Foreign experts did not predict long life for this building, and the chief designer stood his ground and claimed that his reinforced concrete lily would withstand any hurricane and wind..

The decision to build a TV tower 540 meters high was made in 1957. The Soviet television and radio broadcasting network needed to be expanded: the tower on Shabolovka could not cope with the growing volume of broadcasts. At an altitude of 337 meters, it was planned to open an observation deck. Many foreign engineers did not believe that such a grandiose building could be erected on a relatively shallow foundation, but they were wrong: on November 5 of this year, the Ostankino TV tower turned 50 years old. The margin of safety allows it to withstand an earthquake of eight points on the Richter scale and a hurricane wind at a speed of 44 meters per second.

From reinforced concrete cup to prestressed concrete

Chief designer Nikolai Nikitin came up with the design of the TV tower overnight.

He imagined a powerful structure weighing 55 thousand tons in the form of a flower: the structure looked like an inverted lily with a strong stem. "Flower" began to build in June 1960. In a fairly short period of time, access roads, underground communications were laid, temporary structures were built and a number of other preparatory works were completed. Engineers Moses Shkud and Boris Zlobin, architect Dmitry Burdin also took part in the project. The main architect of the project was Leonid Batalov, who at that time headed workshop No. 7 of Mosproekt.

According to the author's idea, the building was supposed to rest on the ground, gaining stability due to the multiple excess of the mass of the base over the mass of the structure.

The structure was supported by a foundation 9.5 meters wide, three meters high and 74 meters in diameter, laid to a depth of 4.65 meters, as well as a thin-walled conical shell, standing on the foundation benches with ten reinforced concrete legs. The diameter of the base of the shell is 60.6 meters, by the height of 63 meters it decreased to 18 meters. Up to a height of 385 meters, the TV tower is built from prestressed concrete.

Usually, in the construction of such high-rise structures, a deep foundation was used as a counterweight. As conceived by the author, the building was supposed to rest on the ground, gaining stability due to the multiple excess of the mass of the base over the mass of the structure.

By the way, the weight of the Ostankino tower was distributed between the base and the trunk in a strict proportion of one to three with the center of gravity at a height of 110 meters. Therefore, only that part of the trunk on which the antenna is installed is deflected.

Chief designer Nikolai Nikitin said: “A person has an even smaller footprint, but he doesn’t fall.”

Foreign experts argued that with such a height of the structure, the foundation should be at least 40 meters deep, but Nikolai Nikitin and his team managed to solve the problem in an innovative way. Nikitin proved that the balanced tension of the ropes located inside the tower would bind the entire structure into a reliable system, which would not be afraid of even the strongest wind. The chief designer said: “A person has an even smaller footprint, but he doesn’t fall.” To protect the tower from wind and sun, 149 steel cables were installed at a distance of 50 millimeters from the inner surface of the trunk, the total tension of which is more than 10 thousand tons. The cables pulled the body of the tower and took on the tensile forces, thus protecting the concrete from cracks, while the reinforcement is protected from corrosion.

During construction, more than one foundation had to be laid. In the center of the foundation, a reinforced concrete glass 63 meters high was erected on an independent foundation. High-speed elevators, a shaft with water and sewer risers and an emergency ladder were installed in it, power cables and communication cables were laid. The speed of movement of the elevators automatically changes depending on the signals from the sensors that control the amplitude of the deviation of the tower. Electricity is supplied in a non-contact inductive way according to the principle of a transformer: current collectors are fixed on the elevator car, and elements of inductive energy transfer are located in the shaft. The glass also served as a support for the beams of 15 floors. Two foundations for two structures independent of each other - a TV tower and a glass - allow different pressures to be transferred to the ground during their uneven settlement.

On November 5, 1967, four television and three radio broadcast programs began to be broadcast over a distance of 120 kilometers.

During the construction, only the latest achievements of construction technology were used. Thus, metal structures were assembled and mounted with a BK-1000 tower crane, and the shaft was constructed using the world's only self-elevating mechanism weighing about 300 tons.

