmanship.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Although the Kelpies, of course,
0:19:08 > 0:19:13will be arguably more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but that's a matter of debate.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21I suppose, in one way I'd like to think I captured
0:19:21 > 0:19:23the imagination side of things, and the engineers
0:19:23 > 0:19:26and the project managers and all the other teams that are involved
0:19:26 > 0:19:29in the Kelpies, are going to make the project what it will be.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33I think it's a fantastic summary of the whole thing, up here on top of the crane.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45'The engineers are here.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48'They are from Atkins who will turn my models into engineering
0:19:48 > 0:19:52'designs and then will oversee the building of the full-size Kelpies.'
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Well, there's a debate at the moment whether they both move or
0:19:57 > 0:20:01only one of them moves to perform the function of the boat lift.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04The point being that one of them will be fantastic to have
0:20:04 > 0:20:07access inside it, you can actually use for basically climbing up
0:20:07 > 0:20:11and having a look out, you can see all the way up to Stirling Castle and the Ochil hills.
0:20:11 > 0:20:12It would be fantastic.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15It was one of the original concepts we had way back at the beginning.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18The trouble is with the safety requirements.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21If you start moving something like that with people inside it,
0:20:21 > 0:20:22the safety risk assessment...
0:20:22 > 0:20:25The whole thing becomes an engineering nightmare.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28But the real reason I think that it's better off having something
0:20:28 > 0:20:30that you can move in it, you said it today,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32if you go to the Empire State building.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33No, if you go into the Statue of Liberty,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35everybody goes there and looks around.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39What everybody actually wants to do is go inside it and have a look inside.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42And therefore, I think going inside these is actually important.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44I think it would be absolutely fantastic.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46In the first report that I did a way back, there were
0:20:46 > 0:20:48images of the inside of the Statue of Liberty.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51And I did it basically to say, if Gustave Eiffel and Bartholdi
0:20:51 > 0:20:52could do something that size back then,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55then surely we can do it nowadays, you know
0:20:55 > 0:20:58given the technology we've got over what they had back then.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16I've started work on a second, more detailed set of maquettes.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22These ones, as you know, were done hastily and speculatively.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24So I've now got a chance to revisit the anatomy
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and I suppose makes them perfect and make them more towards
0:21:27 > 0:21:30the actual vision that I have for them when they're full-scale.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32So among the many changes, for example,
0:21:32 > 0:21:37on this version here you will see there are quite a few
0:21:37 > 0:21:40of the bars, if you like, run horizontally as well as vertically.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43So what I'm doing on the second version is I'm arranging them
0:21:43 > 0:21:46all to run in a vertical pattern, as you can see.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49And what that's going to do is, when they are built full-scale, that will
0:21:49 > 0:21:53give the... accentuate the idea of movement, of the things rising from the water.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57So I'm really developing the aesthetic and the visual style of the steel arrangement.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02This one, they work perfectly in order to get the project under way.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05But this one is where we can really start to refine the sculptures
0:22:05 > 0:22:08for the scaling up process and just to get them spot on.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17This extraordinary piece of kit is electronically scanning my maquettes
0:22:17 > 0:22:20to create a three-dimensional computer model of them.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26This is going to be vital when it comes to scaling up every single piece of metal that
0:22:26 > 0:22:31I've cut and welded to build something ten times their size.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42They never taught me fluid mechanics at art school.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46But we have to be sure that strong winds funnelling between my giant Kelpies
0:22:46 > 0:22:48aren't going to be dangerous to visitors.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53Tests are being done at a specialist laboratory in Teddington, in London.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57I expect it to be quite windy because of the...
0:22:58 > 0:23:01The Kelpies itself...
0:23:01 > 0:23:03is quite significant to the site.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08And the site itself is quite flat.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29I think occasionally you see between the horse head and the body,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33the flow is accelerating,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35you know, through that channel, around it.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40We are looking at moving the Kelpies further apart to try
0:23:40 > 0:23:42and reduce the effect they are having on each other.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45The lock area, which is kind of in the centre between the Kelpies
0:23:45 > 0:23:47might be potentially reduced.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Because in the winter we could look at restricting access to the Kelpies
0:23:51 > 0:23:55in high wind periods, but we still want the lock to be operational.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05It's now February 2009 and I've been at this for years.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07But this is progress.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13The maquettes are going to the site where the Kelpies will be built.
