IceSpace featured modern ice art displays like this awesome multi-color ice wall
updated a bit when restored to the site 2/23/24
IceSpace: London's short-lived oversized ice lounge
Earlier, in summertime ice, I talked about IceSpace, which was a large temporary ice attraction built in London in 2006. While I was getting my facts straight about IceSpace, I found some pictures on Flickr.com by Adlee Sara, who worked there while it was open. They’ve generously agreed to share some of their photos as well as a bit of info about the place. Check out the gallery of their photos!
Despite that it was only open for three weeks back in 2006, it wasn’t hard to find info and some photos of IceSpace. It featured a gallery of ice art, an ice lounge, an ice skating rink, and regular live entertainment as well as impressive lighting, sound, and video displays. Adult admission to the place was £21 back in 2006. (I was going to do the conversion to today’s dollars, but do you really care?)
The whole place was a little over 300 ft long and the ice was kept below freezing by linked refrigerated tents. Official capacity of the place was 500 or 300 (or possibly less), depending on the source. The attendance goals were 400 or 300 guests per hour, depending on the source. The allowed admission times were one hour or 30 minutes (or even all day according to one interpretation), again, depending on the source. It looks like a lot of things were changing in those three weeks and supposedly even the venue’s arrangement and sculptures would change each day, making each repeat visit a unique experience.
I just barely missed seeing IceSpace
Adlee indicated that after the initial excitement, attendance fell off and it was pretty clear that the goals weren’t close to being met. They did say that the live performances were very good and that the place was pretty interesting to work at.
I was in London while IceSpace was supposed to be open (for eight weeks, from the beginning of May until the end of June.) I made seeing it a big part of my itinerary. Unfortunately, I was counting on the info I had about the IceSpace event run. As it turns out, icy places can be a little fickle about longevity, especially in the warmer months. By the time I got there, it had already closed and all I saw was an empty lot.
some other items of interest:
The “snow” on the floor of IceSpace (visible in some of the photos) was not snow, but something a bit like small packing peanuts.
London was supposed to only be a first stop for IceSpace. After it ended in London in June, it was supposed to move on to Barcelona first, then back to London, and later Berlin. (I would speculate that the refrigerated tents used for IceSpace were iceculture’s “thigloo,” which I mentioned in an earlier post)
According to Treehugger.com, the slogan for IceSpace was: “Global Warming stole the Ice Age. We’re stealing it back!”
links and stuff
As I mentioned before, I have a gallery (not a big one though) of pics and a bit more info from IceSpace. And Adlee Sara has a few more pics as well.
You could maybe (not probably, but it could happen) also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets Instagram account or the facebook page. ice sculpting secrets is also on TikTok, although videos there aren’t really tied to posts as much. You can comment on IG and fb, since it probably won’t let you comment below. (I have to try to fix that, but don’t hold your breath because it’s not as simple as I first assumed.) Thanks!
