The tallest abandoned building in the world July 15th, 2017
You and I have already discussed that building in Russia, but it’s true that it was demolished several years ago. And now this is supposedly the tallest Abandoned and unfinished structure in the world. Or is there something higher? Did I miss something?
Look...
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At the end of 1983, according to the decision of the Sverdlovsk City Executive Committee, construction of a television tower began on 8 March Street near the city circus. This was a new standard Soviet project, previously implemented in Vilnius and Tallinn. Its design height was 361 meters; it was planned to move all the city’s television and radio transmission capacities there to cover the entire Sverdlovsk with a television signal. There was also supposed to be a restaurant there, like “Seventh Heaven” on the Ostankino TV tower.
Construction using monolithic concrete technology, unique for that time, was carried out by the Spetszhelezobetonstroy trust, which had previously erected the Vilnius, Ostankino, Tallinn and other television towers. Extra-strong concrete grade 400 was used. Construction was actively carried out until 1989, after which interruptions in financing began. However, construction was not frozen and continued, but with great difficulties, until 1991.
According to some reports, 11 million rubles were allocated for construction [source not specified 520 days], but only about 2 million were disbursed.
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In 1991, Russia began economic crisis, and funding for the construction of the television tower ceased. It was completed only to the level of 219.25 m (according to other sources 220.4 m). Since then, no work has been carried out on this site and the tower has been abandoned. The only one constructive change over the years, there was the installation of red altitude clearance lights for flight safety at the request of the prosecutor's office in the mid-2000s.
The tower is the most tall structure In Ekaterinburg. There are projects for its reconstruction, but so far none of them have been accepted for implementation.
In the 1990s, the tower was a popular place for suicides, extreme sports enthusiasts, rock climbers and base racers. By 2005, three cases of suicide were officially recorded, but rumor attributes more than two dozen cases of suicide to the tower. And in the 2000s, it was chosen by base jumpers. After this, all possible passages into the tower for climbing up were welded shut.
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In 2003, the tower was given to FSUE RTRS for a communications facility. In 2007, an investor was found who was ready to invest about 500 million rubles in completing the tower and developing a business center area around it to recoup the costs, but the financial crisis of 2008 brought down these plans.
Representatives of RTRS stated that it is cheaper to build new object television broadcasting 300 meters high, what to equip necessary systems an already built tower (a 300-meter television tower made of metal structures will be built on Uktus).
In July 2012, the Chairman of the Russian Government, Dmitry Medvedev, gave instructions to transfer the tower to the ownership of the region
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On April 4, 2013, D. Medvedev signed a decree according to which the unfinished television tower is excluded from the list of federal strategic objects and transferred into ownership Sverdlovsk region. A competition was announced for the project of reconstruction of the tower and the surrounding area with the creation recreational area. The competition, which was scheduled to end in July, was extended until the end of September 2013. Should have passed by this time technical expertise presented projects, including “Global Lighthouse” (a scientific and educational center), “Green Hill Park” (a tower - an object of “bionic architectural form”), “Star of the Urals” (an object based on the movement of floating rings using the principle of magnetic levitation) and others. The winner was the Green Hill Park project with a registry office, attractions, a cinema and an exhibition area. However, no investor was found to implement it.
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Projects for creating an Orthodox church on the basis of the tower were also presented.
It is expected that the land plot surrounding the tower, facing directly to the Iset River, will be turned into a recreational area.
In February 2016, a decision was made to mothball the TV tower ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In September 2016, the TV tower was included in the privatization plan. In January 2017, authorities in Once again announced their intention to sell the tower
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It is said that the tower has a slight tilt due to a design error that was not noticed during construction. However, she does not pose a threat to the tower and it will not fall in the near future.
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sources
March 24. Saturday. 7:30 am. And in the Ekaterinburg metro there is a rush like on weekdays during rush hour. Citizens travel to the center of the Ural capital to say goodbye to the unfinished TV tower.
An hour and a half later, it seemed like half the city had gathered at the demolition site.
The tower will fall on us anyway, some say warily. But no one moves.
No, they thought of everything. But the fragments can fly, others suggest.
The tower was to be demolished exactly at 9:00. However, the "show" was delayed. The townspeople were already starting to worry, but then the howl of sirens was heard. It later turned out that the demolition was delayed due to a false report that unauthorized persons had entered the site. And yet, after the second beep, two explosions occurred.
The spectacle was epic. Unfinished TV tower, which stood in the city center for 27 years (and construction of the tower began in 1983), cracked and fell to one side. All that remains of the former “luxury” is a stub that will be removed with special equipment. The site must be cleaned within two weeks after demolition.