0:24:14 > 0:24:21This is where the Forth and Clyde Canal meets the River Carron which flows into the Forth estuary.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24They are here to make a firm declaration of intent.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33'The plans have changed.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36'And the position of the Kelpies has been moved.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39'It really is beginning to dawn on me now that
0:24:39 > 0:24:41'I'm not just an artist working on my own,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44'but part of an enormous team with a variety of expertise.'
0:24:47 > 0:24:50'It's been a long and complicated project to this point.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52'It's been a lot of hard work.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56'My own role in it has changed a wee bit, you know, since the last...
0:24:56 > 0:24:58'Since the second set of maquettes were made,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00'I've taken a step back we from that.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02'In the meantime, the engineers, as you have seen,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05'have been doing an incredible amount of work behind the scenes.'
0:25:05 > 0:25:08So it is rolling on slowly, there was a lot of political
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and bureaucratic hurdles to get through, but they have been done.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14It's bound to go with the project of this size,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16it's just the nature of it, but it's been particularly
0:25:16 > 0:25:19frustrating for me because my passion for it, if you like.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22It's all part of it, and we're getting there.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25I think from this point onwards, things will really start to move.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28I think there is a common will, a recognition of...
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Of the importance of what we are trying to achieve, and I can really
0:25:32 > 0:25:35see things moving on from this point onwards at quite a rate.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38'Ever the optimist, Andy Scott, ever the optimist.'
0:25:38 > 0:25:43Thanks for coming, guys. Great meeting. Cheers. See you all later.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Right, thanks very much. Cheers. See you later.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55The white on its own is just fantastic, isn't it?
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Move the light over a wee bit and we'll just push the head that way
0:26:00 > 0:26:02and then you have got the same thing.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06All we're missing then, Reg, is that we can't work with the two of them together. But that is life.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- Oh, it's a nice lighting affect on lion rampant there, isn't it? - HE CHUCKLE
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Just been a case of trying out the different colours
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and sequences and also how we're going to use it in conjunction
0:26:21 > 0:26:23with a floodlighting to the outside.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26So, it's kind of our combination of the external and internal lighting working together
0:26:26 > 0:26:29to make sure it doesn't look too Las Vegas and over the top
0:26:29 > 0:26:32but still quite theatrical and dramatic.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34And I think we are getting a better feel for it now.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36The kelpies now, these ones here,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39will be getting taken away for the summer season of the Falkirk wheel
0:26:39 > 0:26:42as a PR device and so the public can get a sense of what is happening.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45I think this is the last chance we will have at this level,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48but obviously we can do a lot more with computer modelling
0:26:48 > 0:26:50and take it from there, but that's over to the experts really.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53For me it was about the feel of it and it worked very well.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55OK. I've seen enough.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02'The engineers at Atkins have moved on from my hand welded maquettes.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04'They'll be able to provide the fabrication company who will
0:27:04 > 0:27:07'actually build the Kelpies with detailed computer drawn,
0:27:07 > 0:27:12'three-dimensional plans of every single one of the thousands of components.'
0:27:16 > 0:27:17That's amazing.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20That really starts to give you a feel of how it's all going to all be, doesn't it?
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Oh, it's going to be good, isn't it?
0:27:22 > 0:27:26You can zoom back out again, John. I was wondering how much of the...
0:27:26 > 0:27:29If you go straight on at the canal as if you're going straight in,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31if you know what I am mean, if you rotate it slightly...
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Then straighten up. You can just see the outside of the head there.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38So it's just enough to give you a sense of something happening, you know?
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Rather than having it just looking straight ahead, it would
0:27:41 > 0:27:43have been quite dead from that side.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47But the twist, the angle that we've got it at just gives it that bit of life.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51- (Just to complicate it.)- Just to complicate things for you!
0:27:51 > 0:27:54You know, it gives it that bit of a flourish.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57And likewise with the head up one, because of the angle it's at,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01and they kind of lean in towards each other, it'll really create a kind of entrance...thing.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Vibe, thing, happening, man.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Magic! Excellent.
