Orbit Tower

The View From the Shard – Reviewed

orbit-tower-admin — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 13:20:57 +0000

February 2013 and the View From The Shard is now open, London’s tallest high view visitor attraction.

On a clear day: The View From the Shard

The View from The Shard opens on Friday and having caught a preview of it earlier in the month, it is worth a look… Even if it is a snowy day… And visibility is poor… There is still a gee whiz excitement about looking down from the London landmark. There is something light and delicate about The Shard that makes it intriguing and not just another tall building.

read the full review at Paul in London: On a clear day: The View From the Shard.

** Book View From The Shard London Breaks by coach or rail **

The View from The Shard – Theatre Breaks Magazine – Omega Holidays-1

When It’s Foggy Up Here…

orbit-tower-admin — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 11:20:07 +0000

The views from the observation platform near the top of the Orbit can be truly panoramic on a clear day. But when a blanket of fog descends over East London, well you might as well be standing at ground zero in the middle of Wanstead Flats.

Another Model of the Orbit Tower

orbit-tower-admin — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:52:48 +0000

A trio of pictures of the architectural model of the Orbit Tower which is proudly displayed at the reception desk on the 7th floor inside the ArcelorMittal UK headquarters in London’s prestigious Mayfair district. ArcellorMittal is the name of the international steel and mining company which sponsored the large part of the construction project costs and from whom the full name “The Arcellormittal Orbit” is derived.

Unlike earlier architectural models, this one shows the enclosed grey/sliver spiral staircase just as it was realistically built, whereas the earliest artists impressions showed an all red structure. This detailed model shows everything almost exactly to scale except for the many flange plates through which the bolts were inserted to connect each section of the steel lattice rings together.

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Heron Tower Restaurant for High Rise Dining

orbit-tower-admin — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:28:44 +0000

The Heron Tower is the square blocky one opposite Liverpool Street Station at the Bishopsgate exit. The one with the extra mast sticking up from one corner to make it even taller. Well did you know there’s a restaurant up there that you can book and then enjoy the views from the 40th floor while eating breakfast or lunch?

The restaurant is called “Duck and Waffle”, which sounds a bit like the old noun/verb pun – “duck or grouse” seen on low beams in pubs. But Duck and Waffle is actually a menu item, and a breakfast menu item at that.

duck ‘n’ waffle : crispy duck leg confit, fried duck egg, mustard maple syrup / £13

Another item reads: smoked trotter-braised beans on toast, bacon jam, and the rest of the menu is similarly creatively themed.

The Heron Tower under construction

But the main attraction is always going to be the opportunity to take a lift up to the 40th floor and enjoy ultra high rise dining with views over the City of London. Ever since the Pst Office Tower revolving restaurant in what is now the BT tower closed, Londoners and vistors have been intrigued by the idea of sitting at a table and looking down on the city from a great height. Maybe its something to do with out evolution from tall forest-dwelling primates, or our facination with air travel and space exploration, but attaining a sufficient height to tower down over the surroundings seems to be an almost instinctive ambition.

One day there may be a restaurant at the top of the Orbit Tower, and there will be several up at the Shard next year probably, but the one you can go ahead and book right now is the Duck and Waffle resturant in the Heron Tower.

The Duck and Waffle – 110 Bishopsgate, Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AY

http://duckandwaffle.com/

A new restaurant on the 40th Floor of the Heron Tower in London’s Square Mile.

I really like the idea of going there for the panoramic views but the interior also looks bright and open, and the cuisine is called “The best of British comfort food” which strikes a certain chord.

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Views From The Orbit Tower

orbit-tower-admin — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 07:33:32 +0000

From all the photos which have been submitted after the Orbit Tower was open to visitors during the Olympics and Paralympics, today we are featuring a set which comprehensively captures most of the entire experience in pictures. There are views of the orbit approach, the short queue underneath the trumpet of the sculpture, the viewing platform, many views of the Olympic park from various compass points, from the staircase on the way down and much more.

All photo credits and copywright to Frankie Roberto

Orbit Tower and Olympic Park prices for the reopening

orbit-tower-admin — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:52:50 +0000

After the Paralympics closing ceremony, the Olympic Park in its present form has closed forever to the public but parts of it will begin reopening from July 2013, when it will have been renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP).

The first parts to reopen on 27 July 2013 will be some areas of the quieter and greener northern half of the park, along with the Copper Box venue, which will be renamed the Multi-Use Arena and will host more than ten different sports and concerts for up to 6,000 spectators.

Olympic Park prices

All of this is still very conjectural, but it has been released that legacy organisers hope to maintain interest in the park during the long closure by running bus, boat and cycle tours of the site, which could start in December 2011 and may also involve a trip up the 114m high Orbit Tower, the UK’s tallest sculpture.

Prices for the tours have yet to be set, but organisers hope to be able to offer access to the Orbit for less than the £15 charged during the Olympic and Paralympic games.

When the sporting venues reopen in 2013 and 2014, their prices will be tied to the average cost of the same sports facilities in the local area. For example, adult tickets to the Olympic swimming pool will be set at £4.35 for an adult. East Ham leisure pool, right next to host borough Newham Council’s own offices however, only charges £3.70. Prices for other events such as concerts will be set at market rates. The Park area itself will be free to enter.

