Emirates Spinnaker Tower

The Emirates Spinnaker Tower is a 170-metre (560 ft) landmark observation tower in Portsmouth, England. 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. The tower, designed by local firm HGP Architects and engineering consultants Scott Wilson and built by Mowlem, reflects Portsmouth's maritime history through its being modelled and named after a spinnaker, a type of sail that balloons outward.[5] The tower was opened on 18 October 2005.

Emirates Spinnaker Tower
The Spinnaker Tower (October 2016)
Alternative namesMillennium Tower
General information
StatusUnder construction
TypeObservation tower
LocationGunwharf Quays
Portsmouth, England, UK
Coordinates50°47′44.22″N 1°06′30.86″W
Construction started2001
Completed2005
Cost£35.6 million
Height
Antenna spire560 ft (170 m)
Roof360 ft (110 m)
Top floor344 ft (105 m)
Technical details
Floor count4
Lifts/elevators1
Design and construction
ArchitectHGP Greentree Allchurch Evans
DeveloperThe Millennium Commission
Structural engineerScott Wilson
Halcrow Yolles
Main contractorMowlem
References
[1][2][3][4]
Spinnaker Tower at night in 2005

The tower is owned by Portsmouth City Council, but operationally it is managed by Continuum Leading Attractions, a cultural attractions group based in York. Continuum also runs five other visitor attractions across the country. Following a commercial sponsorship deal with Dubai-based Emirates airline, the tower was renamed in July 2015.[6]

Structure

The tower, at a height of 560 feet (170 m), is ​2 1⁄2 times as high as Nelson's Column, making it one of the tallest accessible structures in the United Kingdom outside London. The tower is visible around Portsmouth, changing the horizon of the area. It can be seen from the Isle of Wight, the Manhood Peninsula, even Highdown Gardens in Worthing and Nine Barrow Down.

The tower represents sails billowing in the wind, a design accomplished using two large, white, sweeping metal 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 360° view of the city of Portsmouth, the Langstone and Portsmouth harbours, and a viewing distance of 23 miles (37 km). The highest of the three observation platforms, the Sky Deck, has only a wire mesh roof, so visitors are open to the elements. The windows extend above head height, so it is not possible to get a view unobstructed by glass. A glass floor is located on the first viewing deck at 100 metres above sea level. The tower has a design lifetime of 80 years.[7]

The design is similar to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, whose structure is a little less than twice as tall at 323 metres (1,060 ft).

History

The tower was originally called the Portsmouth Millennium Tower and was designed as a monument to commemorate the Millennium celebrations in 2000. The project was conceived in 1995[8][9] with an original opening date planned for late 1999.[10][8] Due to political, financial, contractual and construction problems and extra funding requests by the builders Mowlem, construction didn't begin until 2001 and was completed in mid-2005. Because of the six-year delay in opening and not having been ready for the Millennium as planned, the tower was renamed Spinnaker Tower.

The overall development project was over budget, with the tower costing £35.6 million alone. Taxpayers were never intended to fund the tower, but Portsmouth City Council eventually contributed £11.1 million towards construction.

In March 2004, Portsmouth Council's former leader Cllr Leo Madden resigned as leader of the Labour Group on the council after a highly critical report of the council's handling of the project and its failure to exploit revenue opportunities, such as the Millennium. Barry Smith, the project's legal advisor, also retired after being suspended on full pay,[11] mostly because of 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 suffered from a number of issues since opening, including a malfunctioning external glass lift.[12] During the final construction phase, a protester from the rights group Fathers 4 Justice scaled the tower wearing a high-visibility jacket and unfurling a banner in the process.[13] Another incident happened a year later when a base jumper managed to get past site security and jumped off the Tower; he quickly ran off site after parachuting down.[14]

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 of Mowlem and Maspero were stranded in its malfunctioning external lift (built by Maspero) for an hour and a half. Abseiling engineers were called to rescue them.[15][16][17] Some, including the franchise's chief executive, felt it was rather fitting that these particular people had been trapped.[18] The external lift was removed during December 2012.

Once open, the tower attracted crowds in excess of expectations, despite only the internal lift working, with more than 600,000 people visiting it in the first year.[19] It is one of a number of observation towers around the world that have become popular, including Vancouver's Harbour Centre, Toronto's CN Tower, Blackpool's Tower, New York City's One World Trade Center (as well as the original Twin Towers) and Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower.

In June 2006, the local press raised a concern that the tower might 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 a single internal lift and stairs available as emergency escape routes, disabled people were not allowed to access the tower if they would be unable to use the stairs because a minimum of two escape routes are required by law.[20] This problem was rectified by investing in an evacuation chair and training 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 Spinnaker Tower, being a landmark of southern England, features in the title sequence of the BBC South Today news programme. It also features on ITV News.

In June 2009, the tower's operators succeeded in gaining permission for a freefall ride to be attached.[21] As of 2015 this remains only a plan.

