On 25 May 2005, London mayor Ken Livingstone vowed that the landmark would remain in London. Its height was surpassed by the 160-metre (525 ft) Star of Nanchang in 2006, the 165-metre (541 ft) Singapore Flyer in 2008, and the 167-metre-tall (547.9 ft) High Roller (Las Vegas) in 2014. Supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike the taller Nanchang and Singapore wheels, the Eye is described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel". [54] The land in question is a small part of the Jubilee Gardens, which was given to the SBC for £1 when the Greater London Council was broken up. [20], The London Eye was designed by the husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and David Marks of Marks Barfield Architects. Architect: Marks Barfield Architects – David Marks + Julia Barfield. He leaves behind a … A new logo was designed for the attraction—this time taking the form of an eye made out of London's famous landmarks. [49] To mark the start of the partnership, lastminute.com invited Grammy Award-winning singer Meghan Trainor to perform at a launch party on a boat on the Thames overlooking the London Eye. From the time your carriage reaches the highest point your breath will have been take away. The London Eye has put architecture, design and engineering centre stage by catching the imagination of the British public and of visitors to London, and by becoming one of the city's most popular landmarks. These agreements gave Tussauds 100% ownership and resolved the debt from the Eye's construction loan from British Airways, which stood at more than £150 million by mid-2005 and had been charging an interest rate of 25% per annum. You reached this page when attempting to access https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/london-eye-6633 from 51.254.206.188 on 2020-11-28 01:45:35 UTC. 23 May 2010. It does not usually stop to take on passengers; the rotation rate is slow enough to allow passengers to walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. [32], The wheel's 32 sealed and air-conditioned ovoidal passenger capsules, designed[33] and supplied[34] by Poma, are attached to the external circumference of the wheel and rotated by electric motors. The ride moves so slow which enables one to have ample opportunity to shoot photos and video from all angles. The South Bank Centre and the British Airways London Eye agreed on a 25-year lease on 8 February 2006 after a judicial review over the rent dispute. Marks Barfield (the lead architects), The Tussauds Group, and British Airways were the original owners of the London Eye. That's the beauty of it: it is public and accessible, and it is in a great position at the heart of London. On the day the sponsorship was announced the London Eye was lit in red. [24], The rim of the Eye is supported by tensioned steel cables[25] and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel. [48], On 14 November 2019 it was announced that lastminute.com would be the sponsor starting in February 2020, replacing Coca-Cola and that the wheel would be lit in the lastminute.com hot pink brand corporate colours for three years. The refurbished ticket hall and 4D cinema experience were designed by architect Kay Elliott working with Merlin Studios project designer Craig Sciba. We changed the London Skyline & have won over 85 awards for tourism, architecture & more. Consulting engineers Tony Gee & Partners designed the foundation works while Beckett Rankine designed the marine works. When it opened to the public in 2000 it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel. [52], On 20 May 2005, there were reports of a leaked letter showing that the South Bank Centre (SBC)—owners of part of the land on which the struts of the Eye are located—had served a notice to quit on the attraction along with a demand for an increase in rent from £64,000 per year to £2.5 million, which the operators rejected as unaffordable.[53]. Celebrating 20 years of the London Eye! He also pledged that if the dispute was not resolved he would use his powers to ask the London Development Agency to issue a compulsory purchase order. The lighting was re-done with LED lighting from Color Kinetics in December 2006 to allow digital control of the lights as opposed to the manual replacement of gels over fluorescent tubes. [47] On 1 August 2014 the logo was reverted to the previous "The Merlin Entertainments London Eye" version, with the name becoming simply "The London Eye". [29][30][31], On 5 June 2008 it was announced that 30 million people had ridden the London Eye since it opened. [27] It was first raised at 2 degrees per hour until it reached 65 degrees, then left in that position for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift. [38], In 2009 the first stage of a £12.5 million capsule upgrade began. In May 2007, the Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group which was then the owner of the Eye; Tussauds was merged with Blackstone's Merlin Entertainments and disappeared as an entity. [28], The London Eye was formally opened by the Prime Minister Tony Blair on 31 December 1999, but did not open to the paying public until 9 March 2000 because of a capsule clutch problem. Discover why we’re one of the best places to visit in London. Merlin Studios later appointed Simex-Iwerks as the 4D theatre hardware specialists. Not just specialists or rich people, but everybody. [58], The nearest London Underground station is Waterloo, although Charing Cross, Embankment, and Westminster are also within easy walking distance.[59]. The London Eye has put architecture, design and engineering centre stage by catching the imagination of the British public and of visitors to London, and by becoming one of the city's most popular landmarks. [26], The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on piled platforms in the river. Each capsule was taken down and floated down the river to Tilbury Docks in Essex. The London Eye was designed by the husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and David Marks of Marks Barfield Architects.