Construction work was completed on February 12, 1967 with the lifting of a multi-ton base of a 148-meter metal antenna similar to an ear.

On November 5, 1967, four television and three broadcast programs began broadcasting over a distance of 120 kilometers, and a new television center was launched at 12 Academician Korolev Street. At that time, the Ostankino television tower became the tallest building in the world. In 1970, the main participants in the construction were awarded government awards.

Fire at an altitude of 460 meters

The Ostankino television tower withstood two of the strongest hurricanes, but the fire that occurred on August 27, 2000 caused enormous damage to it. Of the 150 prestressed reinforcing ropes, 121 were damaged, all elevators were completely out of order, the power supply, ventilation, air conditioning, heat and water supply, communications and signaling systems were disrupted.

Restoration work on the tower continued for several years. The building was again reinforced with cables, fireproof cables were laid inside and elevators were installed that could withstand very high temperatures.

In January 2009, the observation deck was reopened to the public.

Not just for broadcasting

The Ostankino television tower was used not only for its intended purpose, but also, for example, for meteorological purposes. At its foot is a concert hall for 750 people - "Korolevsky", as well as banquet halls. The famous Seventh Heaven restaurant, equipped with rotating floors, occupies three levels and is located at 328, 331 and 334 meters.

An observation deck is open at an altitude of 337 meters. This is the only place from where you can see all the sights of the capital. About a thousand people visit the site every day. It even held wedding ceremonies.

Races to a height of 337 meters were held on the stairs, the Goodbye Summer Festival, the Moscow Base Open Air International Skydiving Festival and the Sochi-2014 Olympic torch relay stage took place on the territory of the tower.

In August this year at the 85th level, from which visitors will be able to get acquainted with the internal structure of the tower. There is no protective glass on the site. During the tour "The Tower from the Inside" guests have the opportunity to see one of the 21 meteoroids up close. This is a giant pole with sensors that measure the direction and speed of the wind, temperature and humidity. Using the example of a meteor, guides acquaint visitors with the work of the highest meteorological complex in Moscow. The opening of the observation deck took third place in the list of the best innovations in the capital for the third quarter of 2017. Muscovites rated this event at 4.8 points in the Active Citizen project.

In honor of the 50th anniversary, they will release with the image of the Ostankino Tower and the Ostankino television center. They will appear in all post offices in Moscow before the end of the year.

Now it seems that this once the tallest building in the world, surviving a fire in 2000, has always been. But once it was just beginning to be built! So, a report on the construction of the TV tower - with some technical details, and historical pictures.

The tower, weighing more than 32,000 tons, was erected on a monolithic annular reinforced concrete foundation 9.5 meters wide, 3 meters high and 74 meters in diameter (circumscribed circle). In the decagonal reinforced concrete tape of the foundation, using a system of annular stressed reinforcement (it consists of 104 bundles, each bundle has 24 wires with a diameter of 5 millimeters each), a preliminary stress is created - each bundle is stretched with hydraulic jacks with a force of about 60 tons.

The foundation is laid in the ground to a depth of 4.65 meters. It is assumed that it will settle by 3-3.5 centimeters. The stability of the tower for capsizing has a sixfold margin.

The reinforced concrete support of the entire structure is a thin-walled conical shell supported by ten reinforced concrete “legs” on the foundation banquettes. The diameter of the lower base of this shell is 60.6 meters, and at a height of 63 meters it is 18 meters. The upper part of the reinforced concrete shaft, starting from a height of 321 meters, is made in the form of a cylinder with an outer diameter of 8.1 meters. The thickness of the walls at the base of the tower is 500 millimeters.

In the center of the conical base on an independent foundation (a round reinforced concrete slab with a diameter of 12 meters and a thickness of 1 meter), a reinforced concrete cup 63 meters high and 7.5 meters in diameter was erected. High-speed elevators, power cables, communication cables, a mine with water and sewer risers and an emergency steel ladder pass through this glass. The ends of the beams of fifteen interfloor floors rest on the glass, and a staircase passes between the glass and the conical base. The construction of separate foundations for two independent structures - a tower and a glass - allows you to transfer different pressures to the ground during their uneven settlement.

