The leaning tower pictured above is known as Capital Gate. It is located in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, aka UAE, and is the center piece of the National Exposition Center. With an 18-degree lean to the west (more than 4 times the lean of the tower at Pisa), Capital Gate holds the current record as the leaningest of leaning towers. Unlike the Pisa tower, this one leans on purpose.
A number of innovative engineering measures assure that the building will not topple, among which is its pre-cambered core, which means the concrete core was built to lean in the opposite direction of the completed building. The tension between the core and the outer structure provides stability.
The building’s design is meant to evoke the surrounding natural environment of desert and sea, with the tower representing swirling sand and the wave-like canopy, known as the “splash.”
The tower’s 35 levels are occupied by offices on the lower floors and the Hyatt hotel in the upper floors. The asymmetry of the building means every room has a unique shape. The exterior of the building is covered in 12,500 panes of glass, each of which is a different size.
Can you name that city?
See below for answers.
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