London Eye, London (2000)
The London Eye is 135m tall and sits on multiple foundations or ‘bases”. The compression base supports the ‘A’ frame that holds the wheel, and it consists of 40 750mmø bored piles at depths of approx. 32m. While the tension base anchors the rear cables and consists of 12 750mmø bored piles. The foundations were specifically important when it came to erecting the wheel horizontally over the Thames, as rearing it into its operational position put enormous pressure on them.
Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE (1999)
Piles usually work by transferring the weight of a structure to solid rock. The Burj Al Arab Hotel is constructed on an artificial island 280m off the coast of Dubai. The hotel is an impressive 321m tall and when conducting core tests, it revealed that there is no solid rock underneath for at least 180m. This required 230 friction piles to be used. Skin friction between the rough surface of the piles and the ground keeps not only them but the building firmly in place.
Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE (2009)
I’m sure we all know the world’s tallest building is the Burj Kalifa, but did you know it was piled? The structure is an impressive 829m tall and it too relies on friction piles for the exact same reason as the Burj Al Arab. However, on this building, there are 192 1.5mø piles at a depth of way more than 50m. The foundation used 45,000 cubic metres of concrete, weighing over 110,000 tones. Just to put this into scale, the Eiffel Tower weighs just a 1/10th of that at approx. 10,100 tonnes!
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France (1889)
The Eiffel Tower is 330m tall and each leg has its own foundations, which were quite advanced for the time as they follow the incline of each leg, rather than being vertical. Adding to the complexity, 2 of the legs are close to the river Seine, so they needed two piles installed with compressed-air caissons 15m long and 6m in diameter driven to a depth of 22m.
Everton Stadium, Liverpool (2024)
Everton’s new stadium isn’t exactly a landmark but it’s still a pretty impressive bit of British engineering. The brand new 52,888-seater stadium is located on Bramley-Moore Dock, which until recently was a body of water between 2 wharfs. 2,400 600mmø CFA bearing piles, approx. 15m deep, support the main stadium, while 6 rotary bored piles support a nearby bridge. So, although we can’t promise that the Toffees’ will stay up, their brand-new stadium most certainly will!
So, did you know that any of these 5 landmarks have piled foundations?
Omnia Machinery can provide you with the used mini piling rigs you need for your upcoming projects, from brands such as Comacchio, Casagrande and Geax to name a few. Should you have any specialist requirements, please do not hesitate to contact our knowledgeable team who can help to source the perfect machine for you. Before shipment, we always ensure that our machines are up-to-date and fully tested. Should you require something more specialist, please contact us and our expert team will aim to source the machine required for your project.