Under the action of wind load, the upper part of the tower can oscillate, and the deviation of its top in strong winds can reach 10 meters. With the winds that happen in Moscow quite often, on average once a week, visitors to the observation decks and the restaurant will feel the vibrations of the tower approximately the same as the rolling of a ship with an amplitude of 8 centimeters with an oscillation period of 10 seconds.

Due to one-sided heating, the trunk moves (from curvature) at the top by 2.25 meters, at the level of observation platforms - by 0.72 meters. To reduce deformations from wind loads and from one-sided heating, 150 steel cables are stretched at a distance of 50 millimeters from the inner surface of the barrel. The total force of their tension is 10,400 tons, which is the weight of an ocean-going steamer. The cables will take on the tensile forces and protect the concrete from cracks, and, consequently, the reinforcement from corrosion.

Several metal antennas with a total height of 148 meters are installed on the reinforced concrete part of the tower. Antennas are made in the form of steel pipes. Inside the pipes there are rigid diaphragms. A special elevator is used to service antennas up to a height of 470 meters. In order to inspect and dismantle the vibrators, as well as periodically paint the steel structures of the antennas, 6 platforms with railings are installed and cradles are suspended.

During the construction of the tower, the latest achievements of construction technology were widely used. The unique tower crane BK-1000 with a lifting capacity of 16 tons (with an outreach of 45 meters) assembled and assembled metal structures. The tower shaft was built using the world's only self-elevating unit weighing about 300 tons. Concrete was delivered to this unit by elevators.

Rice. 7.9. Scheme of the construction of a television tower in Ostankino using a mechanized formwork unit: 1 - the supporting part of the tower; 8 — the trunk of the tower; 3 - formwork unit; 4 - light crane; 5 - receiving platform; 6 - reloading platform; 7 - tower crane

On a separate site, sections of metal antennas were assembled with an SKG-100 crawler crane (with a lifting capacity of 100 tons). It was a control build. At the same time, equipment was mounted on the antennas and vibrators were installed. Then the antenna sections were again dismantled, and their individual parts - the tsargs - were fed by crane to the transfer platform to a height of 63 meters. Then, with a special crane installed on the tower shaft, the first drawers were lifted to the top of the tower and mounted so that they went inside its trunk by 10 meters. And after that, the installation was carried out using a creeping crane.

The design of the architectural and construction part of the television tower was developed by TsNIEP of spectacular buildings and sports facilities. The group of authors: design engineer N. Nikitin, architects D. Burdin, L. Batalov, V. Milashevsky, design engineer B. Zlobin, plumbing engineer T. Melik-Arakelyan. Separate parts of the project were developed by Mosproekt-1 and 19 other design organizations. General design organization - GSPI of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR. The technological part of the project is carried out by a team of authors led by engineer I. Ostrovsky.

After the control assembly and adjustment of the antennas on the stand, individual mounting elements (sides) weighing up to 25 tons are transferred by a crawler crane to the area of ​​​​the ring crane. He lifts the drawer side to the loading platform at a height of 63 m. Then the self-elevating crane, moving along the mounted drawers, installs the newly arriving drawers on top of each other.

The Ostankino TV Tower is one of the most important architectural landmarks in Moscow and a symbol of Russian television. Thanks to this grandiose construction, television broadcasts are provided almost throughout the country. In terms of technical equipment, broadcasting power and some other characteristics, the TV tower has no equal. In addition, it is considered the tallest building in Europe.

general characteristics

The area in Ostankino is more than 15 thousand square meters. meters. There is a whole complex of TV studios, circular platforms and balconies. The volume of the tower is about 70 thousand cubic meters. The building consists of 45 floors. The height of the Ostankino television tower is 540 meters. It ranks eighth in the world in terms of the height of free-standing buildings at the moment is Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper). The first name of the tower is "All-Union transmitting radio and television station named after the 50th anniversary of October."

