Brighton i360 reached a major turning point this week as a 25 metre high pile rig arrived on site at Brighton Beach and the sewer diversion around the site was completed.
The 52-tonne rig will be used to put 10-20 metre long piles in the beach, which attach to each other to make a wall, holding back the shingle to make space for the 1,728 square metre concrete foundation and 170 tonnes of reinforcing steel, which will secure the viewing tower in place.
Said Eleanor Harris, CEO of the Brighton i360, “This year is all about moving from works in the ground to reaching up to the sky – all our activity will now be visible; first this 25 metre piling rig; next a100 metre crane which will be used to lift the pieces of steel from the boats to our site; and then a 60 metre high jacking rig that will be used to build the 162 metre tower this summer.”
Two kinds of piles being used: ‘male’ and ‘female’ Secant piles, slotting tightly together to form the foundation walls and floor, whilst bearing piles are also placed across the whole site, acting as stilts, holding the building securely in the chalk strata below the site. The process will take four to five weeks and be no noisier than a digger, so is not expected to disturb neighbours.
Elsewhere, pod components for tower fitting are on the move from the POMA factory in Grenoble, France, to Rotterdam in Holland, as three bull wheels departed by lorry from the POMA factory, heading to the Hollandia yard.
Continued Eleanor Harris, CEO of Brighton i360, “This is our first shipment of equipment to be incorporated into the cans which will be used to build our tower – other equipment to be installed in the cans will follow later this month.”
Brighton i360 construction can be watched live on a webcam, filmed from the roof of the Hilton Brighton Metropole, at: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/i360_brighton/
The tower will start to be erected in June, when the fitted out steel cans are to be delivered directly to the beach on barges from Holland.
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Media enquiries: Paula Seager, Natural PR on Tel: 01273 857242 or Email: paula@naturalpr.biz
About Brighton i360
At 162 metres high, and with an observation pod rising to 138 metres, the i360 will be the tallest observation tower outside London, a vertical cable car offering a new perspective on the fun loving seaside city of Brighton. Sited at the root end of the historic West Pier on Brighton’s seafront, the i360 has a slender, elegant design, with a futuristic pod allowing 200 visitors at a time to enjoy the surrounding view as it slowly unfolds. The visitor centre incorporates a 400 seat restaurant; a shop; children’s play zone; exhibition space; tea rooms; and conference and event facilities.
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