0:28:08 > 0:28:14But early in the New Year of 2011, the engineering challenges of the Kelpies and changes to the canal
0:28:14 > 0:28:16led to a radical change of plan.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Originally intended as a boat lift system on the canal,
0:28:21 > 0:28:27but due to some very complex and fluctuating engineering challenges,
0:28:27 > 0:28:32the volume of water that was involved and various other issues,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35the movement of the boat lift system was actually done away with
0:28:35 > 0:28:39and I am pleased to say that such was the passion for the idea of the sculptures,
0:28:39 > 0:28:43that the sculptures themselves have become the main focal point and have been retained.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47And what has actually happened has been very, very interesting.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50The focus has since shifted and we've managed to evolve the project
0:28:50 > 0:28:53to become much more of an environmental and architectural project.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Then this came along, a blistering attack in The Sun that
0:29:00 > 0:29:03rubbished my zany artworks as a waste of public cash.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11'I was still reeling from that Sun article.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16'But Felicity from Atkins brought me a present that really cheered me up.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20'It doesn't look like much, but it is hugely significant.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22'It's a single test panel.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27'A prototype of just one of more than 900 that will make up the Kelpies' skin.'
0:29:29 > 0:29:33- Do you know they've had two enquiries for weddings inside them? - Have they? That's exciting!
0:29:33 > 0:29:35How good is that?
0:29:35 > 0:29:37'Well, since we last filmed, I think
0:29:37 > 0:29:40'it's been probably been about a year maybe even a wee bit longer, actually.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42'But it's been a slow process, but I have to say there has been
0:29:42 > 0:29:45'a lot going on behind-the-scenes, as it were.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47'There's been a lot of engineering problem-solving and some
0:29:47 > 0:29:50'major issues to do with the Helix Park itself, have been resolved.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54'And everything's really beginning to pick up a pace now.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57'Just recently we had a meeting with all the parties
0:29:57 > 0:30:00'involved in the Kelpies and the Helix, and it was very positive.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03So I really do, I have to say, it's really beginning to pick up the pace now.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07What we have here is a sample panel,
0:30:07 > 0:30:12one small section, which as Felicity describes is about 25 feet up,
0:30:12 > 0:30:17on the left-hand side of the head-down Kelpie.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19They chose that section
0:30:19 > 0:30:22because it actually has some relatively tight curves,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25which would be quite difficult to actually achieve
0:30:25 > 0:30:27in full fabrication. And then what they tried to do
0:30:27 > 0:30:29was actually to make sure that the pull,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32that the tension and the forces that were required to attach,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35would actually work. So a very exciting step forward
0:30:35 > 0:30:37and at long last we're really beginning to get there.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40So really it was a major triumph. It doesn't look like much,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42but it was a really important step in the process.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44Gives everybody the confidence
0:30:44 > 0:30:46that they can do them just as they thought, and, er,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48gives me the confidence that I wasn't mad after all
0:30:48 > 0:30:51and it really will happen. So it's really exciting.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58It was a year later, in May 2012,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01before we were able to break the best news I'd heard in six years.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08My kelpie maquettes and the Clydesdale horses they were based on
0:31:08 > 0:31:11were brought together at the studio for the official announcement
0:31:11 > 0:31:14that a major engineering company had signed the contract
0:31:14 > 0:31:16to turn my dreams into giant realities.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Six years, nearly seven years
0:31:21 > 0:31:23since I first started working on this project,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26and since I did the first drawing on my now-wife's kitchen table
0:31:26 > 0:31:31in Holland. And finally we're about to commence the fabrication.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34It's been a very long and difficult process.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38These things are always complicated with procurement processes,
0:31:38 > 0:31:41but we've finally, SH Structures were selected
0:31:41 > 0:31:43and I'm delighted with that,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46and I'm looking forward to working with them over the coming few months
0:31:46 > 0:31:48to see them built full-scale.
0:31:48 > 0:31:49Slide your hand down there.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51There were two things
0:31:51 > 0:31:55that captured us. One was the form that they were.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57It was something immediately recognisable.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59They weren't an abstract form of art,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03they were something you could instantly see what it was.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07And the other thing was we very rapidly picked up on
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Andy's own enthusiasm for the scheme.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12He's clearly passionate about this.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16It's quite a responsibility for us to take on this project
0:32:16 > 0:32:21because at the end of the day Andy's used to doing the work on his own
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and we're very much sort of taking his baby off him
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and doing the work ourselves.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30But he is going to be actively involved, I can assure you of that.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33I'm delighted, you know?
0:32:33 > 0:32:35It's been a very difficult project. It's been...
