Brighton's i360: World's thinnest tower to open
The world's thinnest tall building opens on Thursday offering views of up to 26 miles of Sussex coastline.
The 531ft (161m) British Airways i360 viewing tower stands on the site once occupied by the entrance to Brighton's ruined West Pier. Visitors ascend 450ft (137m) in a 360-degree curved-glass pod. But it has divided local opinion, with some declaring it "a total monster" others praising it as "world-class, stunning architecture". Test your knowledge of the world's tallest buildings Valerie Paynter, of the saveHove campaign, said it was "like something springing horribly out of the earth in a horror movie". But Glynn Jones, chairman of the West Pier Trust, thought the "vertical pier in the sky" showed "the city is, once again, embracing and celebrating world-class, stunning architecture". The tower affords visitors views from Bexhill in East Sussex to Chichester in West Sussex with the South Downs to the north. Chief Executive of i360, Eleanor Harris, claimed the tower would transform Brighton's tourism prospects. She said: "We have built the world's first vertical cable car, the world's tallest moving observation tower, the world's most slender tower. "We are putting Brighton on the map and promoting the city around the globe." i360 in numbers Architect David Marks said: "This is the culmination of a 12-year journey that started on a kitchen table and ends 138 metres above Brighton and Hove beach. "We feel incredibly happy and proud on behalf of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people that worked to bring the project to reality."