In 2006, the tower won the RICS Project of the Year award and the RICS Regeneration award.[22]

Commercial sponsorship
The tower being painted

In May 2015, as part of a wider effort to "generate additional revenue by using the advertising potential of council-owned land and other assets", Portsmouth City Council proposed selling the tower's naming rights to a commercial sponsor.[23][24] The proposed sponsorship deal would include the naming rights for the tower for at least five years, repainting and rebranding the tower in the sponsor's choice of colours and logos and new signage to be installed "no later than July 17" ahead of the 2015 America's Cup World Series. Dubai-based airline Emirates was reported to be the favoured sponsor, with the tower to be renamed as the Emirates Spinnaker Tower.[25][26]

On 5 June 2015, the city council confirmed that Emirates had been secured as the sponsor.[27] Councillor Luke Stubbs said: "It's clearly a very good deal for the city and shows the benefit that Portsmouth is deriving from the America’s Cup... This also associates Portsmouth with a global brand and that can only be a good thing."[28] The tower was to be repainted in a red and white colour scheme—similar to that of local football rivals Southampton F.C.—as part of the rebranding but following a petition with over 10,000 signatures, Portsmouth City Council decided to rethink the change.[29][30] Portsmouth City Council leader Donna Jones said: "We are working up a new design for the tower [which] will reflect the city’s heritage... I don’t want a tower in the city [that] no one likes the look of."[31] The new design, unveiled on 19 June 2015, featured a blue, gold and white colour scheme. Tim Clark, President and CEO of Emirates said: "We listened to the feedback and worked with the council to adapt the designs in order to create something that Portsmouth residents will be proud of."[32]

  • Panoramic view of the first deck, showing the glass walkway.
  • The Tower overlooking the harbour.
  • The triangular staircase that must be navigated should an evacuation be needed.
  • 'Spinny', Spinnaker Tower's former mascot.
  • The view through the glass floor of the tower.
  • Rear view from ground level of the tower.
  • Spinnaker Tower and harbour from the air, 2007.
  • Spinnaker Tower from the water, 2012.
  • Spinnaker Tower In 2019
  • You can pay £2 to buy a coin of your choice at the machine at the exit to the lift
  • This is the back of the coin

Events
  • The Magic Numbers played a live acoustic set at the Spinnaker Tower on 20 February 2007.[33]
  • 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.[34]
  • 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.[35]
  • Series 4, Episode 1 of Coach Trip featured contestants spending the day on the tower.
  • Blue Peter recorded the 2006 Book of the Year Award inside the tower.
  • Contestants on The Biggest Loser had to climb over 1,500 steps to the top of the tower as part of their weight-loss task during February 2011
  • The reality show Four Weddings featured Spinnaker Tower during an episode; it filmed the wedding ceremony and reception at the tower during Season Two in 2010.
  • BBC's Stargazing Live was hosted and filmed at Spinnaker Tower as part of a series of free local events in 2012.
  • CBeebies programme Nina and the Neurons Go Engineering featured an episode set at the Tower in 2013, looking at the strength of the glass floor.
gollark: I could make a web version right now, but it would be a terrible idea as it would be *entirely unable* to do *any checking whatsoever*.
gollark: Ah, mine is a command line program right now.
gollark: Seasonals will be different too then?
gollark: Got æon, missed paper. This is okay.
gollark: I see them occasionally during my forays into the cæve.

See also

References
  1. "Emirates Spinnaker Tower". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  2. Emirates Spinnaker Tower at Emporis
  3. "Emirates Spinnaker Tower". SkyscraperPage.
  4. Emirates Spinnaker Tower at Structurae
  5. "Spinnaker Tower Also known as Portsmouth Millenium Tower". Skyscraper News. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  6. Aldalou, Muhammad (5 June 2015). "Spinnaker Tower renamed after Emirates deal". Insider Media. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  7. LUSAS, 4 November 2005. Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
  8. Payne, Stewart (19 October 2005). "Red faces over Portsmouth's showcase project, £12 million over budget and six years late". Telegraph. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. Journey - http://wearejourney.co.uk. "History and Construction - Emirates Spinnaker Tower". Spinnakertower.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  10. "Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth - Building #406". Skyscrapernews.com. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. Staff writers (18 October 2005). "Spinnaker opens five years late". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  12. Staff writers (20 May 2008). "City's troubled tower lift shuts". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  13. Staff writers (30 December 2004). "Father's rights man scales tower". BBC News.
  14. Staff writers (12 August 2005). "Parachutist jumps from Spinnaker". BBC News.
  15. Staff writers (16 October 2005). "Troubled Spinnaker given blessing". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  16. Staff writers (18 October 2005). "Council boss trapped in Spinnaker". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  17. "Spinnaker's big day hit by a towering calamity". Portsmouth Today. 18 October 2005. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  18. "Red faces over Portsmouth's showcase project". The Daily Telegraph. 19 October 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2006.
  19. "Spinnaker Tower". Mott MacDonald. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  20. "Closure threat to Spinnaker Tower". Portsmouth Today. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  21. "Spinnaker Tower freefall plan approved". Portsmouth News. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  22. "Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower (Regeneration Winner 2006)". RICS. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  23. "Spinnaker Tower set for commercial rebrand". BBC News. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  24. "Spinnaker Tower sponsor to be revealed". The News. Portsmouth. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  25. Bannister, Sam (5 June 2015). "Airline giant Emirates lined up as Spinnaker Tower sponsor". The News. Portsmouth. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  26. "Portsmouth City Council are set to sell the naming rights for the Spinnaker Tower to airline Emirates". Southern Daily Echo. Southampton. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  27. "Spinnaker Tower rebranded with name of sponsor Emirates". BBC News. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  28. Bannister, Sam (5 June 2015). "Airline giant Emirates is Spinnaker Tower sponsor". The News. Portsmouth. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  29. "Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower to turn colour of arch rivals Southampton". ITV News. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  30. "Portsmouth City Council are set to sell the naming rights for the Spinnaker Tower to airline Emirates". Southern Daily Echo. Southampton. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  31. O'Leary, Miles (8 June 2015). "Pompey fans hail rethink over Emirates Spinnaker Tower red and white design a 'victory for common sense'". The News. Portsmouth. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  32. "Spinnaker Tower branding: New design revealed by council". BBC News. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  33. Wave 105 Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  34. Annie Nightingale. "Spinnaker Tower show". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  35. "Children in Need: Pudsey up and down the Tower!". BBC Hampshire. November 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
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