0:32:35 > 0:32:38There have been a few moments when I've actually
0:32:38 > 0:32:41doubted my own ability to stick with it, to be blunt.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43It's been very, very difficult.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46But, yeah, I'm delighted. It's really good.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Seeing both the sets of maquettes here today,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50seeing the big horses back again,
0:32:50 > 0:32:53it kind of makes all the last six years of agony
0:32:53 > 0:32:56condense into a few moments. And, no, I'm looking forward.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59The next year will be what it's all about. This is when the fun starts.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13There are stocks of steel here that I've only ever dreamed of.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Here, they're going to turn coils of steel into tubes
0:33:23 > 0:33:25that will be used to build the Kelpies' skeletons.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31We receive it hot and coiled
0:33:31 > 0:33:33from our mill in South Wales,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37and we uncoil it and then form it into tubes,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40which are then cut to length for the project.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Once they're formed, they're then heat-treated
0:33:43 > 0:33:46through a walking beam furnace to 900 degrees
0:33:46 > 0:33:49so that it improves their mechanical properties.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Been making 323mm-diameter pipes,
0:33:53 > 0:33:5510mm thick.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57They are Celsius hot-finished.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06So far the tubes are straight,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10and there isn't a straight line anywhere in my Kelpie designs.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25We've been doing some coal-rolling, some tubular sections, some pipe,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28also some hot bending of the same type of section on a larger scale,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30and some bending of plate
0:34:30 > 0:34:33for the mane and the ears and the eyes of the sculpture.
0:34:41 > 0:34:42You take a piece of tube
0:34:42 > 0:34:45or a pipe, and you roll it through a set of rollers
0:34:45 > 0:34:48backwards and forwards gradually to bring the radius in to the item.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50The advantage is you can achieve complicated bends.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53You can do reverse bends, elliptical bends, achieve the complex shapes
0:34:53 > 0:34:56required by a sculpture of this nature.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09The hot-bending process is a slightly different process
0:35:09 > 0:35:11that's designed to bend larger pipes and hollow sections
0:35:11 > 0:35:13that wouldn't withstand the cold-bending process,
0:35:13 > 0:35:17and the tube is heated to about 800 degrees Centigrade,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20and bent in very small sections throughout its entire length
0:35:20 > 0:35:23to achieve a very good quality bend.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32We get involved in projects in different countries.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35We've just done a job in Azerbaijan which I'll probably never get to see,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38whereas this project is probably one of the biggest we've done,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41and been involved with, and it'll be interesting to be able to
0:35:41 > 0:35:44go up there and actually look at the work that we've achieved.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00This is SH Structures's fabrication yard,
0:36:00 > 0:36:02and these are the Kelpies' steel bones.
0:36:10 > 0:36:11They'll take the weight
0:36:11 > 0:36:13and eventually will be clad with a steel skin.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19It's great here - grinding,
0:36:19 > 0:36:22welding,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27and a vast Meccano set.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37For an artist, I've attended more than my fair share of meetings.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41But on a project this size and complexity, they're a necessity.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47The actual structural analysis side of the design
0:36:47 > 0:36:51is now I'd say 90% there.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54In terms of modelling, the mane...
0:36:54 > 0:36:58and the ears and eyes are all complete.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10- Amazing, isn't it? - It's mind-boggling!
0:37:10 > 0:37:12- It's mind-boggling. - What have we done?
0:37:12 > 0:37:14You see it on paper, and you look at it on the screens,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17and you kind of get it, and then you look at the complexity of that...
0:37:17 > 0:37:21- That's tricky stuff, isn't it? It's really...- It's not easy.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27No matter how many times you look at the drawings and the models
0:37:27 > 0:37:29and you visualise it and you see it on computer screens,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32when you actually see the steelwork coming together,
0:37:32 > 0:37:34not only do you get a sense of the scale,
0:37:34 > 0:37:36but you get a sense of the skill
0:37:36 > 0:37:38that's involved in making these pieces.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40And some of the welds and processes
0:37:40 > 0:37:43that are going on in there are absolutely amazing.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45You can see these guys are very, very good.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47It does finally feel real.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Over the past few years, there's been many times
0:37:49 > 0:37:51where I thought this thing was never actually going to happen,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and, as you know, it's been fairly fraught from time to time,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56but...absolutely fantastic.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I'm delighted that I came down,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00and these guys have been so hospitable today,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03but it's really, really good to see it coming together.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05I'm sure there'll be a few more ups and downs along the way,
0:38:05 > 0:38:07but very exciting.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09You know, I've seen...