Construction history

Permanent television broadcasting in the Soviet Union began in 1939. Initially, the signal was transmitted using equipment that was located in (Shablovka). However, the increase in the volume and quality of broadcasting after World War II necessitated the construction of another TV tower. At first it was built near Shukhovskaya, but soon it still required the construction of a more modern TV tower.

The Mosproekt organization was involved in the development of the project for a television and radio station in Ostankino. The construction of the Ostankino television tower began in 1960. True, in a very short time it was stopped due to the uncertainty that the foundation of the structure was sufficiently reliably constructed. In the future, the design of the television tower was entrusted to the Central Research Institute for the Design of Sports Buildings and Entertainment Facilities.

The project of the tower in Ostankino was invented by the designer Nikitin in just one night. He chose an inverted lily as the prototype of the design - a flower with a thick stem and strong petals. According to the original idea, the tower was supposed to have 4 supports, but later, on the recommendation of the German engineer Fritz Leonhard (creator of the first concrete television tower on the planet), their number was increased to ten. The chief architect of the Ostankino television tower, Leonid Ilyich Batalov, also supported the idea of ​​increasing the number of supports.

The final design of the building was approved in 1963. Its authors were the architects Burdin and Batalov, as well as the designer Nikitin. The specialists decided to significantly improve the previous project, in particular, the amount of equipment placed in the tower and its height were increased. The construction of the Ostankino television tower was carried out from 1963 to 1967. In general, more than 40 different organizations took part in the construction of the television station. At that time, the Ostankino TV tower became the tallest building not only in Europe, but throughout the world.

Start of operation of the TV tower

The first broadcast of television programs from the Ostankino tower was made in 1967. Despite the fact that this year the construction of the Ostankino Tower was completed and the building was officially put into operation, its completion was carried out for another year. As a result, the first broadcast of a color image took place already in 1968. A 3-storey restaurant with the symbolic name "Seventh Heaven" was also created in the tower. Most of the engineers who took part in the creation of this grand television center were awarded the Lenin Prize.

The value of the telecentre

The Ostankino television tower became a unique building of that time, which has no analogues. Besides the fact that for a long time it remained the tallest building in the world, its technical characteristics were really impressive. After the completion of the construction of the tower, approximately 10 million people lived in the zone of operation of the transmitters, but now the television center covers an area with a population of more than 15 million people.

The station equipment made it possible to simultaneously record from several different objects and broadcast. A special mission fell to the tower in Ostankino during the 1980 Olympics. They even placed special equipment for the CNN news channel.

Meanwhile, the TV tower had other functions, no less important. Its building housed a meteorological observatory, which was in charge of the main meteorological center of the Soviet Union. The Ostankino station also provided television and radio communications between the main state structures of the country.

tourist attraction

Very soon, the television center turned into one of the most popular tourist attractions in the capital. In 1982, a building was built near the tower, which provided excursion activities. A modern meeting room for 800 people was also equipped here. The Seventh Heaven restaurant has also been improved. It is worth noting that it is located at an altitude of 334 meters (which is approximately the 112th floor of a residential building) and occupies three floors. An amazing view of Moscow opens from its windows. The peculiarity of the institution is that it makes slow movements around its axis at a speed of one to three revolutions in 40-50 minutes. True, at the present time the "Seventh Heaven" is closed for reconstruction, the timing of its completion is still unknown.

