The Falkirk Wheel, Rough Castle, near Falkirk, Scotland. Architect: RMJM Architects, Ove Arup, Butterley Engineering
Designed to reconnect the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals and sited in a natural open amphitheatre at Rough Castle near Falkirk, this remarkable and elegant mechanical marvel is the only rotating boat lift in the world and truly one of a kind. A consortium led by Morrison-Bachy-Solentache (including RMJM Architects) led the development around the Wheel, included building an aqueduct and a tunnel - the first canal tunnel to be built in Britain for over 100 years. This was necessary to protect valued woodland and the scheduled monument of the Antonine Wall and the main Glasgow - Edinburgh railway line some 50 feet above. The 100 metre-long aqueduct extends from the tunnel and towers above a basin into which boats will travel via the Falkirk Wheel. At each end of the 115 foot Wheel are caissons able to lift 300 tonnes of boat and water, and the trip between basin and aqueduct will take approximately 15 minutes. The basin will is more than 300 feet wide with moorings for at least 20 boats. Alongside there is a large visitor’s centre with a glass frontage that will overlook the Wheel and basin and a boardwalk to watch in awe as the Wheel rotates
Size: 5359px × 4251px
Location: United Kingdom
Photo credit: © Ben Luxmoore / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: architects, architecture, arup, boat, british, building, buildings, butterley, canals, castle, concrete, engineering, england, english, exteriors, falkirk, historical, kingdom, lift, mechanical, millennium, modern, ove, rmjm, rotating, rough, scottish, sport, structures, transport, transports, united, unusual, wheel
