For some it’ll be the Colossus of Stratford, for others, it’s London mayor Boris Johnsons folly. Since it was announced in March 2010, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, a gigantic sculptural tower soon to grace London’s Olympic Park, has caused much controversy. The debate took a new turn in early August when the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment — which advises the government on architecture and public space — stated that the tower’s design was "not resolved in sufficient detail to receive planning approval." With an unveiling scheduled for November 2011 there’s still time to solve the several structural issues plaguing the Orbit.

Designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor in collaboration with structural designer Cecil Balmond and Ushida Findlay Architects, the ArcelorMittal Orbit will be a roughly 377-foot-tall construction of red steel, supposedly inspired by the shape of a loop of string arrested mid-fall. It’ll have a viewing platform, a restaurant and — everybody seems very keen to repeat — will be 72 feet taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty. However, one can’t help wondering if London really needs another landmark. There’s already Big Ben, the London Eye, the Gherkin; buildings dubbed the Razor and the Shard are nearing completion; and these will soon be joined by the spectacular Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre at the entrance of the Olympic Park. Yet all this just wasn’t enough for Johnson, who felt that the Olympic site needed "something extra, something to distinguish the East London skyline, something to arouse the curiosity and wonder of Londoners and visitors" — and, perhaps, something to mark his years in office.

It all came together when Johnson met Lakshmi Mittal CEO of the world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal — in a cloakroom at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The story goes that in less than one minute, he had convinced Mittal to support the project: of the £19.1 million ($29.4 million) needed for the construction, £16 million ($25.1 million) will be paid by the steel company, the rest being provided by the London Development Agency. Olympic rules prevent ArcelorMittal from putting up its name on the tower during the Games, but the company has effectively bought and named what is likely to be the backdrop of choice to the Olympics’ extensive televising.

ArcelorMittal Orbit’s design has little to do with the elegant lines of Kapoor’s most successful pieces of public art. His "Cloud Gate," in Chicago, is an unspoiled drop of mercury, while the intestine-like tube of "Marsyas," presented at Tate Modern in 2002, was quietly overwhelming. In contrast, the convoluted shapes of the Orbit — labelled a "giant Mr. Messy" by architecture critic Tom Dyckhoff — feel taxingly overworked. This is perhaps due to the fact that what was primarily conceived as a sculpture had to become a functional structure. It’s a problem recognised by Make architect Ken Shuttleworth. "This is a piece of art and it needs to stay a piece of art," Shuttleworth told ARTINFO. "When you mix architecture and art together, it’s much more difficult to make a logical piece. The Orbit has to decide what it is it’s trying to be, if it’s going to be a piece of architecture or a piece of art."

But it’s not just aesthetics that are at stake in the debate surrounding Orbit. Claims towards sustainability were crucial in London’s bid to host the Games, and it is not a little ironic that what will soon embody London 2012 is paid for by a company that, according to the Guardian, produces 220 million tons of carbon every year — as much as the Czech Republic. The same article tells us that ArcelorMittal "sought damages for being forced to pay for its greenhouse gas emissions because the company claimed the EU ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) threatened its business unfairly." As Tate realised after the BP-sponsorship scandal, looking closely at a funder’s ethics is often an uncomfortable experience. Instead of celebrating Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertins "all sports for all people" motto, the Orbit is further proof that London’s corporate culture is getting swifter, higher, and stronger than ever.