Smoke curtain protection for Brighton’s newest seafront landmark.
This iconic tower has been erected on Kings Road, Brighton, previously home to the Historic West Pier built in 1866 by the naval architect Eugenius Birch.
The Pier has been closed since 1975 and since then has been ravaged by two fires and several storms leaving little of the original pier still standing. It is now one of only two Grade I listed piers in the UK.
The i360 tower reaches a staggering 162m high with a viewing glass pod rising 138m. This is the tallest observation tower outside London and the slenderest in the world. With breath-taking 360 degree views of up to 26 miles from the world’s first vertical cable car, conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects, the creators of the London Eye.
When It came to choosing a company for the smoke protection strategy as part of a £46m design and improvement programme, Smoke and Fire Curtains were thrilled to get involved and install our SmokeSafe System for protection to the entrance to the pods.
Compliance to the current European Regulations as well as reliability were imperative for this structure as well as a neutral design. Our Smoke Safe CE Marked curtains fitted the bill.
Smoke and Fire Curtains have designed, manufactured and fitted all of the active smoke safety barriers on behalf of a local regional contractor.
The bespoke design was critical in achieving the smooth lines and unobtrusive finish, whilst the installation required our expert teams to install within the polygon shape designed around the pod entrance glass doors.
i360 will follow the same spirit as the West Pier by offering visitors the opportunity to ‘Walk on Air’ in the same way as West Pier allowed them to ‘Walk on Water’.