Spinnaker Tower

The Spinnaker Tower is a m to ft|170|abbr=yes|precision=0|wiki=yes–high tower in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. It is the centrepiece of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Harbour, which was supported by a National Lottery grant. Its shape was chosen by Portsmouth residents from a selection of concepts. The tower, designed by local firm HGP Architects and the engineering consultants Scott Wilson and built by Mowlem, [ [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=406 Skyscraper News] ] reflects Portsmouth's maritime history by being modeled after a sail. After several years of delays and cost overruns, it was opened on 18 October 2005.

tructure

The tower, at a height of m to ft|170|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes above sea level, is 2.5 times higher than Nelson's Column, making it the tallest accessible structure in the United Kingdom outside London. The tower is visible for miles around Portsmouth, changing the area's horizon.

The tower represents sails billowing in the wind, a design accomplished using two large, white, sweeping steel arcs, which give the tower its spinnaker sail design. The steelwork was fabricated by Butterley Engineering. At the top is a triple observation deck, providing a 320° view of the city of Portsmouth, the Langstone and Portsmouth harbours, and a viewing distance of km to mi|37|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes. The highest of the three observation platforms, the crow's nest, has a wire mesh roof, allowing visitors to be in the elements. Windows extend to above head height, so it is not possible to get a view unobstructed by glass. The glass floor is the largest in Europe. The tower has a design lifetime of 80 years. [LUSAS, November 4, 2005. [http://www.lusas.com/case/civil/spinnaker_tower.html Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth] . Retrieved September 17, 2006.]

The design is similar to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, whose structure is a little less than twice as tall at 321 m.

History

Planning began in 1995, and construction began 2001, and was completed in mid-2005, due to repeated delays and extra funding requests by the builders Mowlem. This was six years later than the planned opening date of 1999, chosen to coincide with Millennium celebrations. The tower, originally called the "Portsmouth Millennium Tower", was renamed the "Spinnaker Tower".Fact|date=October 2007

The project was over budget, with an overall cost of £35.6 million for the tower alone. Taxpayers were not meant to fund the tower, but Portsmouth City Council eventually contributed £11.1 million towards construction.

In March 2004, Portsmouth Council leader Leo Madden resigned after a highly critical report of the council's handling of the project and failure to exploit revenue opportunities, such as the Millennium. Barry Smith, the project's legal advisor, also retired after being suspended on full pay, [BBC News, 18 October 2005. " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4326932.stm Spinnaker opens five years late] ". Retrieved October 18, 2006.] mostly due to controversy over the contract with the builders, which at one point would have cost the council more to cancel than to complete.

The tower has been beset by health and safety issues, including large cracks beneath the observation deck and a malfunctioning external glass lift. Fathers 4 Justice campaigners and base jumpers have infiltrated the tower, leading to security concerns.Fact|date=October 2007

The tower was dedicated on 16 October 2005 and opened two days later. On opening day, the Tower's project manager, David Greenhalgh, and representatives for Mowlem and Maspero were stranded in the tower's malfunctioning external lift (built by Maspero) for an hour and a half. Abseiling engineers were called to rescue them. [BBC News, 16 October 2005. " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4345534.stm Troubled Spinnaker given blessing] ". Retrieved November 14, 2005.] [BBC News, 18 October 2005. " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4351452.stm Council boss trapped in Spinnaker] ". Retrieved November 14, 2005.] [Portsmouth Today, October 18, 2005. " [http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=455&ArticleID=1224482 Spinnaker's big day hit by a towering calamity] ". Retrieved November 14, 2005.] Some, including the franchise's chief executive, felt it was rather fitting that these particular people were trapped. [Daily Telegraph, October 19, 2005. " [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/19/ntower19.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/19/ixhome.html Red faces over Portsmouth's showcase project] ". Retrieved April 28, 2006.]

Once open, the tower attracted crowds in excess of expectations, despite only the internal lift working since opening, with over 600,000 people visiting the tower the first year [citeweb|title=Spinnaker Tower | Mott MacDonald|url=http://www.mottmac.com/projects/?id=39661|accessdate=2007-10-26] . Observation towers in Canada have been similarly successful (for example, Toronto's CN Tower, the Calgary Tower, Niagara's Skylon Tower), as has the UK's Blackpool Tower.

In June 2006, the local press raised a concern that the tower may be forced to close. All public buildings in the UK require disabled access under the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. With the external lift inoperative and only the internal lift for disabled access, the tower did not meet this requirement, [Portsmouth Today, July 4, 2006. " [http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=455&ArticleID=1606453 Closure threat to Spinnaker Tower] ". Retrieved October 18, 2006.] and the tower operators could be sued under the act. This problem was rectified by investing in an evacuation chair, and training for staff to use it. In the event of evacuation, should the internal lift be inoperable, those unable to navigate the 570 steps can use the evacuation chair.

The original date given for the external lift to be operational was the end of January 2007, although as of August 2008 the lift is not in service.

In 2006, the tower won the RICS Project of the year award and the RICS Regeneration award. [cite web| title = Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower (Regeneration Winner 2006)| publisher = RICS| url = http://www.rics.org/AboutRICS/Awards/RICSAwards/RICSRegenerationAward/awards_portsmouthspinnakertower02062006.htm| accessdate = 2007-10-26]

Gallery

Events held at the tower

* The tower hosted the third of BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale's live annual 'tower broadcasts' on 21 September 2006, featuring Santos and The Plump DJs, following similar shows from the BT Tower, London and the Television Tower, Berlin. [BBC Radio 1, Annie Nightingale. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/annienightingale/spinnaker1.shtml Spinnaker Tower show] . Retrieved August 27, 2006.]

* Spinnaker Tower hosted one of the regional events for the BBC's Children in Need events in 2006. This involved the mascot of the event, Pudsey Bear, abseiling down the structure. [BBC Hampshire, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/content/image_galleries/cin_spinnaker_gallery.shtml?1 Children In Need] . Retrieved November 27, 2006.]

* Blue Peter recorded the 2006 "Book of the Year Award" inside the tower.

References

External links

* [http://www.spinnakertower.co.uk Spinnaker Tower website (Heritage Projects Ltd)]
* [http://62.49.203.251/pagebuild/cam1/pagebuild.cgi?PAGE=../std-files/pw_live1.conf&MENU=1&SITE=cam1&SUB=../br_oggle/vars.sub&SITENAME=Harbour Web Cam of the Spinnaker Tower]
* [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=406 Spinnaker Tower on Skyscrapernews.com]
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* [http://www.cjbphotography.co.uk Spinnaker Tower construction photographs and views from the top]