The many views of a city landmark
I have featured Pretoria’s Telkom Tower in posts before, but this one is a bit different. Over the past few weeks whenever I’ve been out driving in town and seen the tower I’ve tried to capture it from that perspective.
Built in 1979, the tower, including its mast, stands 187 metres high in the mostly-residential suburb of Lukasrand. Over 1000 tonnes of steel and 8000m³ of concrete was used in its construction – the aggregate concrete designed to whiten over time. It has three lift (elevator) shafts arranged in a triangular pattern around a central stair shaft, and various hexagonal horizontal sections, including a lookout point (but which is now closed to the public). All this equates to a very aerodynamic design, able to reduce stress by transferring wind loads to its base.
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa Telkom installed a 50-tonne fibreglass soccer ball, with a diameter of 24 metres, in the middle of the tower. At the time this was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as ‘the largest football structure’ in the world. Fortunately it has since been removed, leaving the tower in the state it was meant to be.
Having grown up in Pretoria, I remember the skyline without the telecommunications tower; and for the first few years I thought it was a blight on our city – standing directly opposite the beautiful Union Buildings. But now, now it would be weird not to see the blue beacon looming over the city.
The Telkom Lukasrand Tower with UNISA (the University of South Africa) in the foreground.
Fairy lights …
The tower on its own – towering over UNISA.
The city from Johann Rissik Drive: the needle-like tower on Pretoria’s skyline. (It looks as if its leaning because of the wide-angle lens used).
In all its glory at sunset – the inner city in the background.
A different view from Johann Rissik Drive.
Directly below the tower just after sunset.
One of the three external lift (elevator) shafts
Communication antennae and microwave dishes
Framed by trees of the green belt that surround the tower.
This time through trees on Van Wouw Street, across the valley in Groenkloof.
And finally, framed by the Dutch Reformed church in Kirkness Street. I took the photo from the bar next to Loftus Versveld rugby stadium.
3 Comments on “The many views of a city landmark”
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They called me weed
I have been blogging here since around April 2011 - my little place on the blogosphere to express myself creatively. As a teenager I used to write a diary - in fact, as a 17-year-old living in Belgium, I wrote religiously every day. Fortunately the Internet didn't exist back then because my ramblings as a teenager were ever-so-slightly dark, cynical and depressing. You won't find much of that here. Also, mostly, I try not to get too deep or philosophical in this forum - I'd like my photography to uplift and inspire, and, where I can, I try to bring a bit of humour into my writing too. I've been fortunate enough to travel extensively and have made many friends across the globe. This is my spot to keep in touch with them.
les photos sont très belles et l’idée est géniale !
Cool tower!
Great lighting with all the shots!