Vasco da Gama tower

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Vasco da Gama tower with the new hotel building on the right (2015)
The original tower
Base of the Torre Vasco da Gama

The Vasco da Gama Tower is a 145 meter high observation tower in steel framework construction in Lisbon , Portugal with an attached hotel building. It is the tallest building in Portugal (as of 2013).

history

The tower was built in 1998 for the world exhibition Expo 98 by the companies Profabril and SOM , architect was Leonor Janeiro , structural engineer Nuno Costa . True to the motto of Expo 98 (“The Oceans: A Legacy for the Future”), the tower is intended as a memorial to the seafarer Vasco da Gama and express the ties between the Portuguese and the sea: the base extends into the Tejo like a ship's bow inside, the steel construction represents the sail of a caravel , the tower body (with the panoramic restaurant) is like a mast with a lookout .

The tower should also be used economically after the expo, for example by using it as office and business space, but there were too few new tenants. The tower was still used for individual events such as B. 2001 for the world premiere of the Mini . Both the viewing platform and the restaurant were closed in October 2004.

In 2006 the tower was climbed by Alain Robert , a French free climber. The campaign, however, was a marketing campaign by a Portuguese mobile phone company.

According to plans by the Portuguese architect Nuno Leónidas , the Vasco da Gama tower was then to be reopened and converted into a luxury hotel with 178 rooms on 20 floors. The renovation began in October 2007. The hotel was originally supposed to be named Sana Torre Vasco da Gama Royal Hotel , operated by the Portuguese hotel group Sana Hotels. The viewing platform and restaurant are then to be accessed by three panoramic elevators .

On November 6th, 2012 the house was reopened as planned as Hotel Myriad of Sana Hotels, in the presence of President Cavaco Silva and Mayor António Costa . The hotel has been advertised as a luxury hotel ever since.

Web links

Commons : Torre Vasco da Gama  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article in the daily newspaper Público , accessed on February 21, 2014
  2. ^ Article of November 7, 2012 on the Lisbon City Council website, accessed on February 21, 2014
  3. ^ Hotel website (German), accessed on February 21, 2014

Coordinates: 38 ° 46 ′ 29 ″  N , 9 ° 5 ′ 29 ″  W.