Harbour view

A spectacular tower which offers views over a UK harbour town has officially opened to the public.

The Spinnaker Tower is a UK Millennium Commission sponsored project aimed at transforming the waterfront of Portsmouth and Gosport. It forms the focal point of a £200 million regeneration of the Portsmouth Harbour area and will add a new landmark to the South coast of Britain.

Designed by Scott Wilson Advanced Technology group, the tower is a concrete, steel and composite structure that rises 170m from the sea adjacent to Gunwharf Quays. It has three tourist viewing platforms at heights of 100, 105 and 110m that offer views over Portsmouth harbour.

It is constructed upon a 3m thick pile cap and founded on 84 piles, and comprises two inclined slip-formed hexagonal concrete shafts, of 6m across, which merge into a single shaft at 70m. One shaft contains an internal express lift and the other shaft carries a panoramic external lift up the seaward face.