TIME is ticking by for artists and scientists planning a giant Moon clock on the Thames waterfront on the Greenwich Meridian to get it built by the 2012 Olympics. They want to create a world-class tourist attraction opposite Greenwich with a 120ft-wide, five-storey high sculpture powered by the tidal flow of the Thames

By Victoria Huntley

TIME is ticking by for artists and scientists planning a giant Moon clock on the Thames waterfront on the Greenwich Meridian to get it built by the 2012 Olympics.

They want to create a world-class tourist attraction at East London's Trinity Buoy Wharf, opposite Greenwich, with a 120ft-wide, five-storey high public sculpture powered by the tidal flow of the Thames.

But the Aluna Time charity has to raise �5.3 million from grants and try and get Canary Wharf business sponsorship for the eco-cultural project by 2012.

Artist Laura Williams got the idea after watching the Solar eclipse in 1998 and came up with the design six years ago.

"It's a legacy project of public art, but is more than that," she said.

"The clock is a 'beacon' for a sustainable future, encompassing science, culture, the environment and sustainability and with the Moon being a timekeeper. It is very relevant for Greenwich as the 'home of time'.

"The Moon acts as a catalyst that can bring everyone together and reconnect us with an understanding of the environment."

The Moon Clock, larger than Stonehenge and made of recycled glass, has three glass rings representing the lunar phase, lunar day and the tides.

Light will flow around the rings showing the waxing and waning of the moon, its rising and setting and its magnetic effect on Earth's tidal ebb and flow.

It will act as an indicator for spring tides and every new and full moon, warning when the potential for flooding is at its highest, with the threat of global warming and rising sea levels.

The Aluna charity is now looking for corporate sponsors in Canary Wharf.