0:38:09 > 0:38:12I've seen as many things like this in galleries without the...!
0:38:12 > 0:38:15- You know what I mean? Leave it as it is, you win the Turner!- Yeah!
0:38:24 > 0:38:28The role of public art is to enhance the everyday experience,
0:38:28 > 0:38:32to elevate our understanding and appreciation of life.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Back at the art school in the '80s,
0:38:38 > 0:38:42there really wasn't such a thing as public art as we now know it.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44I mean, if you'd said back then that I would have pieces
0:38:44 > 0:38:46in places like Drumchapel or Easterhouse
0:38:46 > 0:38:49or, for that matter, London or Sydney, it would...
0:38:49 > 0:38:52I don't know, I would have bitten your hand off at half the chance,
0:38:52 > 0:38:54you know, but we've got them there.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01A lot of my portfolio was based in the early years
0:39:01 > 0:39:03on working really closely with communities
0:39:03 > 0:39:05and building relationships with them
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and making pieces that they wanted to have in their area,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11and that's a very humbling experience.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29I'm back in Yorkshire, where the fabricators
0:39:29 > 0:39:31have begun putting together parts of the jigsaw.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Oh, what a head rush.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37HE CHUCKLES
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Every time I come down here, I'm like a wee kid in a sweet shop.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41I'm like, it's really happening!
0:39:45 > 0:39:49I think we've probably been going about six months now
0:39:49 > 0:39:51on fabrication of the Head Down,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55and we've got a similar length of time to do the Head Up.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59But then we hit site and there's about another six months on site,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02so it's a very long process
0:40:02 > 0:40:06to complete what is a very, very complicated job.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10This is something special, and chatting to the guys,
0:40:10 > 0:40:12it's something that they are looking forward
0:40:12 > 0:40:15to seeing going up on site, and we've been fortunate enough
0:40:15 > 0:40:18to be able to generate jobs with this project,
0:40:18 > 0:40:20including some young apprentices,
0:40:20 > 0:40:22and they're particularly keen on working on this,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25because they know that in years to come, they'll be able
0:40:25 > 0:40:28to go and visit Scotland with their families and their friends and say,
0:40:28 > 0:40:33"I actually worked on this," and that clearly makes a difference to them.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37There are some points at which I have to say
0:40:37 > 0:40:41this is outwith my understanding or even zone of influence.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44But I'm absolutely certain that we're dealing with
0:40:44 > 0:40:47one of the best teams we could possibly have mustered
0:40:47 > 0:40:48to make these things a reality,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50and the results so far have been fantastic.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53And I'll be honest. Part of it's been a learning thing for me.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56This kind of scale, the shift, the experiences, is very different.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59I do... As you know, most of my work is handmade,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01and it's something I'm very proud of.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03But this, at this scale,
0:41:03 > 0:41:07I'm allowing it that sort of bit of separation, difficult as it is.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10The chaps told us that they'd assembled this
0:41:10 > 0:41:12to let us have a bit of a look at it and to check all the sizes
0:41:12 > 0:41:14and make sure everything fitted,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16and it's just been a fantastic chance to come down
0:41:16 > 0:41:19and get a sense of the scale and how everything's going to work.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20It breathtaking when you walk in.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23And when we came in at first, the noise in here's phenomenal,
0:41:23 > 0:41:24with all the guys working,
0:41:24 > 0:41:26so it's amazing just to see it now in this quiet,
0:41:26 > 0:41:29and it really does give you a sense of what we've got
0:41:29 > 0:41:31and what we're dealing with - it's phenomenal.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44The first Kelpie components are arriving in Falkirk from Yorkshire.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Someone - not me - has told the press,
0:41:47 > 0:41:49and the photographers are out in force.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54It really is a significant day,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56although it's not an easy one for the photographers.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00The components on the lorries could be bits of anything,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03from a nuclear power station to a football stadium.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08Fortunately, Bill Moore is there to explain the significance.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10It's a milestone, in that...
