The Orbit of London New Competitor for the Eiffel Tower

The Orbit tower, which stands next to the Olympic Stadium in east London. (Picture from: http://www.thestar.com/)

From a distance the red steel structure that looks like the giant letter "R" towering over the building industry in London, England. The new structure is the Orbit observation tower that was claimed by the Mayor of London better than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Unlike the Eiffel tower is symmetrical, the tower was built in the heart of Olympic Park, adjacent to the Olympic Stadium, it's just like a roller coaster, weaving up to the top. Mayor of London Boris Johnson said the structure was designed by artist Anish Kapoor and architect Cecil Balmond is a masterpiece, good design and technique.

Structure height comparison.
(Picture from: KORAN TEMPO 3908)

This structure provides endless satisfaction to the visitors. The scenery is also very nice," said Johnson, "The Eiffel Tower is too simple. Shard tower behind me is simple. Orbit is much more unique, more complex, more interesting."

In addition to the unique shape, the height of the tower, which reaches 114.5 meters, making the Orbit as the largest structure in the UK.

The building has two-times higher than the Nelson's Column monument and  22 meters taller than the Statue of Liberty in the United States. However, compared with the Monas tower in Jakarta which reaches 132 meters, the Orbit is slightly shorter.

The Orbit tower structure.
(Picture from: KORAN TEMPO 3908)

To see the sights of London from the two towers observation deck, visitors can climb the 455 stairs or use one of two elevators available. The tower will become a new tourist attraction in London ahead of 2012 Olympics on July 27 to August 12, 2012. Johnson and Lakshmi Mittal, Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal steel company, collaborating on large-scale structure in the Olympic Park.

"The tower was originally just a small project, which was born in a casual discussion," Mittal said, "It was just a scribble on a piece of paper, but to grow and expand into exciting project."

Mittal Steel Company to bear most of the cost of building the tower, which is 19 million from 24 million pounds. They also supply steel from a number of their factories around the world.

"The Olympics is a global event, around the world participated, 202 countries," he said, "ArcelorMittal has a business in so many countries so I want it all to participate."

Not all the material Orbit is new stuff. Indeed most of the material used to build the structure was derived from recycled materials.

The Orbit tower structure.  
(Picture from: KORAN TEMPO 3908)

Kapoor and Balmond won a competition to design the steel structure. They witnessed how the construction of the colomn grow slowly higher in the former land disposal of the trash, along with the establishment of the various Olympic venues. 

Kapoor said that initially they were asked to design the tower to be built at the Olympic venues as high as 100 meters or more. "We even make it much higher," he said. "When you walk up, around, and entered it, as if the object is growing around you."

Kapoor and Balmond's hope the structure will age much longer than the Olympic Games that took place a few weeks only. "We hope that the Orbit will be a monument for the City of London, who will stand for 50 years, although the possibility of later need to be painted again and it will be a beacon, which will attract people to come to the area," says Balmond.

Kapoor is also ready to accommodate the criticism of his work. Not all citizens of London, agree with Boris Johnson who thought the tower was more beautiful than the Eiffel. Some people describe the Orbit as a skating rink in carnival or water pipes.

"Controversy is okay, if you like it or not," he said, "If you build a great tower which rises high into the skies of London, some people will criticize it, it's part of the process."

According to Kapoor, the Orbit is beautiful structure. He stated that the Eiffel Tower has also been regarded as a remarkable terrible structure when the tower was built. "No longer think like that right now? It depends on how people looks at it," he said.

Although there are some people who regard the Orbit as a waste, Mayor Johnson would regard it as an attraction for investment. "The symbol of prosperity and growth," he said. *** [REUTERS | CNN | TELEGRAPH | TJANDRA DEWI | KORAN TEMPO 3908]
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