Somehow she fell too easily. It was as if she hadn’t stood here for almost 30 years. It just tilted and swooped and disappeared behind the houses. Where is the tower? There is no tower. We are parting ways... - a resident of the city, Ivan Petrov, told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Everything went as normal. The charges were activated with an interval of several seconds, so for the observer they merged into one. The tower partially collapsed inward and partially lay flat on the erected “cushion.” The remaining 30 meters will be dismantled in about two weeks. It was not possible to dismantle it immediately, preliminary, due to poor concrete. But this risk was built into the project, reported the UMMC company, which became the customer for the demolition.
Now, on a tasty spot in the center of Yekaterinburg, where a TV tower used to rise, they are to build Ice Palace.
By the way, one of the townspeople was hit by a concrete fragment when the TV tower collapsed. According to eyewitnesses, it was the size of two fists. The guy was taken away in an ambulance. UMMC admits that one of the spectators was taken to the hospital. However, the connection between the incident and the demolition of the television tower is categorically denied.
A few hours after the unfinished TV tower became history, the city was plunged into melancholy. Citizens are pouring out their sadness on social networks. They post photographs of landmarks that have become history on their pages. Remember funny and funny incidents from life.
All. She was gone: a symbol of the city, albeit unfinished, but a symbol; architectural dominant; historical value. The era has passed, and with it the symbols are crumbling. The only memories that will remain are photos, video materials, and the roar of the explosion in the ears of those who looked at it. To be honest, I cried from this roar and the irreversibility of what was happening,” wrote city resident Anastasia Kosareva ( author's spelling and punctuation - preserved).
KP Help
Let us remind you that the construction of the 361-meter-high TV tower in Sverdlovsk began in 1983. It was supposed to cover the entire Sverdlovsk region with a television and radio signal. Construction was carried out using a technology unique for that time. Workers placed the concrete form on the ground, installed reinforcement and poured concrete. The form was then raised, narrowed and filled with concrete again. And so they built up the tower meter by meter.
In addition to radio and television transmitters, the tower was to house a revolving restaurant and an observation deck. You could get into it using one of two elevators with a lifting capacity of up to 1000 kg.
Alas, in 1991, when the tower reached 220 meters, construction was frozen. The reason is the financial crisis. Due to the difficult situation in the country, money for ambitious project It was simply not enough anymore.
By the way
On the eve of demolition, several young people decided to climb the TV tower. They carried backpacks filled with food, warm clothes and even sleeping bags, all in order to stage a protest and spend the night on the summit. Anticipating the moment when the guards would make another round of the territory, the entire gang of protesters rushed to the base of the TV tower. But some of them still fell into the clutches of security.
Four activists still managed to break through, jump onto the stairs and climb up. At about 5 o'clock in the morning the Russian tricolor began to flutter on the tower itself.
In Yekaterinburg, an unfinished television tower that stood in the city center for 30 years and became one of the main attractions and an indispensable element of the urban landscape was demolished. At 9 am on Saturday, March 24, an explosion at the bottom of the tower collapsed the building, which fell towards the river, the correspondent reports.
The demolition of the tower was preceded by heated public discussions, which developed into a conflict just before the demolition and became part of a number of other high-profile changes in the city landscape (this includes the battle between supporters and opponents of the construction of a “temple on the water” and the situation with the return of the Red Banner group to Plotinka).
Conducted since the beginning of 2018. Demolition date for a long time was not named, many residents of the surrounding area reported that they were not warned about the demolition work even the day before.
Opponents of the tower's demolition tried to stop the work by the most different ways: ; collected signatures for petitions; contacted various authorities, for example, the prosecutor's office; wrote letters to high-ranking officials up to the president of the country; On March 23, several young people climbed the tower and intended to stay on the top platform all night to prevent demolition, but their plan was unsuccessful (you can read and watch a detailed report on last day in the history of the Yekaterinburg tower).
This is how Ekaterinburg residents said goodbye to the tower on March 22 - a traditional “hug” for the city.
In the summer of 2017, the Sverdlovsk Legislative Assembly approved the transfer land plot under the unfinished tower for the use of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company for the construction of an ice arena for 15 thousand spectators. Preliminary construction of the facility is estimated at no less than 1 billion rubles.
Yekaterinburg TV Tower - roof height 231.7 m (design height with spire/antenna - 361 m). Years of construction: 1983 - 1991 (construction was not completed, the bulk of the work was carried out in 1986-1989). It was the tallest building in the city.
