28 Jul 2014
Brighton's i360 plans finally underway as London Eye team reunites to build iconic structure
BY Tom Anstey
Construction of Brighton, UK’s, i360 tower is set to kick off tomorrow (29 July) after the project secured £40m (US$68m, €50.4m) in funding eight years after the project was initially proposed. The team which designed and constructed the London Eye is reuniting to work on the project.
Designed by London-based Marks Barfield Architects, the i360 Tower – described as a “vertical pier” – gained approval earlier this year from Brighton and Hove City Council, which provided £36.2m (US$61.4m, €45.7m) in loans, with a further £4m (US$6.8m, €5m) supplied by the project investment fund Local Enterprise Partnership Coast to Capital (LEPCC).
Dutch contractor Hollandia, France-based Poma and Jacobs Engineering Group – who all worked on the London Eye – are teaming up with local contractor JT Mackley and structural engineers Hemsley Orrell Partnership on the build.
David Marks and Julia Barfield – a husband and wife architecture team – are investing an additional £6m (US$10.2m, €7.6m) of their own money into the project, which is set to open in the third quarter of 2016.
Standing at 175m (574ft) high, the i360 Tower will be taller than the iconic London Eye and will allow views for 25 miles (40.2km) on a clear day. Visitors will ascend the tower in a moving pod, which will take 20 minutes to rise gradually to the top, before descending using a vertical cable car mechanism.
The tower will be located on the site of the former Brighton West Pier, which was destroyed by fire in 2003.
The project will incorporate the restoration of some of the original pier, including the Victorian tollbooths. Parts of the cast iron supporting structure will be reused in the new visitor centre, while an exhibition will enable visitors to learn about the pier’s history.
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