Jump to content

Macau Tower

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Io Herodotus (talk | contribs) at 13:24, 14 November 2015 (link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre
澳門旅遊塔會展娛樂中心
Centro de Convenções e Entretenimento da Torre de Macau
View underneath Macau Tower showing the outer rim.
Map
General information
TypeCommunications, mixed use
LocationMacau, PRC
Construction started1998
Completed2001
OpeningDecember 19, 2001
OwnerSociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, S.A.R.L. (STDM)
ManagementShun Holdings
Height
Antenna spire338 m (1,108.9 ft)
Top floor223 m (731.6 ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Craig Craig Moller Ltd.
Structural engineerBeca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd.

Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre (Chinese: 澳門旅遊塔會展娛樂中心;Portuguese: Centro de Convenções e Entretenimento da Torre de Macau), also known as Macau Tower, is a tower located in the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Macau used to be a Portuguese colony until 1999. The tower measures 338 m (1,109 ft) in height from ground level to the highest point. An observation deck with panoramic views, restaurants, theaters, shopping malls and the Skywalk X, a thrilling walking tour around the outer rim. It offers the best view of Macau and in recent years has been used for a variety of adventurous activities. At 233 meters, the Macau Tower's tethered "skyjump" and Bungee jump by AJ Hackett[1] from the tower's outer rim, is the highest commercial skyjump in the world (233 meters), and the second highest commercial decelerator descent facility in the world, after Vegas' Stratosphere skyjump at 252 meters.[2] The tower was created by the architecture firm of Craig Craig Moller.

The tower is one of the members of the World Federation of Great Towers. Besides being used for observation and entertainment, the tower is also used for telecommunications and broadcasting.

History

Macau Tower

On a visit to Auckland, New Zealand, Hong Kong casino billionaire Stanley Ho Hung-Sun was so impressed by the Sky Tower (Auckland) in Auckland that he commissioned a similar one to be built in Macau. The tower was designed by New Zealand engineering firm Beca Group and Gordon Moller of Craig Craig Moller architects for Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. Construction work of the tower started in 1998, and the tower was officially opened on December 19, 2001.

Project team

Project Architect: Les Dykstra[3] [4]

61°F Outdoor Observation Deck
58°F Observation Deck
The Macau Tower Entertainment & Convention Centre also houses several stores and a movie theatre.

Events

On December 17, 2006, the father of contemporary bungee jumping, A J Hackett, and popular artist Edison Chen broke two Guinness World Records at the Macau Tower. A J Hackett, broke his own Guinness World Record of "The Highest Bungee Jump from a Building" achieved in 1987 from the Eiffel Tower. Edison Chen represented Macau Tower in the inaugural jump to bid for "The World's Highest Bungee Jump Facility".[5]

Jack Osbourne has bungee-jumped off the tower as well, as part of the third series of Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie.

Anthony Bourdain bungee-jumped from the top floor of the building in an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

It served as the venue of photoshoot of Episode 10, America's Next Top Model Cycle 18: British Invasion.

The tower was featured in the third episode of An Idiot Abroad 3, where Karl Pilkington and Warwick Davis perform the Skywalk which involves walking around the perimeter of one of the highest floors. Davis then proceeded to take a controlled descent to the ground.

It was used on the South Korean variety show Running Man for episode 133. The cast (not including Kim Jongkook) and their guests, Lee Dong-wook and Han Hye-jin, were given three missions - sky jump, mast climb, and sky walk - to be completed on the tower to acquire the three characters they needed to continue onto the next mission.

The tower was also used as a "roadblock" in an episode of US version The Amazing Race: All-Stars that originally aired on April 22, 2007, on CBS as well as a roadblock in the Amazing Race Canada 2 in 2014. The tower also appeared in one roadblock each on two episodes of The Amazing Race Asia 3.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Macau Tower bungy AJ Hackett - Official Website". S181386383.websitehome.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
  2. ^ http://d2br62l25pxkcl.cloudfront.net/Media/PDFs/SkyJump_FactSheet.pdf
  3. ^ Les Dykstra is now Director of Architects-ldl
  4. ^ "Aqua House", Editorial Review by Tony van Raat
  5. ^ "Breaking Two Guinness World Records". Macau Tower - Press. Archived from the original on 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2006-12-16.