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#LANDSCAPING AND URBAN PLANNING PROJECTS

World’s longest and tallest tunnel slide to be installed on Anish Kapoor’s London tower

Plans to install the world’s longest and tallest tunnel slide just received the green light.

Designed by Bblur Architecture, the record-breaking slide will wrap around Anish Kapoor’s 114-meter-tall ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower—considered the UK’s largest piece of public art—in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The descent from top to bottom is estimated to take 40 seconds at an average speed of six meters a second. The cost per ride? Just £5 a pop. (That's less than $8!)

Erected in 2012, the gigantic ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower dominates the Olympic Park landscape. The tower was built from 2,000 tonnes of steel, almost 60 percent of which was recycled. The proposed 178-meter-long steel tube slide will begin at the 80 meter point, wind around the tower five times, before making a sharp turn at 50 meters above ground level for its final descent.

The tube slide will be painted red to match the tower’s latticework and have a transparent top to give visitors changing views of London. “We are committed to ensuring our visitors have the best possible day out every time they visit Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and as with all our venues we are constantly exploring ways to ensure we are leading the way with the latest visitor experience. The addition of a slide would be an exciting and alternative way to descend from the viewing platforms, and will give a different perspective of Britain’s tallest sculpture,” said a London Legacy Development Corporation spokesperson. The slide is expected to open in 2016.

World’s longest and tallest tunnel slide to be installed on Anish Kapoor’s London tower

Details

  • London, UK
  • Bblur Architecture