To celebrate the beautiful game, Nike recently unveiled “Ball Man” – a giant 21 meter high footballer made from 5,500 skills balls and weighing more than 4.5 tons suspended from the atrium of the landmark Carlton Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Ball Man was developed using a 3-D image of an athlete and then aligning each of the 5,500 skills balls to create the giant spectacle that dominates the atrium space. Strung together by over 10 kilometers of cable wire, and suspended from the atrium’s ceiling, the installation took a full three weeks to put up, and incorporates a display of Nike’s latest production innovations.
How “Ball Man” Measures Up:
- 21 Meter high footballer made from 5,500 skills balls, weighing 4.75 tons
- Ball man weighs 4.75 tons
- 10 kilometers of cable wire string the balls together
The design process ensured that the balls can be taken down and distributed to the community after the exhibition closes in August. Football fans can also submit personal messages to their favorite players for a chance to appear on the Life Centre interactive LED screen from terminals based in the atrium.
Photographs of the Ball Man are after the jump:
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