A snapshot of 1995
In this year at Warwick:
- The climbing room in Warwick’s Sports Centre was opened to the public. It included a 13.5 metre tall competition wall.
- Dr. Stephen Hill, from the Department of Classics and Ancient History, directed an international team to save two ancient Byzantine mosaics from being washed away at Ciftlik, Turkey.
- The first instalment of a £1 million donation to help establish the Medical Research Institute at Warwick University was received from the WPH Charitable Trust. The total cost needed to set up the MRI was £5 million.
- Students graduate for the first time on main campus.
- A mini police station or Police Office opened on campus. It was situated in the area within Engineering formerly occupied by a hair salon.
With the development of Phase VI of the Social Studies department, a courtyard was developed in which staff and students might spend their free time. It was felt that the courtyard needed a focal point and, initially, a fountain was proposed. However, further discussions suggested that the staff whose rooms overlooked the courtyard might prefer a quieter, more contemplative feature and Bettina Furnee was approached to design a pool for this site. The sandstone rim is broad enough to seat people while a carved stone in the centre provides gentle movement of water, the ripples moving outwards to the edge of the pool. In keeping with the circular theme, Bettina proposed a carved poem by Fadwa Tuqan which evokes ideas about circles and water: 'Here the footprints stop/ Here the moon was in labour/ Give her then the glass rings/ And the blue bracelets' The forms of the letters themselves reflect the circular motif and the ripples across the pond.
And in the world:
- Steve Fossett Becomes the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon.
- Nigeria Expelled from Commonwealth due to Human Rights Abuses.
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The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking firm, Barings Bank collapses after a securities broker Nick Leeson has lost $1.4 billion by speculating on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
- The first wholly computer generated film is released. Toy Story.
Moon Pool | Bettina Furnee