Tallest tower given first award

The enclosed pod will be nine times bigger than a London Eye capsule

A planned building, set to be one of the tallest in the UK, has won its first award, before it is built.

Work on the £20m Brighton i360 observation spire, on the site of the Sussex city's derelict West Pier, is due to begin later this year.

It will rise 183m (600ft) and give visitors views of up to 25 miles.

The structure has been selected as one of the best examples of innovation from this year's MIPIM Architectural Review Future Projects Award 2007.

The awards look at how projects work within their urban setting.

Judges said they were particularly impressed by the sustainable use of wind turbines at the top of the i360, which will provide 20% of the power required by the attraction.

The tower has been designed by the architects of the London Eye, and is expected to open to the public in 2009.

It will hold up to 200 people in an enclosed pod, giving them 360 degree views out to Bognor in the west and Eastbourne in the east.

During a 20-minute ride, the observation pod - which is more than nine times the size of a London Eye capsule - will rise gradually to a height of 456ft (139m).