Scania Heart

Project details

Commissioner: Scania
Artist: Alan Williams
Year: 2020
Project type: Commercial commission / corporate sculpture
Subject: Anatomical human heart
Setting: Commissioned for Scania’s head office in Milton Keynes
Dimensions: H 280 × W 85 × D 30 cm
Materials: Reclaimed Scania automotive and workshop components
Key component: Lorry clutch at the centre of the heart
Source material: Components collected from Scania depots and workshops

Scania Heart anatomical metal sculpture by Alan Williams for Scania

Scania commissioned Alan Williams in 2020 to create a large-scale anatomical human heart for its head office in Milton Keynes.

The brief centred on the heart as a symbol of what lies at the company’s centre: its drivers, workforce and the people behind the organisation.

Alan constructed the sculpture from components sourced through Scania’s own depots and workshops, keeping the material directly connected to the company it represents.

A heart for Scania

The heart was the starting point of the commission rather than an added theme.

Scania wanted the sculpture to represent the people at the centre of the organisation. Alan therefore worked with a recognisable anatomical form while using mechanical components that came from the company’s own working environment.

At 280 cm high, the finished piece has the scale of a corporate installation while retaining the individual pipes, fittings and engineered parts from which it was made.

Commission a Sculpture

Scania Heart sculpture by Alan Williams made from reclaimed Scania components

Alan Williams working on the Scania Heart sculpture in 2020

Sourcing the components

Alan visited Scania depots and workshops to gather components for the sculpture.

That sourcing process gave him a material palette already connected with the company. Rather than stripping away every sign of previous use, he retained the character of the parts and selected them for the shapes they could contribute to the finished heart.

Several components still carry their original Scania markings and branding.

Building the heart

A lorry clutch forms the hub at the centre of the sculpture.

Around it, Alan assembled pipes, mechanical components and other reclaimed automotive parts to build the larger form. Their original engineering functions remain visible at close range, even as the separate pieces resolve into a human heart.

The construction relies on the shape and direction of the components rather than disguising them beneath a continuous surface.

Detail of reclaimed Scania components in the Scania Heart sculpture

Scania Heart sculpture detail showing reclaimed automotive components

Mechanical and organic

Scania Heart brings Alan’s interest in mechanical objects directly into a human anatomical form.

The finished sculpture is recognisable as a heart, but the vehicle components remain legible within it. Parts that once belonged to working lorries and workshop machinery have been reassigned to a different structure without losing the evidence of where they came from.

That relationship between the mechanical and the organic is central to the piece.