A large, steel sphere sourced from a shuttered paper mill has been repurposed by Seattle firm Mutuus Studio as an installation in a waterfront park in the Pacific Northwest.
The Waypoint installation, locally known as Acid Ball, is located in the new Wayfront Park, which stretches along a revitalised waterfront in Bellingham ? a coastal city in northern Washington. The 33-acre (13-hectare) park encompasses grassy areas, pathways, seating and a pedestrian pier.

The project entailed transforming a large piece of equipment from a shuttered Georgia Pacific pulp-and-paper mill. The round structure, which has thick steel walls and an interior concrete liner, was formerly part of system that used acid to break down wood chips. It dates back to 1938.
The metal sphere is approximately 30 feet (nine metres) in diameter and weighs over 400,000 pounds (179 imperial tonnes). It rises to a height of 35 feet (11 metres). The structure has long been a "powerfully authentic artefact, connecting the community to Bellingham's mighty industrial past", said Mutuus Studio in a project description.
"There's a real desire to understand these objects and carry them into the future so that people can understand not just an industry but the movement of time itself," firm partner Saul Becker added.

The monument's official name, Waypoint, is a reference to the structure's ongoing life ? a "stopping place on a journey".
While designing the permanent installation, the t...