THE OSTANKINO TV TOWERErected in 1967, Moscow’s Ostankino TV Tower is the second tallest free-standing building in the world. The reinforced concrete tower of the TV centre in Moscow was built - after the design of Nikolai Nikitin. The Ostankino Tower is something of an architectural surprise in a city that is not known for its skyscrapers. It takes just 58 seconds for visitors to reach the Tower's observation deck. Located at a height of 337 metres from the ground, this observatory presents an entirely new perspective of Moscow. At the observation deck of Ostankino TV Tower the new plasmic video screen was recently installed and the visitors will be shown video films about the history of Ostankino Tower and the sights of Moscow from the bird’s eye view. Just below the observation deck are the three dining rooms of The Seventh Heaven, a restaurant. Also there are the Concert Hall "Korolyovsky" and the art-gallery in the Ostankino TV Tower. At one time, the Ostankino TV Tower was the highest construction in the world, a distinction it held for almost 10 years. When one takes into account its public solemnity and striking design, its functional and technical importance in providing Moscow with high-quality radio and TV communication, one can say without hesitation that the Ostankino Tower has no equal in the world. The total height of the Ostankino Tower is 540 meters and it has a structural weight of over 55,000 tons. The tower rests upon a monolithic hooped reinforced concrete foundation 9.5 m wide, 3 m high and 74 m in diameter. In the 10-angled reinforced concrete band of the foundation prestressing was created by means of a system of stressed hooping. The depth of the foundation is 4.65 m. The stability of the tower has a sixfold margin of safety. While the foundation was being built, specialists expressed their concern that the depth was insufficient for such a high tower. Relying on the experience of putting up high-rise structures, specialists suggested a hypothesis stressing the necessity to plant the base of the TV tower on supports resting upon a rock. Scientists were of the opinion that because of the insignificant depth of the foundation, ground work in its vicinity (the building of collectors, tunnels, metro lines etc. could result in the loss of earth from under the foundation. The specialists who shared this opinion recommended a 40-metre foundation. But N. Nikitin turned down that opinion and proved that his designed tower could stand even without having a foundation. Nikitin's calculations have been confirmed by life. The reinforced concrete support of the whole structure is a conical casing which rests upon banquets of the foundation with 10 reinforced concrete "legs". The diameter of the lower base of the casing is 60.6 m, being 18 m at the height of 63 m. The upper part of the reinforced concrete bole13, beginning at the height of 321 m, is made in the form of a cylinder with an exterior diameter of 8.1 m. The base walls of the tower are-500 mm thick. In the centre of the conical base, resting upon an independent foundation (a round reinforced concrete slab 12 m in diameter and 1 m thick), a reinforced concrete "pocket"14 63 m high and 7.5 m in diameter was erected through which run means of communication. The beam ends of 15 interstorey floors rest upon the "pockets". The construction of separate foundations for the two independent structures — the tower and the "pockets" — allows to exert upon the ground different pressure when uneven settling occurs. This grandiose construction has 45 levels, tens of ring decks and balconies, more than 70000 cubical meters of the total effective volume of space located inside the lower conical basis, ferro-concrete trunk and high-altitude rigging used for equipment and other needs. The effective area of all facilities exceeds 15000 square meters. On Sunday 27.08.2000 at Ostankino TV Tower there was a fire of feeders. These feeders connected transmitters with antennas, situated on the top of the Tower. Next day by forces of the firemen, Ministry of extreme situations and operational staff of the Tower the distribution of a fire was halted. There were a lot of difficulties, related to the liquidation of consequences of fire on the Ostankino Tower and its restoration. Recently the Government of the Russian Federation has received a Loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) towards implementation of the Ostankino Television Tower Rehabilitation Project. The Ostankino Tower is renowned for its unique architecture and its position as the largest communications structure housing state-of-the-art equipment.
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