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Brighton i360

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British Airways i360
Artwork of the planned tower
Map
General information
StatusUnder construction
TypeObservation tower
LocationBrighton & Hove, England, United Kingdom
Groundbreaking29 July 2014[1]
Estimated completionAugust 2016
Cost£46.2 million
Height162 metres (531 ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)David Marks and Julia Barfield
Architecture firmMarks Barfield
References
http://www.britishairwaysi360.com

The British Airways i360[2] is an 162-metre (531 ft) observation tower being constructed on the seafront of Brighton, near to the West Pier.[3] The "i" in the title stands for independence and innovation.[4]

The i360 is designed, engineered, manufactured and promoted by the team responsible for the London Eye. Dutch steelwork specialist Hollandia has prefabricated the cylindrical steel sections of the tower, known by the team as cans. The column is 4 metres in diameter, and with a height-to-diameter ratio of 40 to one, it will be the world's slenderest tall tower.[4] The British Airways i360 will also be the world's first vertical cable car and the world's tallest moving observation tower - the team expects the tower to appear the 2017 Guinness Book of Records as "the world's slenderest tall tower".[4]

It is estimated by the developers that the i360 will generate more than 440 permanent jobs, 169 at the attraction, plus additional jobs from the spin-off benefits to other businesses in the city. The projected cost of the tower is £46 million, with £36 million being funded by a Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) loan through Brighton and Hove city council. In 2014, some local residents launched a petition to oppose the loan.

Formerly known as the 'Brighton i360', the project aims to attract 739,000 paying customers every year, with tourists paying £15 and residents £7.50.[4] The owners of the site, The West Pier Trust, hope that a successful i360 will lead to the rebuilding of the historic West Pier.[5]

Design and construction

i360 under construction in August 2015

The tower was designed by architects Marks Barfield, who also designed the London Eye. Currently under construction at the shore end of the disused West Pier, the i360 will have a 162 m (531 ft) high needle tower with an ascending and descending circular viewing platform with a capacity for 200 people.

Plans were submitted in June 2006 and were approved by Brighton and Hove City Council later that year with construction projected to start in 2007. Following delays of around fifteen months the off-site construction of the sections of the tower began in 2008 in the Netherlands, and work on reconstructing the arches beneath and east of the pier to allow the tower construction began in November 2012. Work on the tower itself began in May 2014, with the attraction being scheduled to open in 2016.[6]

When completed it will be Britain's highest moving observation tower,[7] with a viewing platform at 138 metres (453 feet), and views along the coast, across the South Downs and across the English Channel.[citation needed] The viewing platform will be higher than the nearby Sussex Heights tower block and Whitehawk Hill, and about the same height as Thundersbarrow Hill, Red Hill and Race Hill around Brighton & Hove. The top will be about the same height as Beeding Hill to the north west and Falmer Hill to the north east, but not as high as parts of Woodingdean, Hollingbury Hill, Ditchling Beacon or Devil's Dyke, Sussex.[citation needed]

The glass passenger pod is designed and built by cable car specialists POMA, who also built the London Eye capsules. The passenger pod is 18 metres in diameter and will hold up to 200 people. Travelling from street level to a height of 138 metres, the viewing pod will provide a 360 degree view through curved glass, before returning to beach level. The pod is expected to be heated and air-conditioned, with full wheelchair accessibility and bench seating. It will also contain a bar,[8] and a brasserie near the West Pier arches called Le Vue Belle.[citation needed]

English Heritage felt that the 2006 plan would "provide an outstanding feature on the seafront, and a worthy companion to any successor to the West Pier".[9] In a statement, the West Pier Trust hoped that the project would "regenerate a key blighted city site and send out a loud message that Brighton is open for business".[6]

Finance

In March 2014, the project was expected to cost £46 million, with Brighton and Hove Council lending £36.2 million from the Public Works Loan Board and architects Marks Barfield contributing £6 million.[6][10][11] The council were initially intending to support the build with £14.8 million, but this was raised after an unnamed private equity investor told the architects it could no longer proceed[10] and withdrew its planned £15 million contribution in 2012.

The £36.2 million loan was agreed at a Special Policy & Resources Committee in March 2014, the council agreeing to more than replace the lost investment capital and to again borrow from the Public Works Loan Board to effect the new bailout.[12] The Coast to Capital LEP loan of £3 million was raised to £4 million. The West Pier Trust have suggested the project "will cost the taxpayer nothing",[6] but some residents are concerned that any repayment risk would be borne by the residents of Brighton & Hove.[13] The council have stated that if the loan were not repaid, they would have the option to take over the attraction, find another operator or sell it.[14]

Opposition

Some local residents have campaigned against the loan and raised petitions,[15] one reaching 1449 signatures, including those of architects Paul Zara, of the Conran Partnership, and Paul Nicholson, of Chalk Architecture; Simon Fanshawe, the writer and broadcaster, and Malcolm Dawes, chairman of the Brighton Society.[16]Paul Zara has since become a supporter of British Airways i360, declaring, "We should embrace it."[17]

Valerie Payton of the SaveHOVE campaign said that the tower "will be profoundly out of keeping with the rest of the seafront. It will be a huge, wide and monstrously tall steel structure that will be omnipresent and visible from wherever you look in the city and beyond."[16] She expressed concern that if the project failed for any reason, the city would have to repay the loan.[16] Selma Montford of the Brighton Society, which aims to conserve and improve the city's amenities, described the i360 as a "horrendous thing in the sky" which would belittle nearby Regency Square. She said that she did not believe it would achieve the predicted visitor figures.[18] The i360 has been nicknamed[by whom?] the "iSore".[19]

References

  1. ^ "Construction work on Brighton's i360 tower begins". BBC. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  2. ^ British Airways sponsors Brighton's i360 seafront tower, BBC
  3. ^ "The i360 at Brighton West Pier". Brighton West Pier Trust. Archived from the original on 29 November 2006. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 29 September 2006 suggested (help)
  4. ^ a b c d Brian Oliver (26 December 2015). "Brighton reaches for the sky in bid to reverse its 'lost decade' of neglect". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Workers complete demolition of sections of Brighton's West Pier ahead of i360 build". The Latest. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d "Work on the Brighton i360 to start within weeks". thelatest.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  7. ^ "The vertical cable car - Brighton i360". Brighton i360. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  8. ^ http://www.marksbarfield.com/#/in-the-news/2015/i360-glass-passenger-pod-under-construction
  9. ^ http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/891264.Vital_support_for_i360_proposals/
  10. ^ a b "Funding for Brighton i360 to be decided tomorrow". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  11. ^ "Public Works Loan Board".
  12. ^ "Brighton & Hove City Council - Agenda for Policy & Resources Committee on Thursday, 6th March, 2014, 4.00pm". Present.brighton-hove.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  13. ^ "A Tall Order - Daniel Raven is No Longer Enjoying the View". Sussex Style magazine. April 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  14. ^ "'i360' West Pier Observation Tower and Heritage Centre | Brighton & Hove City Council". Brighton-hove.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  15. ^ "Hundreds sign online petition against i360 loan agreement". The Argus. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  16. ^ a b c Patrick Sawyer, 'High price to pay? Observation tower divides Brighton', The Telegraph, 13 April 2014
  17. ^ Benedictus, Leo (28 August 2015). "'It's a bonkers, outsized flagpole': Brighton greets the world's tallest moving observation tower". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  18. ^ Leo Benedictus, 'It's a bonkers outsized flagpole', The Guardian, 28 August 2015 ]
  19. ^ David Bramwell and Tim Bick, The Cheeky Guide to Brighton, Cheeky Guides Ltd, 2015, p34
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