Inaugurated on October 31, 2019, Statue of Unity, also known as the Sardar Patel Statue in Vadodara, India became the tallest statue on the face of the earth, surpassing the formerly tallest Spring Temple’s Buddha in China. The statue is dedicated to the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Sardar Patel was considered the most important link in uniting all the 562 pre-independence princely states in India to form the Independent Republic of India, hence the name of the statue. He also served as the First Deputy Prime Minister as well as the Home Minister of India. The efforts of Sardar Patel in shaping and uplifting Independent India had been endless. Here is a quick summary of the architecture and structure of this iconic structure.

1. The Statue of Unity stands as the tallest statue in India as well as the whole world at 182 meters, i.e., almost double the height of Statue of Liberty(93m), and 23 meters higher than String Temple Buddha of China.
2. The statue is based on the initial design of sculpture designed by famous Indian sculpture Ram V Sutar. The design was further developed by Michael Graves Architecture to become the tallest statue of the World.
3. The statue sits over a 3-tiered geometrically designed base which is placed over a riverine island in Narmada River. The island is connected with land with a bridged river and pedestrian pathways for the visitors.
4. The insides of the tallest statue of world consist of a visitor’s center, exhibition hall and a hotel, surrounded by a memorial garden. The statue also has a zig-zag elevator system which takes the visitors 500 ft. high, directly to the chest of the statue, where the viewing gallery is situated. The viewing gallery provides a mesmerizing panoramic view of the upfront Sardar Sarovar Dam and the surrounding Satpura and Vidhyanchal Mountain Ranges.
5. The legs of the statue have two lifts which can carry 26 people each. They can travel from the ground level to the top within a time frame of 30 seconds to accommodate public traffic which going from the base of the statue to the top and vice versa.
6. Two semi-joined Cylindrical Concrete Structural cores support the structural steel space frame of the statue which is attached to the exterior bronze panels which finally shape up the statue. The steel framework of the statue was entirely cast with scrap metal collected from 100 million farmers of 169000 villages from all around the country.
7. The bronze cladding of the statue was done by Jiangxi Toqine Company of China. Interestingly, the natural color of the bronze façade will turn green in 100 years from now, due to weathering.
8. The statue has structurally been designed as such to withstand intense earthquakes and pressures of high-velocity winds of up to 100km/hr.
9. The construction of this mighty statue took a time period of approximately 3.5 years, indulging a force of over 3000 workers, including 300 engineers from construction giant Larsen and Toubro.
10. The complete construction cost of Sardar Patel Statue of Unity came out to be 3050 crores, which was completely funded by the Gujarat Government. An expected of 15,000 tribal people will get employment each year due to this expansive project.

The Statue of Unity remains the tallest statue of the world as of now, however, several other projects have been lined up which will surpass the same within a short span of time. A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, rising 212m from the sea level, which surpasses the Statue of Unity height, is all set up to be constructed 1.5 Kilometres from the coast of Mumbai by 2022, which will eventually surpass the statue of Unity. For visiting the statue you can check out the exact Sardar Patel Statue Location as well as the Statue of Unity ticket price from the official website of the statue.