The Brighton i360 Tower

Marks Barfield Architects have released new photographs showing the latest work on the Brighton i360 Tower, which is now two-thirds built. When completed next summer, the $61 million steel structure will stand 162 metres tall — higher than the London Eye tower, which Marks Barfield also designed.

The moving observation tower in the resort town of Brighton, in southern England, will be the tallest of its kind in the world. The viewing pod will rise to 138 metres, about one storey higher than the top of the London Eye.

Following a successful trial assembly of the passenger pod at the POMA Sigma factory in France, the glazed lift will be dismantled and transported to Brighton at the end of November. The doughnut-shaped capsule will be reassembled directly onto the pod chassis, already on the tower, which is now complete. Meanwhile, work has also been completed on the concrete frame for the base building, with cladding, services and roofing expected to be added “imminently”. Two Victorian toll booths will be rebuilt on the roof terrace of this single-storey base.

Construction of the i360 Tower started in 2014 after Brighton and Hove City Council provided $55 million in the form of loans, with the local enterprise partnership Coast to Capital giving another six million dollars.  Husband-and-wife team David Marks and Julia Barfield are
investing nine million dollars of their own money in the project.