The Spinnaker Tower in June 2005.

The interior of the tower's first deck.

The tower at night, showing the tower's uplighting.

The Spinnaker Tower is a 170m (558 ft) high tower situated in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. The tower is the centrepiece of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Harbour, which was supported by a large National Lottery grant. The tower, designed by Local Firm HGP Architects and the engineering consultants Scott Wilson, ties in with Portsmouth's maritime tradition by being modeled on a sail. After several years of delays and a massive budget overspend, it was officially opened on 18 October 2005, and has drawn a modest number of extra tourists to the area. Download high resolution version (600x1440, 92 KB)The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, UK, as seen from the Gunwharf Quays waterfront. ... Download high resolution version (600x1440, 92 KB)The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, UK, as seen from the Gunwharf Quays waterfront. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1152x864, 286 KB) Summary The first deck interior of the Spinnaker tower (taken 2005-10-19). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1152x864, 286 KB) Summary The first deck interior of the Spinnaker tower (taken 2005-10-19). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (310x788, 47 KB) Summary The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, UK, at night. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (310x788, 47 KB) Summary The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, UK, at night. ... Orders of magnitude (length) 1 E-13 m 1 E-12 m 1 E-11 m 1 E-10 m 1 E-9 m 1 E-8 m 1 E-7 m 1 E-6 m 1 E-5 m 1 E-4 m 1 E-3 m 1 E... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... The Eiffel Tower Fire-observation watchtower in Kostroma, Russia. ... Portsmouth is a city of about 189,000 people located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of Great Britain. ... Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. ... A play here! sign outside a newsagent, incorporating the National Lotterys logo of a stylised hand with crossed fingers. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Sunset at sea Look up Sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Look up maritime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Structure

The tower, at a height of 170 metres (558 feet) above sea level, is two and a half times the height of Nelson's Column, making it the tallest accessible structure in the United Kingdom outside of London. The tower is visible from miles around Portsmouth, changing the shape of the horizon in the area. metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) A metre or meter[1] (symbol: m) is a unit of length and the current base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... In the British Isles, an Ordnance Datum or OD is a vertical datum used by an ordnance survey as the basis for deriving altitudes on maps. ... Nelson on his column Nelsons Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square, London, England. ... London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ...

The tower represents sails billowing in the wind, a design accomplished using two large, white, sweeping steel arcs, which give the tower its distinctive spinnaker sail design. At the top is a triple observation deck, providing a 320 degree view of the city of Portsmouth, the Langstone and Portsmouth harbours, and a viewing distance of 37 kilometres (23 miles). The glass floor is the largest in Europe. The old steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon being the primary alloying material. ... A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing downwind (with the wind behind the boat). ... Portsmouth is a city of about 189,000 people located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of Great Britain. ... Langstone Harbour is an inlet of the English Channel east of the city of Portsmouth and west of Hayling Island. ... A harbor (or harbour) or haven is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. ... km redirects here. ... A mile is the name of a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A glass floor is transparent section of a floor in a building or a boat. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth; the term continent here referring to a cultural and political distinction, rather than a physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europes precise borders. ...

The highest of the three observation platforms, the crow's nest, has no roof, allowing visitors to get the feeling of being amongst the elements.

This design was chosen from a selection of concept designs through a vote offered to Portsmouth residents. Voting is a method of decision making wherein a group such as a meeting or an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion—usually as a final step following discussions or debates. ...

History

The project began in 1995, although construction of the tower did not begin until 2001, and was not completed until 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, in time for the Millennium celebrations. The tower, originally referred to as the Portsmouth Millennium Tower was accordingly renamed the Spinnaker Tower. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mowlem is one of the UKs largest construction and engineering companies. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... A millennium is a period of time, equal to one thousand years (from Latin mille, thousand, and annum, year). ...

The project was massively over-budget, with an overall cost of £35.6 million for the tower alone. Taxpayers were not supposed to fund the tower, but Portsmouth City Council eventually paid £11.1m towards the construction. ISO 4217 Code GBP User(s) United Kingdom Inflation rate 2. ...

In March 2004, Portsmouth Council leader Leo Madden resigned after a highly-critical report into the council's handling of the project and failure to exploit revenue opportunities such as the Millennium. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The tower has also been beset by health and safety issues, including large cracks beneath the observation deck and a malfunctioning external glass lift, and security concerns, with Fathers 4 Justice campaigners and base jumpers infiltrating the tower. Occupational safety and health is the discipline concerned with preserving and protecting human and facility resources in the workplace. ... Look up crack in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colours as shown in this ball from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... A set of elevators or lifts, in the lower level of a train station. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... BASE jumping is the sport of using a parachute to jump from fixed objects. ...

The tower was dedicated on October 16, 2005 and opened two days later. On opening day, the Tower's project manager, David Greenhalgh, and representatives for Mowlem and Maspero became stranded in the tower's malfunctioning external lift (built by Maspero) for an hour and a half. Abseiling engineers were called to rescue them.^[1][2][3] Some, including the franchise's chief executive, felt it was rather fitting that these particular people were trapped. ^[4] October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful planning and execution of any project. ... In British English, abseiling (from the German abseilen, to rope down) is the process of descending on a fixed rope. ...

However, once open, the tower was an immediate success, attracting crowds well in excess of expectations to see the unique views, despite only the internal lift working for the first 7 months. Observation towers in Canada have been similarly successful (Toronto CN Tower, Calgary, Niagara) as has, of course, the UK's Blackpool Tower. , The CN Tower at 553. ... Calgary Tower Calgary Towers Glass Floor The Calgary Tower is a 190 metre free standing tower in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ... The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, Ontario is a building that overlooks the Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side of the Niagara River. ... Blackpool Tower The Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in the town of Blackpool, Lancashire, in the north of England (Grid reference SD306360). ...

Trivia

The tower will host the third of BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale's live annual 'tower broadcasts' on September 21, 2006 featuring Santos and The Plump DJs, following similar shows from the BT Tower, London and the Television Tower, Berlin.^[5] BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station, specialising in popular music aimed at the 16-24 age bracket. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ... Annie Nightingale MBE (born in London on April 1, 1942) is a radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Plump DJs DJing at the Breakfest festival The plump DJs (Lee Rous and Andy Gardner) are one of the most popular DJs and producers of Nu skool breaks, a style of electronic dance music that has gained a large following in recent years. ... BT Tower from the Euston Road, looking south. ... London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... The Berliner Fernsehturm seen from a distance. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ...

References

1. ^ BBC News, October 16, 2005. Troubled Spinnaker given blessing. Retrieved November 14, 2005.
2. ^ BBC News, October 18, 2005. Council boss trapped in Spinnaker. Retrieved November 14, 2005.
3. ^ Portsmouth Today, October 18, 2005. Spinnaker's big day hit by a towering calamity. Retrieved November 14, 2005.
4. ^ Daily Telegraph, October 19, 2005. [1]
5. ^ BBC Radio 1, Annie Nightingale. Spinnaker Tower show. Retrieved August 27, 2006.

The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article deals with The Daily Telegraph in Britain, see The Daily Telegraph (Australia) for the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper founded in 1855. ... October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station, specialising in popular music aimed at the 16-24 age bracket. ... Annie Nightingale MBE (born in London on April 1, 1942) is a radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom. ... August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Spinnaker Tower website (Heritage Projects Ltd)
• Web Cam of the Spinnaker Tower
• Structurae.net page
• Spinnaker Tower construction photographs and views from the top