| 20 Fenchurch Street | |
|---|---|
Artist's impression of 20 Fenchurch Street within the City of London |
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| General information | |
| Status | Under construction |
| Location | 20 Fenchurch Street, London, UK |
| Construction started | 2009 |
| Estimated completion | 2014 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 160 m (525 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 36 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Rafael Viñoly |
| Developer | Land Securities |
| Structural engineer | Halcrow Yolles |
20 Fenchurch Street is a 160 metre (525ft), 36-storey skyscraper currently under construction in the City of London. It has been nicknamed the Walkie Talkie. Costing over £200m, it is designed by the Uruguayan born architect Rafael Viñoly and will feature a highly distinctive, top-heavy form which appears to burst upward and outward. Opinions on the tower's design appear to be greatly polarised. A large viewing deck and sky gardens will be included on the top floor. These will be open to the public.
The tower was originally proposed at nearly 200 metres tall, but was scaled down after concerns about its impact on St Paul's Cathedral. It was subsequently approved in November 2006. Even after this reduction, however, there were continued concerns from heritage groups about its impact on the surrounding area. The project subsequently went to a public inquiry. In July 2007, this ruled in the developers' favour, and the tower was granted full planning permission.[1]
In their preliminary results for 2007, Land Securities confirmed the new tower would be completed in 2011, however by the time of their Annual Report 2009, this date was pushed back to 2014.[2][3]
Contents |
| 20 Fenchurch Street | |
|---|---|
The now demolished 20 Fenchurch Street as seen from Monument to the Great Fire of London |
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| General information | |
| Location | 20 Fenchurch Street, London, United Kingdom |
| Completed | 1968 |
| Demolished | 2008 |
| Height | 91 m (299 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 34 |
| Design and construction | |
| Main contractor | Land Securities |
| Architect | William H. Rogers |
It was 91 m (299 ft) tall with 25 storeys and was built in 1968 by Land Securities. The architect was William H. Rogers.[4]
The building was formerly occupied by Dresdner Kleinwort, and was notable for being one of the first tall buildings in the Square Mile, and for its distinctive roof. It was one of the towers nearest to the River Thames when viewed from the southern end of London Bridge.
In 2007, one of the upper floors was used in the BBC drama series, Party Animals.
Demolition of the old building is now complete. Despite the top-down method of construction, the old building was not demolished from the bottom up, as a temporary structure was built, allowing Keltbray, the demolition contractor, to demolish the building from the top down.[5]
In January 2009, piling began on site, which meant the start of construction.
Piling and ground works were completed in June 2009 and after a period of inactivity the raising of the tower is set to kick start at the end of October 2010.[6]
On 20 January 2011, ample work at the basement level of the tower is under way [7] By the end of October 2011 the building was raising above the street level. December 2011 saw the towers core begin to rise. By December 16th 2011 the core had reached level 13 rising on average 1 level per day.[8]
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![[1]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6108/6289438745_57da31881a_b.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6103/6315754111_50ce6d10e3_b.jpg){kind=link}