Glasgow Science Centre building
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Location: southwest Glasgow
Address: Glasgow Science Centre, 50 Pacific Quay, Glasgow G511EA
Telephone: 0871 540 1000
Design: Richard Horden Architects; Building Design Partnership - BDP Architects
Glasgow Tower: Description
Richard Horden is an English architect and yachtsman. Horden became well-known in the Eighties for light simple buildings that used yacht technology and yacht iconology. His modern rectilinear buildings were part of the Hi-Tech style that swept England, key architects being Richard Rogers, Norman Foster and Chris Wilkinson.
photograph © 2007 jason baxter
Richard Horden Architects tried to transfer the elegance of sailing and the beauty and technology of the modern aircraft into architecture, in a way reminiscent of architect Le Corbusier's extolling of the modern technology of cars and planes. However, unlike Le Corbusier, Richard Horden aimed for light prefabricated buildings.
images © adrian welch
Glasgow Tower architects : BDP
Enterainment / Educational Buildings at Pacific Quay / Prince's Dock:
Glasgow Science Centre + Glasgow Tower + Glasgow Imax
European Millennium Tower Competition, Glasgow:
Richard Horden Architects were awarded first prize for their ‘Wing Tower’ but controversially the project was essentially taken over by BDP Architects, Glasgow.
images © adrian welch
The Glasgow Tower brief required a 100 metre high tower. The Tower was to include a viewing platform, restaurant and exhibition space. Richard Horden worked with aeronautical engineer Peter Heppel, to design a vertical wing that rotated with the wind direction. Being visible for miles around, it allows Glaswegians to tell which way the wind is blowing! The Glasgow Tower was the first of its kind to rotate to reduce the aerodynamic forces on the structure.
Glasgow Tower architect : Richard Horden
BDP Architects - Other Projects
SEEL, Glasgow
Cardonald College, Glasgow
City of Edinburgh HQ
images © adrian welch
Glasgow Tower - Competition
Duffy & Batt Architects' Glasgow Tower Competition entry:
image from Duffy & Batt
"a pre-millennium wheel vertical ferris wheel (paternoster) made it to the shortlisted 12 of 350 open pan European entries".
Tallest buildings in Scotland
Office Tower and Flats Tower, Leith, by Terry Farrell & Partners
Edinburgh's Leith Docks are set to become a mini-Manhattan, complete with Scotland's two tallest buildings and a Guggenheim museum. Forth Ports has revealed plans to build two 35-storey towers as part of the regeneration of Leith port's Edinburgh Harbour. The company is also in discussions with the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation about building a museum at the port. The two towers would stretch 420 feet into the air, making them three feet taller than the Millennium Tower at Glasgow Science Centre - currently Scotland's tallest structure. They will dwarf Scotland's previous tallest buildings, the 31-storey flats in Bluevale Street and Whitevale Street in Glasgow's Gallowgate, which are both 298 ft tall.
Glasgow walking tours
Glasgow Tower - Revolution
The revolving Glasgow Tower - which cost £10m and is Scotland's tallest free-standing structure - could soon be reopened with the huge ball bearing due to be fitted this week. The Glasgow Science Centre tower at has been in operation for less than 100 days since opening in late 2001.
Aug03
Glasgow Tower - Repair
Repairs to the Glasgow Tower delayed for months by a row over faults, keeping it closed since Feb 2002.
Sep 02
Richard Horden is not only a key English architect but internationally known
Scottish Architecture: best scottish buildings of the last three decades
Scottish Architects from Scotland through the ages
Historic Glasgow: best glasgow buildings of the past
Glasgow Tower - Website: www.glasgowsciencecentre.org
To the west of the site is Pacific Quay
Across the River Clyde is the Glasgow Moat House Hotel
Glasgow tower : Dalmarnock
Glasgow tower blocks
Glasgow Tower is the only building in the world capable of turning 360 degrees from the ground up. The aerodynamic structure allows the entire building to turn and face the wind, thus reducing wind resistance.There is a two and a half minute ride to the top but it has been plagued with problems so call before you visit.
Glasgow : back to index
Glasgow Transport Museum
Comments / photos for the Glasgow Tower Architecture page welcome:
info@glasgowarchitecture.co.uk
Glasgow Tower Building - page: adrian welch / isabelle lomholt
Website: www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/glasgowtower.aspx