Unique panoramic platform

Meanwhile, most tourists are attracted by the observation deck of the Ostankino TV tower. In particular, there are four of them in the television center: open at a height of 337 meters and closed - 340 meters, as well as two lower ones at the level of 147 and 269 meters. They work only in the warm season - from May to October. The tour group is usually limited to 70 visitors. The tower has 7 levels. The panoramic platform is located on the very last. To better see all the interesting objects in the vicinity of the television center, tourists can also use binoculars. In good weather, you can see not only the capital, but also the Moscow suburbs. It is worth noting that the floor on the observation deck is absolutely transparent (made of durable glass), which definitely stimulates the flow of an impressive dose of adrenaline into the blood of visitors. An excursion to the Ostankino TV tower is a truly impressive and spectacular event. It is noteworthy that over 10,000,000 guests managed to visit the tower during its 30 years of operation.

Visiting Rules

Since July 2013, excursions to the Ostankino television center have not been temporarily held due to reconstruction work. But at the moment, two observation decks (337 and 340 meters) are reopened for tourists! For your information: only tourists from 7 to 70 years old are allowed on the tour. Pregnant women in the later stages are also undesirable to visit the tower. The management of the tower also prohibits the visually impaired from climbing the observation decks or if the person moves on a wheelchair or crutches.

TV center design

The observation deck of the Ostankino television tower undoubtedly deserves special attention, but I would like to separately mention the design of the tower. This is, in fact, a huge elongated cone, the walls of which are made of metal-reinforced monolithic concrete. The roof of the television center is supported by 149 ropes that are attached to the wall of the tower. In the center of this cone are shafts for cables, stairs, elevators and pipelines. By the way, the building has seven elevators, four of which are high-speed. Except for the foundation, the weight of the TV tower structures is approximately 32,000 tons. The mass of the structure together with the foundation is 55 thousand tons. The usable area of ​​the tower is 15,000 square meters. m. At the maximum design, the Ostankino TV tower (Moscow), or rather its top (spire), can theoretically deviate by 12 meters.

Technical premises are isolated from visitors, they have a hotel entrance. The hall where all the main transmitters are located is located on the fifth floor. Technical rooms are located on the floor above. Television center personnel are protected from powerful electromagnetic radiation by means of screens made of special materials.

Modern elevators

The television center has four high-speed elevators that can reach speeds of up to 7 m per second. The last one was launched in 2006. In particular, the observation deck, which is located at an altitude of 337 meters, can be reached in 58 seconds.

Fire at the Ostankino TV tower

in 2000, the TV tower survived a massive fire that claimed the lives of three people. After the disaster, Moscow and the Moscow region were left without television broadcasting for several days. Initially, the fire broke out at an altitude of 460 meters. As a result of the disaster, three floors were completely burned. Due to the high temperature of the flame, several dozen cables that provided prestressing concrete structures burst, but, contrary to fears, the structure still survived. This was another indisputable proof that the architect of the Ostankino television tower and all other specialists who worked on the building project were real geniuses. Later, all these cables were successfully restored.

According to firefighters, it was very difficult to put out the fire. In the process of extinguishing the fire, the commander of the fire brigade, Vladimir Arsyukov, died. He decided to go up to the source of the fire himself and gave the command to the elevator operator Svetlana Loseva to go to a height of 460 meters with him. In the end, they both died. Another dead was the locksmith Alexander Shipilin.

According to experts, the cause of the fire was an overload of networks. However, the equipment was adjusted in the shortest possible time, broadcasting was also resumed in the same volume. After the fire, large-scale construction and repair work had to be carried out to improve the territory and premises where the excursions were held. By February 2008, everything was restored and improved. After the disaster, the excursion to the Ostankino television tower began to be carried out in compliance with special requirements: the number of participants in it should not exceed 40 people.

Sports events

Concert hall

In the building of the excursion building of the Ostankino television center there is a concert hall "Royal". As part of the excursion program, this room is used as a cinema hall for showing films about the TV tower and Russian television. The "Royal" also now hosts many concerts, conferences, performances and other events.

Incredible monument of the era

The Ostankino TV tower and all its equipment is constantly being improved. Due to the installation of several additional antennas, now its height is more than 560 meters (note that according to the original idea, its height was 520 meters). Nowadays, the television center is used for its main purpose - for receiving and transmitting a variety of radio signals and as a place for accommodating television studios for a large number of programs.

