The
London Eye - London, UK
Architect
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Frank Anatole, Nic Bailey, Steven Chilton,
Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, and the
husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and
David Marks. |
Date Built
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Completed 1999
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Location
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South Bank of the
Thames near County Hall
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Description
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The London Eye was one of London's
Millennium projects and along with the
Millennium Footbridge and the Millennium
Dome it wasn't an immediate success with the
public. However, Londoners and
tourists have grown to regard it as an
iconic feature of the city and the focus of
every New Year's celebration which regularly
attracts 250,000 people to the banks of the
Thames.
The Eye was intended to be a temporary
attraction for people to enjoy during the
Millennium year, but despite the fact that
technical problems delayed its first public
performance until March of 2000, it has
continued in service for eleven years and
has carried in the region of 3.5 million
passengers each year.
Resembling a giant bicycle wheel, it stands
135 metres tall on the south bank of the
Thames near County Hall and across from the
Houses of Parliament. Arranged around
the wheel are 32 air-conditioned pods each
large enough to accommodate 25
passengers.
The pods provide bench seating for
the passengers but they are large enough
that people can stand and walk about during
the ride. Visitors enjoy one
revolution of the wheel which takes
approximately 30 minutes. The wheel
doesn't actually stop but it moves slowly
enough that passengers can enter or exit
safely while it is in motion.
It can, however, be brought to a stop to
allow people with disabilities to enter and
exit. A sophisticated lighting system
allows the operators to illuminate the wheel
and the pods in a variety of colours.
The name of the wheel has changed over the
years to reflect changes in ownership and
sponsorship. In 2012 it is known as
the EDF Energy London Eye. Passengers
begin their journey in the Eye's 4D cinema
in County Hall. The experience is
described as, "
The perfect prelude to an experience
on the EDF Energy London Eye, our new 4D
Experience is a groundbreaking 3D film with
spectacular in-theatre effects including wind,
bubbles and mist to add a breathtaking fourth
dimension"
You will note
that in the image below one of the pods is
missing. In 2009 the Eye began the
process of refurbishing all of the
pods. In addition to sprucing up their
appearance the plan is to give them new
heating, ventilation and passenger
entertainment systems. One at a time
the pods were removed and transported down
river to a trans-shipment point where they
are loaded on to a lorry for the journey to
Cropthorne in Worcestershire where UK Loco
are doing the work. A skeleton pod
holds the place on the wheel until the
finished pod returns. The target for
the £12million project was to complete the
refurbishment in time for the 2012 Olympics.
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