The London Eye: Comparisons

In 2000, when the London Eye was first built, it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. Since then, it has been out done by two other Ferris wheels.
Pictured above, in the Star of Nanchang, which is a 160-metre (525 ft) Ferris wheel located in the eastern Chinese city of Nanchang. The Star of Nanchang has 61 enclosed climate-controlled gondolas, each carrying up to 8 people, the maximum capacity of the Star of Nanchang is 480 passengers.
Like the London Eye a single rotation of the wheel takes around 30 minutes, the slow rotation speed allows passengers to embark and disembark from the gondolas without any need for the rotation to be stopped.

Unlike the London Eye the Star of Nanchang doesn't use exo-capsules attached to the outside of its wheel.
Pictured above is the Singapore Flyer, it is currently the tallest Ferris wheel in the world.

The Singapore Flyer is 42 stories high, and has a total height of 165 m (541 ft), and is 5 m (16 ft) taller than the Star of Nanchang and 30 m (98 ft) taller than the London Eye.
Located in Singapore, on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre, it has a 150 m (492 ft) diameter wheel, built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and restaurants, and offers an outstanding view of the city centre as well as the surrounding landscape out to around
28 miles.

The wheel started rotating on February 11, 2008. It officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008. The Singapore Flyer only has 28 capsules, which, like those of the London Eye, are exo-capsules attached to the outside of the wheel structure, these offer the advantage of a continuously unobstructed view when the capsule is at the peak.

Although the Singapore Flyer is very popular, it has its fair share of problems and breakdowns, such as, on the 4th December 2008, the wheel was stuck for over four hours due to bad weather conditions which meant that the 70 people on board were stranded with no means of escape.
December wasn't a very good month for the Singapore Flyer, as only 19 days after the previous problem the wheel stopped moving and trapped 173 passengers for about six hours.

The breakdown was caused by a short circuit and fire in the Flyer's wheel control room, which cut off the air-conditioning in the wheel.
Eleven passengers were evacuated via a sling-like device from a few of the capsules, and those stranded were given food and drink.

The wheel restarted nearly seven hours after it had stopped and two people were hospitalized. The Flier was closed indefinitely. The wheel re-opened on 26 January 2009 after the final safety certification report from the Comformity Assessment Board was received.

The London Eye: Structure of the London Eye

The above photograph is showing the London Eye straight on, so that you can get a good idea of how it is constructed, from this viewpoint, you can see all the interconnecting steel rods that make sure the there's no lag in the turning of the wheel and you can also see the pods along side the supporting A frame.
The image above is taken from inside a pod on the London Eye while on a "flight".
This is a photograph of an empty pod, so you can see the dimensions, and roughly what size each pod on the London Eye actually is, also, from this angle you get a good idea of the layout and what materials were used where.

The London Eye: General Public and Private

The relationship between spaces, being public and private, in and around the London Eye changes all the time, it's very dynamic.

Such as the ramp area of the London Eye, there's always been unwritten rules for queuing for anything, a ride, a shop, an attraction. As you walk up to the ramp, the entire area feels very private, at the end of the queue, at least, as most queues do.

You take your position at the end, and slowly, work your way to the front, and as you go the space in front of you which was one classified as being private, has been vacated, and has changed, to being public, but it's only public to you, it's still private to anyone behind you as the space is classified as being temporally yours until it is time to move on.

As you move forward, this same effect is happening to the people queuing up behind you. It's almost a system of human traffic lights, governed by the unwritten rules of decency and manners.

I find in most spaces, there's a hidden design to get people moving, in a very controlled,
step-by-step formation, be it at a crossing or in a shopping centre. You don't walk next to someone that you don't know as it's invading their personal space and will most probably make the unwitting stranger feel very uncomfortable as you could be up to anything.

This gets me onto my next point, when you have managed to traverse the queue, there's then more unwritten rules, that your expected to follow before you enter the pod. As other people exit the pod, your not likely to see anyone barge straight through them into the pod, to get a good viewing spot.

The entire area is strictly private until it has been full cleared of people, and only then are you allowed to enter the pod, personally, I think even if the barriers weren't locked, people would still wait just out of habit and no one would be any wiser.

When your in the pod, you are not alone. There are other people in there with you, if someone is standing at the edge of the pod, trying to find a good view, your not going to go and stand right next to them, your going to wait until you can find your own space, unless next to them is the only space available.

This shows a type of ever changing evolution in the classifications of spaces, how they can change due to the position of others, the spaces available and the position of yourself in the environment.
As the London Eye's pods revolve around a point, eventually, it manages to do an entire 360 degree turn around, this means that at different times the best viewing points change, and everyone moves around.
So spaces and areas go from semi private to completely public as they are "less desirable" spots.

When you come to exit the pod, the ramp area, which on the way in was a complex system of traffic light, has now become a public right of exit, as your not waiting to get on, your waiting to exit the attraction. There's a completely different feel to the whole area now upon exit.
When leaving, no one is going to complain if you pass them, while if you did this previously you would be violating their personal space and also breaking the unwritten rules ( pushing in ).

The London Eye: Surrounding Townscape

The picture above is a 3D render showing the London Eye, and how it contrasts with the surrounding buildings up close, from this relatively short distance you can see it more detail what stylistic features the London Eye has in common with the buildings that surround it.

