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Carillion tops out at Manchester tower
27/04/2006
Construction and services company Carillion has ‘topped out’ at Europe’s tallest residential building, the Beetham Hilton Tower in Manchester. At 169 metres high it is the tallest UK structure outside of London and approximately 11 metres taller than Blackpool Tower.
The topping out (a ceremony held to mark completion of a building’s structure) was attended by Carillion staff, client the Beetham Organization, and the chief executive of Manchester City Council, among others. The roof-top ceremony was followed by an evening champagne reception with fireworks and live entertainment at the nearby Bridgewater Hall.
Roger Robinson, Carillion executive director, said: “Carillion is extremely proud of its involvement in the design and construction of this iconic building which has changed the Manchester skyline so impressively. This is the third landmark project we have carried out for the Beetham Organization, with a fourth recently commencing in Liverpool. We are now looking forward to the challenge of completing the development which I am sure will be an on-going credit to all involved and a tremendous asset to the city of Manchester.”
The Beetham Hilton Tower comprises a Hilton Hotel from level 0 to 22, a ‘Sky Bar’ at level 23 and residential apartments from levels 25 to 50. Work began on site in April 2004 and the project is scheduled for completion in September 2006.
Ends
Interesting facts about the Beetham Tower
• The Beetham Hilton Tower is currently the tallest residential building in Europe at 168.870 metres (approximately 555 feet) above ground level.
• It is the tallest structure outside London
• The tower is approximately 11 metres (36 feet) taller than Blackpool Tower.
• The tower itself comprises of a Hilton Hotel from level 00 to 22, “Sky Bar” at level 23, residential levels 25 to 50.
• The “Sky Bar” a public bar, is situated at level 23 of the tower. This is the level where the building cantilevers out by approximately 4.5 metres.
• The cantilever contains two elliptical glass floor lenses (approx 2 metres x 1 metre). These will enable the viewer in the bar to stand on the glass and look straight down 75 metres (approximately 250 feet).
• There are 285 hotel rooms in the tower and 207 apartments ranging from one bedroom size up to the Penthouse. The Penthouse is situated over 2 floors (levels 47 –50). The Penthouse will contain 27 olive trees within a covered garden along with 2 oak trees, a swimming pool and a sauna.
• There are approximately 6000 glass panels on the tower. The area of glass covering the building is 21,000m2 or 220,000sqft
• On a clear day you can see as far as Snowdonia
• The tower sits on a 2.5 metre thick concrete slab which weighs approximately 5250 tonnes.
• The tower has been formed using approximately 23050m3 concrete weighing in at approximately 57,500 tonnes.
• The building has been designed with a sway of up to 265mm at the top along the North/South axis due to wind loading
• The project attained a record of over 700,000 man hours without a reportable lost time accident occurring.
Notes to Editors
Carillion National Building is a UK market leader in large-scale, challenging commercial building projects, with an unrivalled track record in safe, timely and sustainable delivery.
Carillion National Building is part of Carillion plc, one of today’s leading infrastructure, building and business services companies, with 40,000 employees and an order book worth over £9bn.
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