The sometimes spectacular and often controversial observation tower on Brighton’s seafront has been praised in a nationwide awards ceremony held by RICS, a global professional body promoting and enforcing the highest international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.
The British Airways i360 is the world’s tallest moving observation tower, encompassing a 162-metre-tall vertical tower with a futuristic glass observation pod that lifts 200 passengers to a height of 138 metres.
“It’s design and engineering is impressive, highly innovative, and this exciting tourist attraction is already proving to be a great success. Acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the world’s most slender tower, it has a height-to-width ratio of 41:1. State of the art cable car technology drives a 200-person capacity curved glass and steel viewing pod up and down, and energy is generated on its descent.”
RICS judges said the project pushes the boundaries of technical innovation and has aided the regeneration of Brighton’s seafront.
The seafront attraction has split opinions among many Brightonians, with many seeing it as an eyesore that has disrupted many resident’s previously tranquil views of the west pier. Others see the tower as a futuristic and iconic construction that promises to catalyse development on the seafront towards Hove Lawns and the Bandstand. Either way, the tower has been praised by the construction and surveying industry for it’s design, so whichever side of the debate you fall on, the i360 now has a badge of honour to it’s name.
How do you feel about this news and the status of the i360 on Brighton’s seafront?