The only other structures in London, that it blends in well with, are; the O2 Arena (previously The Millennium Dome) and the Millennium Bridge, as these are all new relatively new structures and buildings, I doubt it's much of a coincidence, that they are all stylistically similar. All being new they don't fit in with the usual stone work of London.

But this is not a bad thing, in fact, it's a good thing, as they stand out from the usual "drab" buildings, and create their own aura so to speak, that at least in my opinion, projects a sense of restoration, that a previously "old" area, has been "renovated" by this new structure or building, to breathe new life into previously unused or forgotten spaces, this is not always the case, as I doubt the south bank, where the London Eye happens to be situated will ever be thought of as "dead", but take for example the area where the O2 arena sits, if it wasn't there it would be an unremarkable site, probably used for storage of construction materials and equipment, never visited by anyone except for a few builders every year to collect or deposit tools.

But as the O2 arena is there, the entire area is full of "life" and hundreds of thousands of people come to visit this previously, unused site.

The London Eye: Relations in Space

This is a 360 degree view from the top of the London Eye about half way through a "flight".

This image is a birds eye view above the London Eye, it shows, from afar, how it relates to the wider area around it and how well it fits in with the surrounding buildings.

A picture of the London Eye showing, the Side View, the Back View and a fully 3D rendered version of the London Eye it's self.

The London Eye: Financial Complications

To pay for such a gigantic project, Marks Barfield collaborated with British Airways, which financed it, took 50 percent ownership and re-named the attraction the British Airways Millennium Wheel. The original project plan called for a development and construction process ­of two and a half years. However, funding and paperwork delays put off the project, which shrunk its construction time to 16 months. Tony Blair officially opened the Millennium Wheel on Dec. 31, 1999, and in March 2000, it opened to the public. Although it was originally only granted permission for a five-year stay, the planning council made the London Eye a permanent London attraction in 2002. As of 2005, however, the London Eye hadn't yet turned a profit, and British Airways and Marks Barfield were in debt. In 2006, the Tussauds, a company that owns other attractions, bought the wheel and dropped "British Airways" from its name.

In May 2005 the South Bank Centre (SBC), the wheel's landlords, served the owners of the structure with an eviction notice after expressing their intention to increase the rent by 1500%.
The increase is understood to be from the current £65,000 a year to £1 million.

If the money is not paid, the wheel could be shut down. In an indication of the London Eye's elevated status among the UK's tourist attractions, the news prompted the Conservative party to suggest that London's Olympic bid could be damaged if it was forced to close.

The London Eye: Construction & Materials Used

The London Eye is a modern take on a traditional Ferris wheel with a few distinct differences. For one, the passengers sit in fully enclosed capsules rather than dangling gondolas. Two, the entire structure of the London Eye is supported on one side only, allowing the wheel to hang over the River Thames.

When the architects at Marks Barfield sat down to consider what structure would best commemorate the turning of the century, they noted that London didn't have any observation points for people view the skyline and surrounding landscape. A tall, rotating wheel would not only allow a unique vantage point of the city, but would allow large numbers of people to see that view at the same time.

The London Eye is an excellent example of a frame structure. Its steel design forms an "A" shape, with two large tapered legs at the base -- 65 feet (20 meters) apart and each over 190 feet (58 meters) in length. The legs lean toward the river at a 65-degree angle. Cable backstays keep the frame from tilting into the river -- they're anchored to the top of the frame and then buried in a concrete foundation 108 feet (33 meters) deep.

The wheel part of the London Eye resembles a bicycle wheel -- with a spindle and hub connected to the rim by 64 cables, or spokes. Sixteen additional rotation cables are attached to the hub at an opposing angle to ensure there's no lag between the turning of the rim and the turning of the hub. The spindle itself is supported by the frame on one side only (cantilevered), and the frame holds the wheel over the river. The London Eye can withstand winds of a 50-year storm, the worst storm anticipated to occur once in a period of 50 years, and if it's ever struck by lightning, the strike would be conducted to the ground with no harm to passengers.

Hydraulic motors, driven by electric pumps, provide energy to turn the wheel. The drive systems are located in two towers, one at each end of the wheel's boarding platform.

The main components of the London Eye were built offsite. Once they were completed, barges transported them piece by piece up the River Thames to the construction site on the South Bank. Workers assembled the London Eye horizontally on a temporary support platform over the river, which made construction faster, easier and safer than if it had been built vertically. Once it was assembled, hydraulic lifts and cables slowly raised the 1,322 ton (1,200 tonnes) structure over the course of one day, until it reached its 65-degree angle. Once it was in final position, the 32 capsules were attached to the rim, which took eight days.

Instead of being suspended and swinging, the passenger capsules turn within circular mounting rings fixed to the outside of the main rim. As the wheel rotates, the capsules also rotate within their mounting rings to remain horizontal. If the capsules didn't rotate, by the time your capsule went around the wheel, you and your friends would be upside down. Each capsule has its own heating and cooling system, bench seating and is fitted with special glass that can handle weather fluctuations. Capsules also have a built-in stability system, meaning the capsule will stay level even if all the passengers suddenly move to one side. There are 32 capsules, one to represent each borough of London.

The steel used in the Eye came from United Kingdom but it was the Dutch who fabricated the steel. The cables used in the London Eye were made in Italy and the bearings were from Germany.