Tower Story
Soaring 170 meters above Portsmouth Harbour on Britain’s south coast, the Spinnaker Tower is taller than the London Eye and the Blackpool Tower. Spinnaker Tower is a British national icon and a world class visitor attraction. The much-admired, elegant viewing Tower stands proud over one of the most fascinating seascapes in the world. It offers amazing 350˚ panoramic views of Portsmouth, over three viewing decks with full floor to ceiling glazed walls.
The Spinnaker Tower project was funded jointly by the local authority and The Millenium Commission as the final phase of restoration of Portsmouth’s Harbour development. The project converted a disused part of the naval base in to a leisure destination. Spinnaker Tower is operated by Continuum, and has had almost three million visitors.
Address
Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3TT
Facts & Statistics
City name
Portsmouth
Architect
Hedley Greentree
Engineers
Mowlems
Inauguration date
October 2005
Construction time
4 years, Nov 2001 to Oct 2005
Max. people working on tower at any one time during construction
60
Construction cost
USD$55 million
Total height of tower
170m
Total weight
30,000 tons
Gross ground floor area of building
653m2
Total useable floor area of building
610m2
Depth of tower below ground
50m
Weight of concrete used for construction
13,750 tons
Weight of the metal structure
1,200 tons
Maximum design wind speed
174km/h
Deflection at this speed (in m)
150 mm
Height of observatories
View deck 1: 100m View deck 2: 105m View deck 3: 110m
Visibility to horizon from observatory
37km
Number of steps
560 + 27 external steps
Number of windows
120
Restaurant name
Waterfront Café and Café in the Clouds
Restaurant height
Ground floor and 105m
Restaurant capacity
80 people
Number of elevators
1
Elevator capacity
26 people
Elevator speed
14km/h
Elevator capacity per hour
350 people
Elevator manufacturer
Kone
Maximum diameter of shaft
6m
Water tank capacity
28,000 liters
Cables quantity used for construction
18.5kms
Unique features of tower
The largest glass floor in Europe All viewing decks have floor to ceiling glass Open air experience with the steel mesh ceiling Mr Kevin Smith Director St Edmund’s House, Margaret Street York, England YO10 4UX TEL: +44 1904 527 700 FAX: +44 1904 527 70