0:42:12 > 0:42:14..the sort of design stage,
0:42:14 > 0:42:18the kind of planning stage, takes... seems to take such a long time,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20and now we're actually into the build phase.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23So, it kind of starts, almost, the countdown
0:42:23 > 0:42:26towards the completion of the Kelpies when, in a few months' time,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29we'll have these magnificent 30m tall structures
0:42:29 > 0:42:32sort of kind of dominating the landscape.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Meanwhile, just a mile away, the foundations are being laid.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46I've designed sculptures 30m high,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48and they're going to need foundations
0:42:48 > 0:42:50more than 30m deep to support them.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57We've just finished piling both foundations,
0:42:57 > 0:42:59we've broken the piles down,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02and reinforcement cages are currently being fixed,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05the Head Down foundation being the one that's furthest advanced,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09and the steelwork erection programme to commence first on it as well.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12It's certainly one of the more complex jobs
0:43:12 > 0:43:14I've ever been involved in - a lot of service diversions,
0:43:14 > 0:43:18a lot of different stakeholders, work on the motorway,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20traffic management, deep excavations,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22poor ground conditions, and drainage work.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25It's a bit of everything there from a civil engineering perspective.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28So, we're probably two to three weeks away
0:43:28 > 0:43:30from a concrete pour at the moment,
0:43:30 > 0:43:34and the pour itself will be done with two concrete pumps on the day.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36They'll supply something in the order
0:43:36 > 0:43:39of 50 to 60 cubic metres an hour during the shift.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47It's snowing, but it's not too cold
0:43:47 > 0:43:50to pour the concrete the Kelpies will be anchored to.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Trucks trundle back and forth,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55supplying the pumps that spew the concrete into the foundations.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11Meanwhile, in Sheffield - where else? -
0:44:11 > 0:44:15huge rolls of steel are being uncoiled and sliced into sections.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23The machine behind me is a laser cutter,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26and we've just profiled out the individual parts
0:44:26 > 0:44:29that will make up the outside shell of the Kelpies.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Seven long years after I first sketched the Kelpies,
0:44:48 > 0:44:50construction actually begins.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57Got a build process of 20-week programme, from today,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00right up through to commissioning of the lighting, er, installation,
0:45:00 > 0:45:04so that'll be complete throughout.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06Each head, we're looking at about 75 days per head
0:45:06 > 0:45:08to actually build each one.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Site-wise, it's quite a short period of time
0:45:13 > 0:45:14to actually put the structures together
0:45:14 > 0:45:17and put them up. It's a one-off project, really.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20There's nothing ever been built like this before, certainly in the UK,
0:45:20 > 0:45:24possibly in the world, so, yeah, very proud of the project.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30Spookily, the maquettes arrive.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32I assume they're for a press conference tomorrow
0:45:32 > 0:45:34and not just to remind the construction team
0:45:34 > 0:45:36what they're building is supposed to look like.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50Today is an opportunity for press and stakeholders
0:45:50 > 0:45:52to check out progress.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57This is day two of the build period, and as you can see,
0:45:57 > 0:46:00the guys have achieved quite a lot in a short space of time.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03I think we'll see the excitement in this project really starting
0:46:03 > 0:46:04to build up every day, every week now,
0:46:04 > 0:46:07as we see the structures come to their full completion
0:46:07 > 0:46:09over the next 75 days and I think, really,
0:46:09 > 0:46:11that's going to create a lot of excitement in this area,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14as they start to see the structures rise from the ground.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17What we want them to be is an attraction
0:46:17 > 0:46:20for people to come here and visit,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23a colossus, really, for entering the Scottish canal system
0:46:23 > 0:46:26and something that the local people will be so proud of.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41The process has been long and I don't know
0:46:41 > 0:46:43if I should use the word tortuous,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46but it's been a very difficult process for a number of reasons
0:46:46 > 0:46:48and it's been extremely challenging at times
0:46:48 > 0:46:51and extremely rewarding at times, I have to say.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03It's amazing the depth and scale of the project
0:47:03 > 0:47:05once you start to get into these things.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07It's really a very, very complex process,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10as you'll have seen from some of the engineering aspects of it.
