Ban-công bằng kính trên tầng 103 của cao ốc Willis Tower

Tòa cao ốc tháp Willis Tower (tên cũ là Sears Tower) ở thành phố Chicago (Mỹ) có 110 tầng, cao 1.450 feet (441,96 mét), khánh thành năm 1973. Bên ngoài tầng 103, tức ở độ cao 1.353 feet (412,39 mét), người ta có lắp 4 chiếc lồng kính để cho khách tham quan quan sát bên dưới.

Mỗi chiếc ban-công lồng kính này có bề sâu 4 feet (1,2 mét), ngang 10 feet (3 mét) và cao 10 feet, được làm bằng kính cường lực dày 1,5 inch (3,8cm). Toàn bộ các mặt đều bằng kính, kể cả sàn. Vì thế, khi đừng ở ban-công này, người ta có cái cảm giác như mình đang chơi vơi giữa trời cao. Kiến trúc sư Ross Wimer nói rằng chiếc lồng kính có chiều sâu chỉ 4 feet, vừa đủ một hàng người đứng để người ta có cảm giác như mình được gắn vào mặt tháp.

Vào những ngày trời quang đãng có khoảng 25.000 khách tham quan các ban-công này mỗi ngày. Mỗi khách phải trả phí 15 USD, rồi được thang máy đưa lên tầng 103 để ra ban-công kính ngắm cảnh.

Not content with having the tallest building in America , the owners of Willis Tower in Chicago have installed four glass box viewing platforms which stick out of the building 103 floors up.

The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out four feet from the building's Skydeck. They are 4 x 10 x 10, made of solid glass, floor included...


 

Visitors get their first view from The Ledge -- four glass balconies suspended from the Tower.



Designers say the platforms - collectively dubbed The Ledge - have been purposely created to make visitors feel as they are floating above the city. The reward is unobstructed views of Chicago from the building's west side and a heart-stopping vista of the street and Chicago River below - for those brave enough to look straight down. It's like walking on ice.



John Huston, one of the owners of the Willis Tower, even admitted to getting 'a little queasy' when he ventured out on to the balcony. However, after 30 or 40 trips, he seems to have gotten used to it.



Long way up: Even the floor of the platforms are glass - few are brave enough to look straight down. Although some adults felt dizzy after experiencing "The Ledge", children seemed to take it in their stride.

Thrill seekers: The boxes jut out four feet from the building and were specifically designed to attract visitors. The Willis Tower has always been about superlatives - tallest, largest, most iconic.


 

The Ledge is the world's most awesome view, the world's most precipitous view, the view with the most wow in the world. The balconies are 10ft high and 10ft wide, can hold five tons, and have glass which is 1.5 inch thick.
 

Inspiration came from the hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind on The Skydeck windows every week. Now, staff have a new glass surface to clean: floors!



Architect Ross Wimer said: 'We did studies that showed a 4' X 4' deep enclosure makes you feel like you're detached from the building particularly since there's only room for one row of people.



The Ledge is accessible from The Skydeck which attracts 25,000 visitors on clear days. They each pay $15 to take an elevator ride up to the 103rd floor of the 110-story office building that opened in 1973.

* Nguồn: Internet

* Tìm chọn và chia sẻ: Cô TẠ THỊ KIÊM HƯỜNG (Chicago 10-12-2010)