In the 2000s, the tower was transferred to FSUE RTRS. Over the course of ten years, rumors periodically appeared about possible investments in the reconstruction of the tower and turning it into a business center, but no one was willing to actually invest in the project. In 2012, the process of transferring the property to the ownership of the region began. In 2017, the site on which the tower was located was transferred to the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, which plans to build an ice arena on this site.
In Yekaterinburg on the morning of March 24, the city’s most recognizable long-term construction project, a 220-meter-high television tower, was blown up, reports FAN. During the demolition, residents of surrounding houses were evacuated.
“There were two explosions with an interval of several seconds, but for the observer they simply merged into one. “Everything was normal,” says URA.Ru words from a PR representative.
Photo report: An unfinished TV tower was blown up in Yekaterinburg
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“The top of the head fell neatly into the damper, and the tower collapsed in on itself. And in terms of seismicity and the level of dust and noise, everything went even smoother than planned in the project,” Pelevina pointed out.
She also pointed out that the demolition of the TV tower did not happen without provocations.
“At first, due to a false report of strangers entering the site, we had to delay the activation of the charges for several minutes. Then, at the moment of the collapse, one of the spectators, standing behind the guard and the Russian Guard soldiers, said with a smile that a stone the size of two fists had hit his leg and demonstrated it. At the same time, no one else saw or heard the scattering of fragments, and there was nothing on the ground,” she clarified.
Quite a lot of people gathered to watch the tower explode. local residents. After the demolition took place, people quickly dispersed.
General Director of the company "R.V.S." (special explosive work - the general contractor for dismantling the TV tower) Yuri Ovcharov also noted that there will be no second collapse of the TV tower.
“If we talk about what worried the public, seismicity is completely absent. On the remaining base of the tower - 25-30 meters high - dismantling work will be carried out as usual within the time frame set by the customer,” he said.
“I thought it would be more dangerous, scarier. I didn’t believe it until recently, but it turned out that they were thoroughly prepared. As they say, hope dies last. In general, it collapsed,” Andrei Polzunov, who works in a nearby house, shared his impressions.
There was also information that after the explosion, a stone flew into the man’s head, and an ambulance was called to the scene.
In addition, seven citizens were detained by security while trying to enter the facility, and another managed to escape. Earlier, protesters demanded a referendum against the demolition of the TV tower.
“We appeal to everyone to demand a popular referendum on the preservation of the main symbol of Yekaterinburg. Citizens of the country and townspeople themselves must decide the future of their home,” they said.
The day before, several hundred people took part in the “Save the TV Tower” campaign. Residents of the city, holding hands, tried to “hug” the unfinished building in order to “protect” it from demolition.
Despite the heavy snowfall, young people, families with children, and older people came to the TV tower. Among the participants of the action were well-known personalities in the city.
Thus, the mayor of Yekaterinburg, political scientist, journalist Maxim Putintsev, lawyer, deputies of the Yekaterinburg City Duma, etc. came out to defend the TV tower.
“In fact, everyone is hurt by the absurdity of what is happening. The city had a brilliant chance to get a level object Eiffel Tower or the Sukhov towers, but they themselves lost. The residents were offended that they were not told anything, they were not even formally informed. This is a strange backroom deal.
I am monitoring the situation, activists are already coming down from there, if necessary, I will try, of course, to stand up for them. Yesterday, about 1,000 people came out to defend the tower. If it had been 10 thousand, they definitely wouldn’t have demolished it,” said NSN Roizman.
Members also came Public Chamber Ekaterinburg Alexey Bezzub and, social activist Dmitry Moskvin, journalists and who flew to the Ural capital.
The organizers asked all participants in advance not to take posters, banners or sharp objects with them. Only one woman took out the poster, but after speaking with the police she removed it.