0:47:34 > 0:47:35Next, the eyes and ears.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39And that'll really, obviously,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42create a sense of a real step forward in the project,
0:47:42 > 0:47:45just to give it that sense of identity, almost,
0:47:45 > 0:47:47that those features will take.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49As you can see from some of the landscaping around us,
0:47:49 > 0:47:51they've been doing a lot of the cladding
0:47:51 > 0:47:53of the stainless steel panels at ground level
0:47:53 > 0:47:55to make those lifts a bit easier
0:47:55 > 0:47:57and obviously to expedite the process.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11From where I stand, it seems to have gone together very well.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15I think more of the interesting and dramatic events happened
0:48:15 > 0:48:19earlier on in the decision-making and the design process.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21But so far, so good.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26Touch wood, if I had any about me, but it seems to have gone very well
0:48:26 > 0:48:28and hopefully that'll continue until the end.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36They're having to work long and hard to keep on schedule.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45It's eight o'clock, round about eight,
0:48:45 > 0:48:48and I think these boys are going to be here for a wee while yet.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53The skill it takes to rig these things for lifting is unbelievable.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56The structure that you see underneath the mouth there has been
0:48:56 > 0:48:59specially built to hold it so that it doesn't damage it on the way up.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02It's just an incredibly complex piece of work that they're doing
0:49:02 > 0:49:06and it's a really exciting stage, so hopefully they'll manage it tonight.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08These guys were here until midnight last night.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11It was a beautiful evening yesterday.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14It was clear skies, full moon, absolutely gorgeous.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16Made conditions an awful lot easier than today.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19It's been absolutely lashing down all day, torrential rain,
0:49:19 > 0:49:20and they're still here.
0:49:24 > 0:49:25We're in autumn now.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28The day is too short and the evening is just too dark
0:49:28 > 0:49:30and the Kelpie's nose job has to be abandoned.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49A few days later, the construction team makes another attempt
0:49:49 > 0:49:50at getting the head-up nose connected.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58We've finally got the end of the nose section connected there
0:49:58 > 0:50:00with the open mouth of the head-up Kelpie.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04I say "we" - I've just been standing watching. These guys are fantastic.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06It's an absolute achievement, it's incredible.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08They had been using soft slings before
0:50:08 > 0:50:11and there was a danger that they might actually be cut
0:50:11 > 0:50:14by the stainless steel plates so they had to use steel cables
0:50:14 > 0:50:17rather than slings and also the actual lifting points -
0:50:17 > 0:50:20they're lifting it from three different points,
0:50:20 > 0:50:23but they had to balance it because the head's on a tilt.
0:50:23 > 0:50:24As well as being rearing up,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26it's actually on a tilt to one side,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29which meant it's a very complicated angle to hang it by
0:50:29 > 0:50:31and these guys have managed to do all that
0:50:31 > 0:50:35and get it hanging just right and now, for the next three hours,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38they'll be up there doing all the bolted connections
0:50:38 > 0:50:41to actually put it on and tighten everything up.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43Ah, you know, you wouldn't know to look at it,
0:50:43 > 0:50:46but the skill that it takes to sling something like that
0:50:46 > 0:50:49and lift it is phenomenal and the team here are just amazing.
0:50:49 > 0:50:50It's absolutely brilliant
0:50:50 > 0:50:52and it suddenly brings this one to life too,
0:50:52 > 0:50:54the way that the features did on the head-down Kelpie.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56It's incredible, I'm absolutely delighted.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57My heart was in my mouth there.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00One of those few occasions in the whole project
0:51:00 > 0:51:03where I was actually very nervous, and it just looks amazing.
0:51:28 > 0:51:29My hopes for the project
0:51:29 > 0:51:32are that they become a recognised landmark for Scotland
0:51:32 > 0:51:37and I can't tell you how much blood, sweat and tears I've poured into it.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48I'd love them to become well-known and recognised internationally
0:51:48 > 0:51:51as well as in Scotland and across the UK.
0:51:51 > 0:51:52It's often difficult up here,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55as a professional artist working on bigger projects,
0:51:55 > 0:51:57to get any recognition.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59The London art world controls the world, almost,
0:51:59 > 0:52:01and you can do what you like up here,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03but to get any recognition for your works
0:52:03 > 0:52:06or the projects you're involved in is very, very difficult
0:52:06 > 0:52:09and I'm hoping that these pieces will actually be able to do that
0:52:09 > 0:52:12and give Scotland something very, very magnificent
0:52:12 > 0:52:15that the whole population can be proud of.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23I used to joke that it'd be quite nice...
0:52:23 > 0:52:27You know, my job'll be done when these are the lair of a villain
0:52:27 > 0:52:28in a James Bond movie.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31So I don't know. Who knows what the future holds?
0:52:48 > 0:52:49The media's back.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53The horses, Baron and Duke, are back, and I'm back.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59Today we are doing the official topping-out ceremony.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03It's a somewhat akin to a skyscraper being finished off
0:53:03 > 0:53:05and it's really a bit of a media extravaganza.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08One of the government ministers is coming along to...
