Grosvenor Hall, UMIST College Campus, Manchester

This cheerfully creative dial adorns the wall at Manchester University Institute of Science and Technology’s Grosvenor Hall. Made in 1998 from square black iron tubing, it takes the shape of a bird; the winter solstice and equinox lines outline the spread of the wings, while the body is formed from the summer solstice line with the hours from nine to 12. The ball nodus at the end of the gnomon becomes the head. The wall’s declination of 20 degrees to the east produces the perfect dynamic angle for the bird’s soaring flight.