Puy de Dôme Sculpture, University of Southampton

Public sculpture, ‘Puy de Dôme’, 1962 to 1963 by F E McWilliam, situated in a rectangular pool designed by Basil Spence and Partners for the sculpture adjacent to the Nuffield Theatre on the University of Southampton Highfield Campus.

MATERIALS: sculpture cast from bronze set in a lead-lined concrete pool with sides formed of yellow brick and ashlar blocks.

DESCRIPTION: an abstract reclining nude figure with a head and then a body built up from a series of triangular forms, which rests on four points in a shallow rectangular pool, giving the impression that it floats on water. The bronzework varies in texture to give the appearance of a rough, broken-surfaced, attenuated or decaying figure with a structure revealed beneath. The pool is approximately 11m long by 6.5m wide and built of concrete lined with lead. The east and west sides of the pool are built of yellow brick whilst the north and south sides are built of substantial ashlar blocks which rise above the surrounding pavement to provide bench seating at this central, communal area of the university campus.