i360
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Nic Bailey Design was the pod consultant
British Airways Download Original
This gleaming observation tower is the creation of Marks Barfield, the husband-and-wife team behind the London Eye.
Marks Barfield wanted to replicate the experience of the Eye – the slow ascent and glass pods – but at a comparatively low budget: the tower design comes in at a third of the cost of the wheel. As at the London Eye, the architects came up with the idea then sought the finance, creating a company in which they are 80 per cent stakeholders.
Located at the landward end of the West Pier on Brighton beach, British Airways i360 is a modern-day ‘vertical pier’ whose purpose is to delight, entertain and inspire. Visitors are invited to ‘walk on air’ and gain a new perspective on the city, just as the original pier welcomed Victorian society to ‘walk on water’.
It has a noticeably different feel to the amusements and fairground of the more tourist-y pier to the East. The observation cabin holds up to 200 visitors per trip. Through the double-curved window panes, passengers enjoy panoramic 360° views.
Data
- Begun: Jul 2014
- Completed: Jul 2016
- Sector: Sports and leisure
- Procurement: NEC Option A
- Address: Lower Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2LN, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Marks Barfield Architects
- Project architect: Julia Barfield
- Client: Brighton i360
- Civil and structural engineer: Jacobs UK
- MEP engineer, project manager and CDM co-ordinator: Jacobs UK
- Local project manager and civil engineer: Helmsley Orrell Partnership
- Damping consultant: Max Irvine
- Pod consultant: Nic Bailey Design
- Environmental consultant: Loren Butt Consultants
- Facade consultant: Mott MacDonald
- Lighting consultant: Do Architecture
- Planning consultant : DP9
- Cost consultant: RLF
- Main contractor: Hollandia Infra
- Steel tower: Hollandia Infra
- Pod, drive and control system: Pomagalski
- Foundations and visitor building: JT Mackley & Co