Sentech Tower is a high TV tower in the
Brixtonthumb|100px|Sentech TowerBrixton is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the site of the landmark Sentech Tower, and is near the suburbs of Auckland Park and Melville....
suburb of
JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi or Jo'burg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
. It is a well-known and easily identifiable landmark in the city, alongside its architectural cousin, the
Hillbrow TowerThe Hillbrow Tower is a tall tower located in the suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South Africa. Construction for the tower began in June 1968 and was completed three years later in April 1971. Construction cost Rand 2 million and produced the 269 metre tower that stands today...
.
Originally called the Brixton or Albert Hertzog Tower, construction started in 1961 and was completed in 1962. The Tower was designed by Ove, Arup and Partners and built by Christiani and Nielsen SA. The tower is built to withstand winds of and gusts of up to .
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Sentech Tower is a high TV tower in the
Brixtonthumb|100px|Sentech TowerBrixton is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the site of the landmark Sentech Tower, and is near the suburbs of Auckland Park and Melville....
suburb of
JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi or Jo'burg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
. It is a well-known and easily identifiable landmark in the city, alongside its architectural cousin, the
Hillbrow TowerThe Hillbrow Tower is a tall tower located in the suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South Africa. Construction for the tower began in June 1968 and was completed three years later in April 1971. Construction cost Rand 2 million and produced the 269 metre tower that stands today...
.
History
Originally called the Brixton or Albert Hertzog Tower, construction started in 1961 and was completed in 1962. The Tower was designed by Ove, Arup and Partners and built by Christiani and Nielsen SA. The tower is built to withstand winds of and gusts of up to . The tower is high. The first transmission took place 22 December 1961. Presently Sentech broadcast 18 FM programs and 7 TV stations. Backup power to the tower is 1MW using two 500kVa Volvo Generators. Towards 2001, naming rights for the tower were sold to Sentech, one of South Africa's first wireless internet service providers. Up until 1982, an observation deck affording panoramic views of the city was open to the public, but was closed due to rising fears of insurgent fighting by South African anti-Apartheid activists. The tower viewing deck has not re-opened to the public since then.
Construction
In architectural terms, the building is a vertical
cantileverA cantilever is a beam supported on only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
structure, the shaft of which is made of
reinforced concreteReinforced concrete is concrete in which steel reinforcement bars , plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be brittle.-History:...
. On windy days, the tower has been known to lean up , as measured from its uppermost mast. The foundation is in diameter, wide and deep.
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