0:53:08 > 0:53:11I don't think we're going to smash a bottle off them or anything
0:53:11 > 0:53:13but we're going to launch them, as it were, officially.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16Although, as you can see, the site works have a long way to go.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18It'll be next April by the time they're finished.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20So, no, it's a good day, actually.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22It feels like a landmark point
0:53:22 > 0:53:26and it really does, sort of, finish those big fellas off.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32It's great to see these Kelpies finally unveiled.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35We've been watching them being built over the last six months.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37The community's been watching them.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39To actually see them completed is fab.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Obviously, there's still bits of the park still to be done
0:53:41 > 0:53:45but it's absolutely fantastic to see them and they're absolutely amazing
0:53:45 > 0:53:48and the biggest equine sculptures in the world.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50That really puts Falkirk on the map.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54I think they're magnificent. I think they're breathtaking.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56I'm sure every superlative
0:53:56 > 0:53:58in the book will have been used about them.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01I think they'll become Scotland's most-photographed icon
0:54:01 > 0:54:06before very long and deservedly so cos they're absolutely wonderful.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18I've brought my wee Kelpies to the Big Apple.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20A chance to introduce them to a whole new continent.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31We just were walking on the other side and saw the flat truck come by
0:54:31 > 0:54:34with these beautiful, er, horse heads.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37And as my wife's an artist, we looked at not only the beauty of them
0:54:37 > 0:54:39but how they were manufactured.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42And, you know, the small squares. The fact you could see through them,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46yet you had the illusion of a solid structure as well,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49kind of piqued our interest so I'd love to go see the real ones.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11Thank you, everybody.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29I'm just enjoying a lovely sunny morning,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31basking in the warm afterglow
0:55:31 > 0:55:34of installing the Kelpies here.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37It went really smoothly last night. It took two hours.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40It would probably have been quicker if we could get the crane right.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43But we did it and they look fantastic and, as you can see,
0:55:43 > 0:55:47the response has been amazing. Everybody's really happy with it.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49They'll be here for a month.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52It's just another, sort of, icing on the cake for the whole adventure.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59They almost act as ambassadors for the full-size Kelpies
0:55:59 > 0:56:02and it's been amazing, the response.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04New York's the art, cultural capital of the world, really,
0:56:04 > 0:56:08and to have them here in this location is phenomenal.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11I've got to be honest - for me, as well as the Kelpies, you know?
0:56:11 > 0:56:13Raises my profile, hopefully.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16Might lead on to some new commissions for me.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18But they just do the business. It's just fantastic.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20I'm really, really thrilled. It's great.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28The overwhelming reaction is how it makes everybody smile
0:56:28 > 0:56:32and how wonderful they are, and they are just in awe of them.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37They are a wonderful artwork and piece of sculpture
0:56:37 > 0:56:40and such a tribute to Scotland.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45I came down from the Upper East Side,
0:56:45 > 0:56:48which is two or three miles up,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52just to come down and see the Kelpies here today.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55I'd read about, on the American Scottish Foundation website,
0:56:55 > 0:56:57that they had...
0:56:57 > 0:57:01The actual ones in Falkirk, Scotland, are 100 feet high.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03And that, to me, is amazing.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14Way back in the beginning of the project,
0:57:14 > 0:57:16nearly eight years ago now,
0:57:16 > 0:57:20the ideas of comparing the Kelpies and that they...
0:57:20 > 0:57:22The idea that we might be able to, somehow,
0:57:22 > 0:57:25match the Statue of Liberty's iconic stature -
0:57:25 > 0:57:29it was one of the main motivations, or certainly a driving force.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31Very, very different types of sculpture, of course.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35Nevertheless, this one really has become symbolic of New York
0:57:35 > 0:57:38and probably America. And to think that the Kelpies -
0:57:38 > 0:57:41you know, in my wildest moments - might actually have that
0:57:41 > 0:57:45kind of implication and significance for Scotland would be phenomenal.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48It's really amazing to stand here with this lady in the distance,
0:57:48 > 0:57:52thinking of what she's become for this city and country.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55And I can only hope that as the years go on,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58and the Kelpies grow in the popularity and recognition that they've got,
0:57:58 > 0:58:03that that might actually happen for the sculptures. It would be an amazingly...
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Well, it'd just be an incredible thing if we could make that happen. It really would be amazing.
0:58:07 > 0:58:08Time will tell.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27That's it. Job done.