The Tower, Meridian Quay

The Tower, Meridian Quay is a residential tower in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It is the tallest building in Wales. Standing at 107 m (351 ft), Meridian Quay is the only skyscraper in Wales (buildings over 100 m tall) and one of several high-rises in Swansea. It is the 106th tallest building in the United Kingdom in joint place with the Shell Centre in the London Borough of Lambeth.[1]

The Tower, Meridian Quay
The Tower, Meridian Quay November 2015
General information
Location	Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
Address	Meridian Quay, Maritime Quarter, Swansea
Construction started	2006
Completed	2009
Cost	£40,000,000
Height	107 m (351 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	29
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Latitude Architects
Structural engineer	Atkins Ltd
Services engineer	Atkins Ltd
Civil engineer	Atkins Ltd
Main contractor	Carillion

Initially known as Ferrara Tower, it was part of the new £50 million Meridian Quay housing and office development project.[2] Proposals for the project were made in 2004 and construction work began on site in 2006.[3] On 26 January 2008, one of the construction workers died after falling three storeys from the tower.[4] The construction company, Carillion, chose not to release his name. A fire broke out on the 20th floor of the tower in April 2008 and took 45 minutes to extinguish.[3] The tower "topped-out" to its full height on 12 September 2008.

The tower has 29 storeys, double the number of the previous tallest building in Swansea, the BT Tower. Most of the tower houses residential apartments. The ground floor has a concierge desk which is staffed 24 hours a day, whilst the top three floors form the Grape and Olive restaurant run by the Brains Brewery [5] This was opened following the unsuccessful 290 cover Penthouse restaurant. Press reports stated that the penthouse apartment on the 26th floor was sold for £1 million.[6]