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British Telecom Tower (Birmingham)
Encyclopedia
The BT Tower is a landmark in Birmingham
, England
, and is also the tallest building in the city. Its Post Office code was YBMR.
Construction of the tower commenced in July 1963 and was completed in September 1965. The tower became operational in December 1966 and was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Alderman James S. Meadows on 5 October 1967. It was designed by the Ministry of Public Building and Works with M.H. Bristow being the senior architect. It has 26 storeys, housing technical areas and offices, and five levels of circular aerial galleries at the top.
The original intention was to build a circular tower similar to the London one but without the public floors above the aerial galleries. At one time the Post Office wanted to increase the height from 500 feet (152.4 m), which had been agreed by the Ministry of Aviation, to 600 feet (182.9 m). This was refused in order to avoid non-standard procedures for aircraft approaching Birmingham Airport from the north-west. Cost over-runs on the London tower led to a review of the Birmingham design, and then it was decided to use a circular design of the 'Chilterns' type as used at Stokenchurch, Charwelton, Pye Green, Sutton Common, Heaton Park and Tinshill radio stations, but with the internal diameter increased from 32 feet (9.8 m) to 37 feet (11.3 m) to provide sufficient space on the equipment floors. The square design, as built, was proposed for aesthetic reasons by the Chief Architect of the Ministry of Public Building and Works.
The tower was designed to be stable in high winds. Channels at each corner funnel the wind to counteract the force of the wind swaying the building. A stable platform is necessary so that the microwave dishes mounted on the side of the building keep line of sight
with the remote transmitter they are communicating with.
There were two steel rails on one wall on which a trolley was designed to run to carry the dishes up to the aerial galleries. The original horn dishes were too heavy for the roof mounted crane to lift and had to be stripped down, even in this state they were only just under the crane's maximum load capacity.
The ability to lift dishes was dependent on the weather and to complicate matters, the steel rails only went to the bottom of the first aerial gallery. To get the dishes higher a steel cable system was used that was mounted on poles. When the trolley reached the aerial gallery it had to be disconnected from the rails and swung out to attach to the cables.
In August 2003, the tower was painted an ultramarine blue to cover the existing light brown which had started to discolour. The balconies were painted to stand out from the tower
in a dark shade of blue. On 18 March 2004, Jasper Carrott
switched on the night time illuminations of the tower in response to Birmingham City Council's policy of encouraging the illumination of local landmarks.
The tower is home to a pair of Peregrines
, with a webcam
installed in 2010.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is also the tallest building in the city. Its Post Office code was YBMR.
History
The original intention was to build a circular tower similar to the London one but without the public floors above the aerial galleries. At one time the Post Office wanted to increase the height from 500 feet (152.4 m), which had been agreed by the Ministry of Aviation, to 600 feet (182.9 m). This was refused in order to avoid non-standard procedures for aircraft approaching Birmingham Airport from the north-west. Cost over-runs on the London tower led to a review of the Birmingham design, and then it was decided to use a circular design of the 'Chilterns' type as used at Stokenchurch, Charwelton, Pye Green, Sutton Common, Heaton Park and Tinshill radio stations, but with the internal diameter increased from 32 feet (9.8 m) to 37 feet (11.3 m) to provide sufficient space on the equipment floors. The square design, as built, was proposed for aesthetic reasons by the Chief Architect of the Ministry of Public Building and Works.
The tower was designed to be stable in high winds. Channels at each corner funnel the wind to counteract the force of the wind swaying the building. A stable platform is necessary so that the microwave dishes mounted on the side of the building keep line of sight
Line-of-sight propagation
Line-of-sight propagation refers to electro-magnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling in a straight line...
with the remote transmitter they are communicating with.
There were two steel rails on one wall on which a trolley was designed to run to carry the dishes up to the aerial galleries. The original horn dishes were too heavy for the roof mounted crane to lift and had to be stripped down, even in this state they were only just under the crane's maximum load capacity.
The ability to lift dishes was dependent on the weather and to complicate matters, the steel rails only went to the bottom of the first aerial gallery. To get the dishes higher a steel cable system was used that was mounted on poles. When the trolley reached the aerial gallery it had to be disconnected from the rails and swung out to attach to the cables.
In August 2003, the tower was painted an ultramarine blue to cover the existing light brown which had started to discolour. The balconies were painted to stand out from the tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
in a dark shade of blue. On 18 March 2004, Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian, actor, television presenter and personality.-Early life:...
switched on the night time illuminations of the tower in response to Birmingham City Council's policy of encouraging the illumination of local landmarks.
The tower is home to a pair of Peregrines
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
, with a webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
installed in 2010.