Spinningfields wheels out a snowflake with an imprint

To celebrate the winter season, marketers at Manchester shopping and leisure centre Spinningfields have designed and built the world’s first Snow Wheel. Using the concept of snow as a blank canvas, the team created a bespoke wheel designed to leave a high-impact impression on the ground, and make a physical imprint.

Ben Young, ideas engineer from Spinningfields has developed the 1.8m diameter wheel. The wheel itself is designed to leave an imprint of the words Spinningfields Snow Season on freshly fallen snow. There are plans to roll the wheel round the city centre during snowy weather. To see initial sketches develop through to completion, Spinningfields teamed up with local designer Tim Denton to produce the wheel, which is constructed from steel, plywood and polypropylene.

Described as ‘a large 3D puzzle’ by Denton, the laser cut components have been designed and assembled to look like a snowflake.

Ben Young, ideas engineer, said; “The idea for the wheel came about after looking at snow as a giant blank canvas and wanting to put our mark on it. Tim was the perfect fit for this project, he’s an expert in developing, engineering and fabricating objects that are unusual and one of a kind. My primary interest is to make public spaces more interesting and the Snow Wheel was created with this in mind.”

The Snow Wheel has already received a number of enquiries to display the wheel as an installation in office foyers; long after the festive period has ended. Ben said, “The interest we’ve received in the wheel has further demonstration that physical marketing projects are still relevant within the industry and have longevity past their initial usage.”