In addition, the Ostankino TV Tower (the photo of this building is admirable) is the most important tourist attraction in the capital. A tour of the TV center is something truly unforgettable. An overview of Moscow and its environs from the observation deck will be remembered for a lifetime.

The television center in Ostankino is rightfully considered a symbol of Russian television and one of the most amazing buildings on the planet.

Tall, graceful, reliable, the Ostankino TV tower always attracts the eye and symbolizes television.
The first and last time I was at the tower when I was at school, it was before the fire, so I wanted to go several times, but at first the tower was generally closed to visitors, then there were queues and bookings for several months in advance. Now there are no problems with visiting the tower. And if immediately after the opening, only groups of 90 people are allowed into the tower and the visiting session was limited to an hour, now up to 270 visitors can be on the tower at the same time (not counting employees) and although officially the session lasts an hour, they won’t kick anyone out, you can enjoy as many views as you want from above.
Well, I managed not only to climb the observation tower and visit the restaurant, but also to look into the technical rooms and look at the tower from the inside

1. The tower project was conceived in almost one day. The author of the tower project, architect Nikitin, came up with the design of the Ostankino TV tower in one night. Architect Nikitin made calculations on a piece of paper at night, and in the morning he showed them to his colleagues. And the inverted lily became the prototype of the tower.

2. There was no official opening. The tower was supposed to be ready by the 50th anniversary of October, but the construction was not completed by the appointed date. Then go for the trick. On November 5, 1967, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution, the Act of the State Commission on the acceptance into operation of the first stage of the construction of the tower was signed. The premises with tuned transmitters were already ready to carry the signal from the television center to the antenna. There was no restaurant, observation deck or elevators. All this was launched only in 1969.

3. The depth of the foundation of the tower is only 4 meters, although according to building codes, the foundation of a building 500 meters high should be more than 40 meters. The center of gravity of the tower is at a height of 110 meters. It is its low location that allows the tower to stand steadily on a foundation only four meters deep.

4. The tower is built from prestressed concrete. And the rigidity of the structure is provided by stretched steel cables. The most amazing thing is that over the years, reinforced concrete only becomes stronger. And if after construction the hardness of the tower was 4 units, now it is about 7 .

5. The floors in the tower are called "marks" . The mark number corresponds to the height of the level in meters. The floors end where the "lily flower" turns into a reinforced concrete "stem". The last one is the 11th.
And in the elevator, the height in meters is written on the buttons, so in order to go up to the observation deck, you must press the button with the number 337.

The tower is nothing more than a hollow tube that narrows with height. The 85th mark is the widest part of this pipe. The famous cables are installed here - cable reinforcement, which provides prestressing of concrete. Also, before the fire in 2000, there were guided tours here, so there is a small fenced area inside from which you can see how the tower is arranged inside.

There are artifacts here.


Anatoly Grigoryevich Volkov, Deputy Head of the Service for Repair, Prevention and Adjustment of Radio and Television Systems, has been working at the tower since 1966.
Now Volkov's service monitors 80 transmitters at once. Anatoly Grigoryevich condescendingly smiles and says that, despite the notorious technological progress, it used to be more interesting to work - they wrote scientific articles, developed transmitters, and now they only repair and maintain foreign equipment.
And after the fire in 2000, the elevators did not work and for two months the workers had to climb the tower on foot, and this 1704 steps. And in order to climb from below to the top of the tower where the antennas are installed, it may take from 1.5 to 2 hours.

The speed of the elevators depends on the wind speed and the swing of the tower. Elevators go up with two speeds: 7 and 3.5 m/s. At a wind speed of more than 15 m/s, the elevators switch to a reduced speed, and at a speed of 19-20 m/s, they are completely switched off. Due to safety rules, it is forbidden to climb the tower in such weather.

It is also forbidden to climb the tower for children under 7 years old, people with disabilities and all those who, due to their physical condition, in case of an emergency, will not be able to go down the stairs from the observation deck down.

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