Glasgow Tower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Glasgow Tower is a free-standing tower built adjacent to the Glasgow Science Centre in 2001. The original design was by the architect Richard Horden, but, controversially, after commissioning the project was taken over by the Glasgow architects BDP. In the end the tower ended up costing £10 million. At 127 metres high, the tower is currently the tallest free-standing structure in Scotland, and the only building in the world which can turn 360 degrees from the ground up. It is shaped like an aerofoil (as if an aircraft wing had been set in the ground vertically), with computer-controlled motors to turn it into the wind in order to reduce wind resistance.
The tower is the spiritual successor to the popular Clydesdale Bank tower which stood on approximately the same spot during the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival.
The tower has been plagued by safety and engineering problems throughout its history, the latest being a breakdown on 30 January 2005 when 10 people were trapped in one of the lifts and only rescued after five hours (news report). Problems with the custom-made bearings on which it rotates led to it being closed between February 2002 and August 2004 (news report). During the times when it has been open the Tower (which is the tallest structure in Glasgow) provides specatular views of the whole city.
In 2008, it will be replaced as Scotland's tallest building by the 39-storey Elphinstone Place office tower in the city's financial district.