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Ikea Strand East Tower, Stratford

orbit-tower-admin — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:11:27 +0000

It’s a 40 metre high tower made out of open latticed wood with steel bands called the Strand East Tower, also known as the Ikea Tower. The landmark structure at Dane’s Yard along Stratford High Street, forms part of a new landscaped public space. The sculpture was designed by ARC-ML¹, and opened in July 2012, just in time to be noticed in the shadow of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Dane’sYard, Strand East Tower, Stratford photo credit: Alex Pink

Designed by ARC-ML architects and engineers eHRW, the sculpture has a beautiful slender form made up of a simple wooden lattice of 72 twisted, diagonal laths and 16 horizontal galvanised steel rings. It narrows in the centre to form a hyperboloid shape, just 6.3m wide, opening out to 8.3m wide at the top. This shape creates a self-supporting structure which needs no further internal support, creating a light, transparent sculpture, held together by 32,000 bolts.

Visible from many points around Stratford, by day the sculpture is left in its natural blonde wooden colour and at night it is lit by over 600 LED lights within the sculpture which are fully controllable in both intensity and colour and can be programmed to achieve a range of effects.

Ikea, the Swedish furniture giant, is building its first neighbourhood in Britain at the 26-acre canal-side Dane’s Yard. Strand East will include 1,200 houses, nearly half of which will be family homes, as well as shops, cafés and a 350-room hotel – all linked by car-free walkways.

Those preferring to make their way by river will be able to use moorings, a water taxi service and even a floating cocktail bar. Cars will be parked underground, while rubbish will be removed by underground suction tunnels.

It is the second biggest private investment in the Olympic Park after the Westfield shopping centre, and will be the first major British development for LandProp, part of the Inter Ikea Group, the company’s investment arm.

Other members of the multi-disciplinary team who designed and built the Strand East tower include:
• Wood Beton S.p. A (Italy) – Contractor
• Hoare Lea Lighting – Lighting Designers
• Traxon – Lighting Suppliers
• Lighting Technology Projects – Lighting Installers

Architect Michael Lees founded ARC-ML in Berlin in 2004

Team GB Victory Parade in London

orbit-tower-admin — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 16:01:34 +0000

You’ve probably heard by now there’s going to be a victory parade through central London to honour the British athletes who competed so well in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Called Our Greatest Team and bringing together TeamGB and ParalympicsGB athletes, the parade takes place on Monday 10th September 2012, yes it’s a school day but that’s the best that could be arranged. The route will start near Mansion House in the City of London and finish in central London. The victory parade starts at 1:30pm GMT, with the precise location being the Guildhall in the City of London from where they head through Mansion House itself, past St Paul’s Cathedral, into Trafalgar Square, through the Admiralty Arch and down The Mall for a spectacular gathering at the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. The end of the parade is scheduled to happen at around 4pm.

All 900 Olympians and Paralympians competing at London 2012 will be invited to appear in front of crowds that will almost certainly dwarf crowds seen at previous parades for England’s Rugby World Cup win in 2003 and the England cricket team’s Ashes win in 2005.

Although the parade was originally planned to be an open-top bus event, it has now changed so that the Olympic and Paralympic athletes will appear on floats pulled by lorries, just like a local carnival, giving them more visibility and interaction to the huge crowds expected to line the streets.

The event will take place on the day after the closing ceremony for the Paralympic Games. There are 542 athletes in GB’s Olympic team alone, and all have been invited to participate in the parade.

The victory parade is a way of recognising the supreme achievements of Our Greatest Team

The Our Greatest Team parade is being organised by the Mayor of London, BOA and BPA, with the support of BA, BP, BT, Camelot and Visa. It is being delivered with a range of partners, including the City of London, Westminster City Council, Metropolitan Police, Transport for London and The Royal Parks. More details will be announced shortly.

Non-ticketed events during the Olympics have attracted strong support with a crowd of thousands witnessing Alistair Brownlee’s triathlon victory in Hyde Park

See the triumphant Team GB and Paralympics GB athletes parade through the centre of London as they say thank you to Great Britain and celebrate competing in the 2012 Games. Their journey will pass some of the city’s most iconic sights and promises to be an inspirational day for all.

Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to line the streets of London for an Olympics victory parade in September, officials have confirmed.

All of Team GB will be invited to take part in the event that will wind its way through the centre of the city on 10 September, to honour the British athletes who have taken part in the Olympics and Paralympics.

Many people have been left frustrated after missing out on tickets for the Games, and organisers say the parade will give fans and competitors the chance to celebrate together.

The parade is expected to pass through the City of London and on to Trafalgar Square before arriving at the Queen Victoria monument in front of Buckingham Palace where the athletes will congregate for the finale.

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The Most Valuable Towers in the World Compared to Orbit

orbit-tower-admin — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:21:14 +0000

The Eiffel Tower is the most economically valuable tower in the world according to a new survey conducted on behalf of Italian interests.

