Batumi Tower Ferris Wheel

When the Technological University Tower in Batumi, Georgia was completed in 2012, it was the first building to include a Ferris wheel built into the facade. Hanging 330 feet (100 meters) above the ground are eight air-conditioned cabins with room for a total of 40 people. It would offer a great view over Batumi, if only it was operational.

The Ferris wheel—as well as the 280-foot (85-meter) mast with a sail on top of the tower—proved to be a challenge for the architects and engineers designing the building, and required wind tunnel tests. Further complicating the construction, the tower was built in a moderate seismic zone. During an earthquake, the soil underneath the tower liquefies, and so strategies to prevent this were also developed.

What's more, the plans to open a technological university in the city fell short, and the building stood empty for two years before it was sold in 2015. The plan was to transform the tower into a hotel since many had criticized the building for not being suitable as an education facility. Still, rebuilding it would require massive investments.

Still today the tower stands empty in downtown Batumi. Whether it ends up a hotel or university or something else, it will certainly have something special to offer its visitors in the future.

Update November 2024: The tower has found a new use as a casino and luxury apartments.