The unfinished TV tower is one of the main symbols of Yekaterinburg and at the same time the tallest abandoned building in the world. At the beginning of 2018, work began on its demolition. On March 24, this object, which could be turned into a unique attraction, will be blown up... Unless a miracle happens... Construction of a new TV tower in Sverdlovsk began at the end of 1983. Perhaps this was the most ambitious project Soviet power in this city. In addition to the tower, there should have been a park, a museum, a planetarium, and a house of pioneers. The construction was carried out by the Spetszhelezobetonstroy trust, which previously erected the Ostankino TV tower. Active construction continued until 1989, then problems with financing began. However, construction continued until 1991, then it was frozen. Left without funding, the builders simply left without mothballing the tower and leaving it exposed to unfavorable external conditions. Construction stopped at 219.25 meters (according to other sources, 220.4 meters). And if we take into account the metal structures rising above, the height of the tower is 231.7 meters. A metal antenna with a height of 141 meters was to be installed above. The design height of the structure was 361 meters. For comparison, the height of the tall skyscraper city - Iset tower - is 209 meters. If the TV tower had been completed, it would have become the second tallest in Russia - after the Ostankino Tower in Moscow. The new tower would significantly expand signal coverage – all the way to Nizhny Tagil. At an altitude of 188 meters, a restaurant was to be located on a rotating platform (analogous to “Seventh Heaven” in Ostankino). The prototype of the television tower was an ordinary reinforced concrete chimney, only higher and more voluminous, with appropriate rooms for equipment. The tower is a monolithic structure made of reinforced concrete with a wall thickness of 50 centimeters at the base to 30 centimeters at the top. High-strength concrete grade M400 was used (in modern classification B30). This type of concrete is used in the construction of bunkers, weapons depots, and protective structures. The thickness of the protective layer of concrete on the outer surface of the trunk is 40-70 millimeters, according to inner surface– 30-50 millimeters. The design volume of shaft concrete is 3066 m3. Concrete was brought from the concrete factory, lifted upstairs and poured onto reinforcement welded for strength. The work platform was ascended by a shaft lift inside the tower. Inside the tower trunk there is a hollow cylinder with a diameter of 15 meters at the bottom and 7 meters at the top. There are numerous window openings along the entire height of the trunk. various shapes and sizes. At levels from 199.6 to 208.9 meters, an installation opening measuring 9.3 x 5.72 meters was left in the tower trunk on the southwestern side. Through it (using a beam crane installed inside the television tower) it was planned to install the elevator shaft, elevator equipment and the elevators themselves. After this, the hole would be concreted. At the level of 231.7 meters, a platform with a diameter of 12 meters was built on the trunk, with a fence. The metal structures of the mine hoist are mounted along the entire height of the reinforced concrete shaft of the tower. When the tower was abandoned, extreme sports enthusiasts who were eager to conquer the tower climbed up them. The mine hoist was installed to the level of 239.7 meters. A walking staircase was installed outside along the entire height of the tower. Over time, it rusted and in some places moved away from the trunk. After the accident that happened there bottom part the stairs were cut off. After termination construction work appearance The tower did not change, except that, at the request of the prosecutor's office, red altitude lights were installed for flight safety and, over time, the huge inscription “Kisa” that appeared at the top was erased for the sake of the Russian tricolor. One of the builders of the television tower, foreman Walter Reingold, recalled: “When I arrived, the tower was 20 meters high. I built another 200 meters. We worked without stopping - the essence of the monolith is continuous concreting without joints or seams. The construction of the reinforced concrete shaft was carried out by two teams of eight people. From morning until evening, and in recent months around the clock, they climbed to a height, knitted a mesh of reinforcement, assembled formwork, and poured concrete. As a result, the 200-meter shaft was erected in six months. We did our job and passed it. Afterwards, heating engineers, fitters, elevator operators, plumbers, and electricians began working there. The next step the spire was to be built.” In 2017, experts assessed the degree of readiness of the tower at 47%, the degree of wear and tear at 24.6%. The object was valued at 654 million rubles, of which 588 million rubles was the cost of the land plot. The huge abandoned area near the circus soon began to attract extreme sports enthusiasts and simply informal people. Risking his life, internal structures and the external stairs they climbed to the very top. Some even spent the night on the tower with tents. There were many who climbed the tower dozens and hundreds of times. Sometimes paratroopers jumped from here. There were also accidents - it was not difficult to fall off the tower structures. In the end, the tower was closed, and the area around it began to be guarded. However, from time to time, thrill-seekers still entered the tower. TV tower restoration projects The construction of the tower at that time was carried out according to a new standard project. In addition to Sverdlovsk in Russia, similar towers were supposed to appear in Perm and Vladivostok, but the crisis prevented them. But towers according to this project were built in Tallinn (Estonia) and Vilnius (Lithuania), only the platform at the top was different. Looking at them, you can understand what the TV tower in Sverdlovsk-Ekaterinburg would be like. But even in the form of