Latest news with #JuliaBarfield
South China Morning Post
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
London Eye celebrates 25 years as a top UK attraction
Soaring above the London skyline in her most famous creation, architect Julia Barfield is thrilled that the London Eye Ferris wheel has become a symbol of the city. The primary goal was to find a stunning view of the British capital, she said inside one of its 32 glass pods as it floated against the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament. Built to mark the turn of the millennium in 2000, it has since established itself as one of the UK's most visited paid attractions. Each year around 3.5 million tourists take in its panoramic views on half-hour trips. Stamped on souvenirs, sketched by street artists and snapped in an endless stream of selfies, the Eye has become nearly as big a landmark as Big Ben. Similar observation wheels are now a fixture in cities around the world, but even today the Eye's cantilevered design stands out. Answer: Julia Barfield
South China Morning Post
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How the London Eye became a symbol of the UK's capital
Floating high above the London skyline aboard her most famous creation, architect Julia Barfield is still giddy that the London Eye Ferris wheel has become a symbol of the city. Advertisement The initial priority was finding a breathtaking way to see the British capital, she said inside one of its 32 glass pods as it drifted against the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament. Built to mark the turn of the millennium in 2000, it has since established itself as one of the UK's most visited paid attractions. Each year around 3.5 million tourists take in its panoramic views on half-hour trips. Stamped on souvenirs, sketched by street artists and snapped in an endless stream of selfies, the Eye has become nearly as big a landmark as Big Ben. British architect Julia Barfield rides the London Eye on February 25, 2025. Photo: AFP But its future was not always so assured.
Telegraph
09-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The London Eye changed the capital forever – and is a far cry from today's Broken Britain
If there's anyone who can allow themselves a wistful gaze up at the London Eye this weekend as it celebrates its 25th anniversary, it's the iconic wheel's co-architect Julia Barfield. 'I've been going back and looking at it for the first time in ages,' she says. 'It's incredibly moving to see so many enjoying the structure – offering people the chance to see London from a new perspective, and to raise spirits.' The London Eye was initially envisaged by Barfield and her late husband David Marks, of Marks Barfield Architects, as a temporary landmark to celebrate the millennium (in fact, it was originally called The Millennium Wheel). So the passing of a quarter of a century feels particularly resonant. A reminder, too, of a happier, more confident and prosperous Britain. It's barely believable that this temporary wheel has so quickly become as much of a fixture of the capital's 'brand' as Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge or Buckingham Palace. It's also a far cry from today's Broken Britain, where projects spend years in the weeds, over budget and incomplete. Imagine those spectacular New Year's Eve celebrations without fireworks spraying out from a brightly lit London Eye. It's been a cipher for London's vibrancy in film franchises such as Harry Potter, and it now welcomes approximately three million visitors a year. Delivering an Eiffel Tower for London Another architect, Sir Richard Rogers, best described its impact when he said: 'The Eye has done for London what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris, which is to give it a symbol and to let people climb above the city and look back down on it. Not just specialists or rich people, but everybody. That's the beauty of it: it is public and accessible, and it is in a great position at the heart of London.' It's fair to say, then, that the London Eye has become genuinely iconic in an incredibly short space of time. Though there were a few misgivings in the planning stage, you'd now do well to find anyone who thinks the wheel is a blot on the landscape. And even though it's been through a number of sponsorship name changes (does anyone actually call it the London Eye?) and is now owned by a privately-owned global entertainment consortium charging £30 for a 30 minute ride – it still feels like it represents the capital rather than being a tourist honeypot. Whisper it, but back when The Millennium Wheel opened 25 years ago, it was just £7.45 for the same ride. Back then, architect Sir Jeremy Dixon said the wheel was 'huge in scale but light in feeling' and it's instructive how many people step back onto the South Bank after their ride in one of the constantly moving 32 pods and comment on the rare stillness they've just experienced in the midst of this bustling capital as new vistas and views reveal themselves. 'The world has embraced the Eye' As Robin Goodchild, the senior general manager of the London Eye, says: 'Londoners and the world have embraced the London Eye as more than its parts, establishing it to become a symbol of London, a journey across the London skyline.' Perhaps that sense of an epic journey is why the 443ft Millennium Wheel was swiftly replicated all over the world. Since 2000, there's been a literal race to the top, with cities planning ever-higher, copycat observation wheels. In 2006, The Star of Nanchang in China (525 ft) held top spot. Within two years, it had been swiftly surpassed by the Singapore Flyer (541ft) and, by 2014, The High Roller in Las Vegas (550ft). It won't surprise anyone that the current record holder is nearly twice the height of the London Eye and in the United Arab Emirates; the Ain Dubai topped out at 820ft when it opened in 2021. In the UK, too, other cities have dabbled in observation wheels, albeit with much less success. The Wheel Of Manchester popped up in 2004 but didn't last. It was telling that late Manchester icon Tony Wilson said: 'It's a poor imitation of something London's done a lot better.' A testament to 'entrepreneurial spirit' The notion of London 'doing stuff better' does feel instructive. Despite the Millennium Wheel being far more complicated than a traditional ferris wheel, it took just over a year from the final designs being approved in 1998 for the parts to be machined, shipped down the Thames, constructed in pieces on site and lifted into place. Yes, there were issues in its original gestation – the original idea was floated in a 1993 competition for a millennium landmark that, somewhat amusingly, had no winners. Marks Barfield Architects, undeterred, set up their own Millennium Wheel Company to try and build it themselves on the South Bank, where the Festival of Britain had been in 1951. Of course, they didn't own the land and didn't have planning consent. Or indeed the money to build it. But after their planning application was revealed by supportive media, British Airways got on board as financial backers, and consent was given in 1996. A lesson, then, in what can be achieved in this country with foresight, imagination and enthusiasm. 'We had an entrepreneurial spirit,' says Julia. 'And it just shows, if you have a dream you've got to just go ahead and do it – don't wait to be asked. I only wish David were here to be part of it now.'
Reuters
06-03-2025
- Reuters
London Eye, pioneering observation wheel, turns 25
LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Tourists wanting a bird's eye view of Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace have put the London Eye in the ranks of the city's most visited attractions since it was opened 25 years ago on Sunday. The observation wheel, which offers visitors a 30-minute ride in a glass pod, was supposed to stand for five years before being dismantled, but its popularity led to it being made a permanent fixture on the River Thames last year. On a clear day, tourists riding the wheel can spot Windsor Castle, the royal family's 900 year-old home 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) away, while for Britons it has become synonymous with the city's fireworks on New Year's Eve. The wheel was the idea of husband and wife architects David Marks and Julia Barfield to celebrate the millennium. Its shape symbolises the cycle of life. "A circle has no beginning and no end. It is symbolic of the passing of time," Barfield told Reuters, adding that when it opened, it was one of the few options for a view of London from a height. Since it started operating, the city's skyline has been transformed by new skyscrapers that can be viewed from the wheel. All named after their shapes, The Gherkin opened in 2004, the Shard, London's tallest building, followed in 2013 and the Cheesegrater in 2014. About 3.5 million people pay from 29 pounds ($37.17) per ticket to ride the London Eye each year. Its popularity has inspired dozens of copycat wheels in cities around the world, but at 135 metres (442.91 ft) tall, the London Eye remains the world's largest cantilevered observation wheel. The architects' plan was for the attraction to revitalise a part of London's South Bank, and 1% of the attraction's annual revenues are paid to help maintain the public area around. ($1 = 0.7802 pounds)
