The record for the most inclined tower in the world is for Abu Dhabi’s Capital Gate, a skyscraper dating from 2010. Its 160 meters, which make it one of the tallest in this buoyant city of the United Arab Emirates and capital of the emirate namesake, they are distributed in thirty-five floors and slope eighteen degrees to the west , an effect achieved thanks to the advanced technological systems used in their construction. This prodigy of modern architecture, which has become a tourist icon of the city – from the eighteenth floor is a five-star hotel – is anchored to the ground with 490 piles of about 30 meters. It appears in the Guinness Book of Records.
If we were only referring to the leaning towers spontaneously and with no technology involved, neither would Pisa’s number one, but Suurhusen, in Germany. It is the bell tower of a brick Gothic church that was twisting due to the marshy ground on which it was built: the inclination reaches 5.19 degrees, a figure that is 1.22 degrees higher than that of Pisa. .
Unstable ground and poor-quality foundations were the reasons why the Romanesque bell tower of the Tuscan town began to tilt as soon as its construction began, in the 12th century. Similar reasons led to the inclination of other monumental towers, such as Huqiu (Suzhou, China), Kilmacduagh (Galway, Ireland), Oude (Delft, Holland), Nevyansk (Nevyansk, Russia) …
The most famous leaning towers:
While the one in Pisa is probably the most famous of its kind, there are many fascinating sloping buildings in the world. Some are old and are leaning due to age or environmental conditions, while others are modern structures that were designed to appear crooked from the start. Here are some examples:
Pagoda de Tiger Hill, Suzhou, China
The Tiger Hill Pagoda, also known as Yunyansi, was built during the Song dynasty. It is seven stories high and eight sides. It is completely built of brick and is estimated to weigh approximately 6,000 tons. Its inclination varies from top to bottom by more than 2.2 meters. Engineers discovered that its foundation is half rock and half earth, and efforts have been made to stabilize this precious monument by pumping concrete into the ground.
Menzis office building by de Architekten Cie, Groningen, The Netherlands
This office building in Groningen, the Netherlands, was built for the Menzis insurance company. It was located on the outskirts of the city and was designed to lean over the adjacent street, gradually, as the 12 floors rise within the building. It is divided into three identical prism-shaped segments. Each of them has four floors and is crossed by a vertical atrium.
The Leaning Tower of Nevyansk by Akinfiy Demidov, Nevyansk, Russia
The small town of Nevyansk was founded by Peter the Great who financed the construction of the tower and is the most famous structure in the Middle Urals region. It has eight floors, each one dedicated to a different activity. Was it a prison, a bell tower, or a watchtower? It is unknown. It was built with very advanced construction techniques and materials for its time, such as reinforced concrete. But it had a minor construction flaw and has remained slightly sloped ever since.
