At, the Glasgow Tower is currently the tallest tower in Scotland, and since late 2015 following the demolition of both the Red Road Flats and the Bluevale and Whitevale Towers the structure is now the tallest in all of Glasgow. It holds a Guinness World Record for being the tallest tower in the world in which the whole structure is capable of rotating 360 degrees. The whole structure originally rested upon a Nigerian made thrust bearing, but this was replaced with a phosphor-manganese-bronze alloy solid ball and cup bearing prior to re-opening in 2014. This bearing rests at the bottom of a caisson, while the tower itself is not directly connected to these foundations, instead being supported by a ring of 24 rubber-sprung roller bearings at Podium level. This is to allow the building to rotate to face into the wind. The tower has two lifts each with a 12-person capacity, but for reasons of comfort, this is limited to 6 guests plus a single member of staff. The lifts, manufactured by , ascend the tower in two and a half minutes using a rack and pinion system, providing views to the rear of the tower through all-around glass windows. There is also an emergency staircase, comprising 523 stairs from the Cabin level to the Podium.
History
The tower has been plagued by safety and engineering problems throughout its history. It missed its opening date in 2001. Problems with the Nigerian-made thrust bearing on which it rotates led to it being closed between February 2002 and August 2004. On 30 January 2005, ten people were trapped in the lifts and the rescue took over five hours to complete. Following the incident, the tower re-opened on 21 December 2006. In September 2007, a charity abseiling event was held on Glasgow Tower. The Centre states that 65,000 people have climbed the tower during its periods of operation. In August 2010 the tower closed again due to "technical issues stemming from its original design". Prior to re-opening in 2014, the thrust bearing was replaced with a ball and cup bearing, and the partial fix was featured in the TV documentary "Incredible Engineering Blunders: Fixed". The tower opened to the public again in July 2014 with new safety features and an updated interior. The tower now operates annually across the summer months and will take passengers to the high observation deck when wind-speeds do not exceed approximately, which ensures their comfort and enjoyment. Three days after opening, a capacitor bank at the base encountered a fault, producing smoke which was misidentified as a fire.
Design
It is shaped like an aerofoil, with 4 manually-operated 6 kW motors to turn it into the wind in order to reduce wind resistance and improve stability through aerodynamic forces. The tower, previously known as the Millennium Tower, was the winning design in an international competition to design a tower for the city centre of Glasgow. The original architectural design was by the architect Richard Horden, with engineering design by Buro Happold, but after commissioning the project was taken over by the Glasgow architects BDP. In the end the tower cost £10 million. Glasgow Council successfully sued contractors Carillion over the quality of the work.
When completed in 2001, it became the second tallest self supporting structure in Scotland, behind the Inverkip Power Station chimney. The website for the tower claims it is "The tallest freestanding building in Scotland". Although the tower has an observation deck at, it does not have floors continuously from the ground and therefore the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat does not consider it to be a building.
