The Dawn of Time – 1990: BCW (Before Canary Wharf)
If you’re a football fan who grew up in the UK anywhere between the early 1970s and the late 1980s, you’ll know that our national sport wasn’t invented until the advent of the Premier League in 1992.
It’s the same with any tall building built in London before One Canada Square, aka Canary Wharf. There was nothing, then in 1991 there was a 771-feet tall, Pelli-designed skyscraper.
You know neither of those facts are true, they just seem like they are.
In fact, of today’s top 70 tallest buildings in London, only 22 were built before 1991 and that sub-list includes St. Paul’s Cathedral (1710), Victoria Tower (1858), three transmitter towers (Croydon, Crystal Palace and the BT Tower) and the Tower Wing at Guy’s Hospital which remains today as the world’s second-tallest hospital building.
During the BCW period, skyscrapers were the exclusive domain of Manhattan until the baton was passed to the Far East’s Tiger economies. London, by comparison, stayed distinctly low-rise.
Perhaps most telling is that in the 920 years between 1098 and today, only ten buildings have held the title of London’s tallest:
1991 – The Future: ACW (After Canary Wharf)
From the early 1990s, when London’s commercial property market was still basking in the glory that was the regenerated Docklands until today, we have seen the proliferation of some stunning buildings, all with inventive nicknames based on their shapes – the Cheesegrater, the Gherkin, the Shard and (very soon) the Scalpel – and if you walk around the City it’s hard to find space to sit and have a coffee, let alone space for another 100,000 workers.
Earlier this month, the City of London Corporation released images of what London’s skyline may look like in 2026 and there are 13 major new schemes that have been consented, are already under construction or about to start building.
Set to join the City’s skyscrapers (by 2026) are a collection of some of London’s most ambitious construction projects. Chief amongst which is 1 Undershaft which will be the tallest building in the Eastern Cluster (where around 60% of the new developments are to be located). The 304.6-metre colossus has been designed by Eric Parry Architects and will be affectionately known as ‘The Trellis’ due to its expressed cross bracing. At the time of writing, it has been consented but construction hasn’t started because the development is still awaiting S106 approval.
The other 12 projects are (name – height – status):
22 Bishopsgate (TwentyTwo) – 295-m (62 storeys) – under construction
52 Lime Street (The Scalpel) – 206-m (36 storeys) – under construction
100 Bishopsgate – 181-m (37 storeys) – under construction
6-8 Bishopsgate/150 Leadenhall Street – 185-m – under construction
70 St Mary Axe – 165-m (21 storeys) – under construction
150 Bishopsgate – 151-m (41 storeys) – under construction
120 Fenchurch Street 85-m (15 storeys) – under construction
80 Fenchurch Street – 78-m (14 storeys) – under construction
2-3 Finsbury Avenue (Broadgate) – 168-m (32 storeys) – consented, not commenced, S106
40 Leadenhall Street – 170-m (34 storeys) – consented, not commenced
130 Fenchurch Street – 105-m (17 storeys) – consented, not commenced
1 Leadenhall Street – 183-m (36 storeys) – consented, not commenced
Interesting side note – the projects under construction in the City amount to around 1.4m square metres (or over 15m square feet) equating to space for approximately 85 – 90,000 workers which compares favourably to the pre-Brexit, March 2016, figure of 1.22m square metres, or 13.1m square feet.
It’s Permission Jim, But Not As We Know It…
What’s interesting about the new proliferation of tall buildings in London is that six of the 13 will have free public viewing galleries and 1 Undershaft will also have a dedicated Museum of London gallery and will house London’s tallest restaurant.
Chris Hayward continued, ‘The City’s occupier base is becoming more dynamic, with SMEs and media companies choosing the Square Mile as their home. I am particularly proud that we are able to make available economically inclusive spaces with free public viewing galleries in City skyscrapers.
Perhaps more importantly, a precedent was set.
The City of London Corporation granted TwentyTwo planning permission on the condition that deliveries were sent to an offsite consolidation centre to reduce traffic, increase safety and lessen the environmental impact of such a huge project. This was the first time a commercial building in the City has been subject to such a requirement.
‘Over the next 30 years I expect that we will need to deliver office space for up to 200,000 extra City workers, therefore iconic buildings like TwentyTwo will lead the way in ensuring the City remains competitive as a leading financial centre’ said Hayward.
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Just how high are we prepared to go? We’re on Twitter @BDG_SP