unfinished construction, according to many Yekaterinburg residents, the tower adorned the city. This is the dominant thing that the eye clings to. From time to time, regional authorities announced plans to restore the site. In 2007, an investor was found who expressed his readiness to invest about 500 million rubles in the completion of the tower, and to build business centers nearby to recoup the costs, but the financial crisis of 2008 prevented it. The unfinished tower was listed on the balance sheet of the federal state unitary enterprise RTRS. In 2012, the Sverdlovsk region bought an unfinished television tower, paying 500 million rubles from the regional budget. The following year, 2013, the regional authorities held a competition for best project reconstruction of an unfinished television tower. The winner was the company "NAI BEKAR Ural" with the project "Green Hill Park". According to the project, it was planned to build a registry office on the tower and observation deck, and in the lower part there are hotels, shops and entertainment centers. However, no investors were found for the construction of the facility. Second place in the competition went to the Global Lighthouse project, which proposed turning the tower into a scientific and educational center. And the third is the “Star of the Urals” with floating rings using the principle of magnetic levitation. In total, more than 70 projects were submitted to the competition. Some suggested installing a statue of St. Catherine on top. There was also a proposal to turn the tower into a “dandelion” - to create a huge art object. According to the idea of the project authors from the TigerTiger agency, there should be an observation deck at the top of the tower, and at the bottom there could be exhibition or office space. At night, the stem of the “dandelion” would be illuminated green, and the top is white. In 2017, it became known that the Tengo Interactive studio had created a VR project about the Yekaterinburg TV tower. The project was called " The Tower VR". Wearing a helmet virtual reality, you can play the game by visiting the famous TV tower and climbing to the top. On February 22, 2017, the authorities put the tower and the land around it up for auction. Starting price determined in the amount of 652.8 million rubles. The Atomstroykompleks company, which planned to build 120 thousand square meters, showed interest in the auction. m. of housing and commercial real estate. The tower was planned to be reconstructed by installing a long spire, due to which its height would increase to 361 meters. They wanted to build an observation deck on the tower. However, after deliberation, Atomstroykompleks refused to acquire the unfinished property. The auction did not take place due to lack of applications. At the same time, the owner of UMMC, billionaire Andrei Kozitsyn, showed interest in the site. As a result, in 2017, the Sverdlovsk authorities donated an unfinished television tower, purchased from the federal authorities for half a billion budget rubles, to the UMMC company - in exchange for a promise to demolish the television tower and build another ice arena in its place (literally a few blocks from here is the Uralets Ice Sports Palace "). In November 2017, the Sverdlovsk organization of the Union of Architects of Russia sent a letter to the head of UMMC Andrei Kozitsyn asking him to reconsider the decision to demolish the TV tower and build an ice arena in this place. The former governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Eduard Rossel, also spoke out against the demolition of the television tower: “There are 165 meters of metal structures left to be completed there. This needs to be done, paint the TV tower, install the equipment. You can do good there Cultural Center - new item attraction for the townspeople, for the youth,” he told reporters. But the current governor Kuyvashev, who came to the Urals from Tyumen region, welcomes the demolition of one of the symbols of a city alien to him. “The tower is definitely not a monument. And not a symbol of some kind historical event. This is a symbol of mismanagement. We searched different shapes use of a television tower. And I must state that there are no investors to implement any idea. This is a purely economic issue. It's funny to call it some kind of symbol. It’s bad that we can’t bring this territory into circulation. That is why the decision was made to demolish...,” Kuyvashev said at his press conference. For creating negative image television tower near the security booth at the construction site, a memorial was built, called by its creators as “40 corpses” (although official quantity 11 people crashed on the TV tower due to their own stupidity), and UMMC PR people are sending out videos about the “tower of death” through the media and social networks. Started in January 2018 active work for the demolition of the tower. They are rushing to finish it in time for the FIFA World Cup, four matches of which will be held in Yekaterinburg. At the request of UMMC, the demolition was carried out by a company with the simple name “Special Explosive Works” from Magnitogorsk ( Chelyabinsk region). The cost of demolishing the TV tower has not been disclosed. There have been approximate estimates in the media of 200 million rubles. The demolition of the tower will take place on Saturday, March 24, 2018. After the explosion, the remains of the tower will go to Uralmash. They will be taken to the landfill at the end of Kommunisticheskaya Street. It is there that you will be able to pick up a part of the legendary long-term construction as a souvenir. Simultaneously with the news about the impending demolition of the tower, reports appeared about the plans of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "RTRS" to build a new television tower, even higher than the unfinished one. According to plans, it should appear at Uralmash, on the territory of a former radio center. The TV tower project assumes a height of 236 meters. Construction is planned to be completed in 33 months. If another crisis doesn't interfere...