Tourists at the Eiffel Tower

As far as the UK is concerned, The Tower of London came fifth and Stonehenge seventh with monuments in Italy and Spain taking other places in the top ten. The study done by the Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce in Italy has put a monetary value on the world’s top five monuments based on their image, brand, and visibility. The value of each monument was calculated taking into account a number of factors, so let’s see how the Orbit Tower might have fared if subjected to the same criteria:

The economy of the area – Well, Stratford is looking up they do say. It’s a poor neighbourhood at present though.
The fame of the monument. The Olympics have brought the Orbit Tower to the sporting world’s attention. It’s got a long way to go before it joins London’s historic monuments though.
The number of visitors to the area and monument. Once the Paralympics are over, this could be very small indeed until 2014, but there is hope the Orbit Tower may remain open in some form.
Number of jobs in tourism sustained. Something between zero and negligible, for now.
Accessibility of the area. Stratford is well connected to the London transport network, and international routes would be greatly improved if you could only catch the Eurostar train from Stratford International station.
The presence of foreign tourists. It’s hard to tell who are the tourists these days. Is this the right direction for Shakespeare’s birthplace?
Value of the area’s exports. Jellied Eels are highly appreciated in Poland I hear, and we could soon be exporting Masala Dosa to Madras.

The study was based on figures from various databases including the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), the Eurostat, data from numerous companies, and the Anholt Brand Index.

Britain’s most valuable monument was declared the Tower of London, worth 70.5 billion euros (£56 billion), with Salisbury Plain’s Stonehenge in seventh place, on 10.5 billion euros (£8.3 billion).

These are the price tags that may be of interest to compare:

1. Eiffel Tower, Paris 435 billion euros (£343 billion)
2. The Colosseum, Rome: £72 billion
3. The Sagrada Familia, Gaudi Cathederal in Barcelona €90,366 million (£71 billion)
4. The Duomo Cathedral, Milan: £65 billion
5. Tower of London 70.5 billion euros (£56 billion)
6. The Prado Museum, Madrid: €59,262 million (£46 billion)
7. Stonehenge, England 10.5 billion euros (£8.3 billion)

I don’t know how they chose which monuments to study exactly, but it is well known that Paris is the most valuable tourist destination in the world, with the Eiffel tower being only the most famous icon there.

The Orbit Tower during The Olympics at Stratford

The city of Venice taken as a whole would surely rank highly and London itself as a tourist attraction really needs to be taken as a single entity , with so many famous monuments. Westminster’s ‘Big Ben’, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and the ‘ West End’ or London theatreland, with the relatively young London Eye starting to play its part as well.

The Orbit Tower in its infancy has yet to prove its worth as an attraction, of course, but if it does its job of attracting economic activity to the East London area then it wil eventually be possible to put some kind of monetary value on this far outweighing the £93,000,000 construction costs. But if the Orbit Tower were sadly sold for scrap however, at the estimated value of £270,000 then this would make the Eiffel Tower worth over a million Orbit Towers – 1,270,370 to be precise. That’s a heck of a lot of scrap steel.

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More Olympic Park Tickets for the Paralympics

orbit-tower-admin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:12:54 +0000

Another huge batch of Olympic Park tickets have been released today for the London Paralympics dates mostly in September 2012. The number of new tickets totals 100,000 for sale online today, Wednesday 22nd August. Locog said the 45,000 sports tickets that went on sale last week were snapped up within three hours, so you’ll probably also need to act quickly if you want to buy these ground passes.

Paralympics Agitos

These are non-event tickets, allowing access to the Olympic Park only, not any of the sporting arenas and are priced at a mere £5 per adult, £1 per child¹ or over 60. So if you had already managed to get Orbit Tower tickets for £15 for one of these dates, you could spend the day in the Olympic Park, watch some of the Paralympics on the big screens, see the outside of the iconic Velodrome, Aquatics Centre, Copper Box etc and enjoy your 30 minute visit to the top of the Orbit Tower with views over the Olympic Stadium and much further afield on the way down, all for just £20 altogether.

These non-event Paralympic tickets released today give access to the Olympic park only, but NOT the Orbit Tower. Separate tickets for the Orbit are needed, and these are still very hard to come by I’m afraid. The dates in question have long been sold out for the initial allocation, but some do come up for resale occasionally. The only thing to do is to keep checking the London 2012 ticketing site for fresh availability of Orbit tower tickets.

TIP: LOCOG is encouraging all customers who purchase tickets to select the print at home option, to enable them to avoid potentially long queues at ticket box offices.

Speaking on behalf of the London Olympic Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe who early this morning walked up Mount Snowdon in North Wales for the Olympic Torch lighting there, and took the train back down again said:

I’m thrilled that we can give even more people the opportunity to experience the Olympic Park, soak up the atmosphere and perhaps catch some Paralympic action on the big screen. We wanted to give as many people as possible the opportunity to visit the Olympic Park and releasing more tickets is part of this commitment.

So far, approximately 2.3 million tickets have been sold for the 2012 Paralympics – more than any previous Paralympic Games.

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£1 per child under 16