City Hall | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Neo-futurism |
Address | 110 The Queen's Walk London, SE1 United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°30′17.26″N0°4′43.13″W / 51.5047944°N 0.0786472°W |
Current tenants | None |
Completed | July 2002 |
Owner | Kuwait Investment Authority |
Height | 45 metres (147.6 ft) [1] |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Norman Foster |
Architecture firm | Foster and Partners |
Structural engineer | Arup |
City Hall is a building in Southwark, London, which previously served as the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA) between July 2002 and December 2021. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge. In June 2020, the GLA started a consultation on proposals to vacate City Hall and move to The Crystal, a GLA-owned property in Newham, at the end of 2021. [2] The decision was confirmed on 3 November 2020 and the GLA vacated City Hall on 2 December 2021. [3] The Southwark location is ultimately owned by the government of Kuwait. [4]
The City Hall building was designed by Norman Foster and was constructed at a cost of £43 million [5] on a site formerly occupied by wharves serving the Pool of London. It opened in July 2002, two years after the GLA was created, and was leased rather than owned by the GLA. [6] Despite its name, City Hall did not serve a city (according to UK law). It had responsibilities over Greater London, which should not be confused with the City of London, which has its headquarters at the Guildhall. [7]
In June 2011, Mayor Boris Johnson announced that for the duration of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the building would be called London House. [8]
In November 2020, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced plans to vacate City Hall at the end of 2021 and relocate to The Crystal in the Royal Victoria Docks area of East London. [9] [10] [2] Khan cited the high cost of rent as the reason for relocating the GLA headquarters, stating that vacating City Hall in favour of a property owned by the authority would save it £55 million over the course of five years. [11]
The building has an unusual, bulbous shape, purportedly intended to reduce its surface area and thus improve energy efficiency, although the excess energy consumption caused by the exclusive use of glass (in a double façade) overwhelms the benefit of shape. Despite claiming the building "demonstrates the potential for a sustainable, virtually non-polluting public building", [12] energy use measurements have shown this building to be fairly inefficient in terms of energy use (375 kWh/m2/yr), with a 2012 Display Energy Performance Certificate rating of "E". [13] It has been compared variously to a helmet (either Darth Vader's or simply a motorcyclist's), a misshapen egg, and a woodlouse. Former mayor Ken Livingstone referred to it as a "glass testicle", [14] [15] while his successor, Boris Johnson, made the same comparison using a different word, "The Glass Gonad" [16] and more politely as "The Onion". [17]
A 500-metre (1,600 ft) helical walkway ascends the full ten storeys. At the top is an exhibition and meeting space with an open viewing deck that was occasionally open to the public. The ramp could not be used as intended for security reasons. [18] The walkway provides views of the interior of the building, and is intended to symbolise transparency; a similar device was used by Foster in his design for the rebuilt Reichstag (parliament), when Germany's capital was moved back to Berlin. In 2006 it was announced that photovoltaic cells would be fitted to the building by the London Climate Change Agency. [19]
The debating chamber was located at the bottom of the helical stairway. The seats and desks for assembly members were arranged in a circular form. [20]
In 2023, St Martins Property announced that the architectural firms of Gensler and LDA Design had completed a plan to redesign the unused structure as a mixed-use office and retail building. It was intended to replace the iconic spiral with leafy terraces [18] and replace the glazing with different materials. [21]
The building is located on The Queen's Walk, a part of the extended pedestrianised south-side embankment of the River Thames in the London Borough of Southwark. It forms part of a larger development called More London, including offices and shops. The nearest London Underground and National Rail station is London Bridge. [22]
In 2015, City Hall acted as location for the fictional HQ of the Joint Intelligence Service in the James Bond film Spectre . The building appeared taller, and in a different Thames-side location in the movie through the use of Computer-generated imagery. [23] In 2016 the walkways were filled with musicians during Open House London in a site-specific work by British composer Samuel Bordoli, which explored the unique acoustic of the structure. [24] In 2018, the final selection for the television show The Apprentice was filmed in City Hall. [25] It is featured in the Mario Kart games Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the London Loop racecourse. [26]
The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym City Hall, is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political branches: an executive Mayor and the 25-member London Assembly, which serves as a means of checks and balances on the Mayor. Since May 2016, both branches have been under the control of the London Labour Party. The authority was established in 2000, following a local referendum, and derives most of its powers from the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and the Greater London Authority Act 2007.
Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and is one of five London bridges owned and maintained by the City Bridge Foundation, a charitable trust founded in 1282. The bridge was constructed to give better access to the East End of London, which had expanded its commercial potential in the 19th century. The bridge was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales and Alexandra, Princess of Wales in 1894.
The London Borough of Southwark in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. All districts of the area are within the London postal district. It is governed by Southwark London Borough Council.
The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, England on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark,. As such, the South Bank may be regarded as somewhat akin to the riverside part of an area known previously as Lambeth Marsh and North Lambeth.
Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The name is derived from a local coaching inn.
Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance before London Bridge at St Mary Overie Dock. It is part of a business improvement district known as 'Better Bankside'.
Blackfriars, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local, and regional and limited Southeastern commuter services to South East London and Kent. Its platforms span the River Thames, the only one in London to do so, along the length of Blackfriars Railway Bridge, a short distance downstream from Blackfriars Bridge. There are two station entrances either side of the Thames, along with a connection to the London Underground District and Circle lines.
Borough High Street is a road in Southwark, London, running south-west from London Bridge, forming part of the A3 route which runs from London to Portsmouth, on the south coast of England.
The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a pyramid-shaped 72-storey mixed-use development supertall skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development. Standing 309.6 metres high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, and the seventh-tallest building in Europe, the second-tallest outside Russia, only 40cm less than the Varso Tower in Warsaw. It is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the concrete tower of the Emley Moor transmitting station. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in 1975.
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road.
Skipton House is a high specification office building in Elephant and Castle, Central London.
Hay's Galleria is a mixed use building in the London Borough of Southwark situated on the south bank of the River Thames featuring offices, restaurants, shops, and flats. Originally a warehouse and associated wharf for the port of London, it was redeveloped in the 1980s. It is a Grade II listed structure.
St George's Circus is a road junction in Southwark, London, England. At its centre, which is now a traffic roundabout, is an historic obelisk, designed by Robert Mylne (1733–1811), in his role as surveyor and architect of Blackfriars Bridge.
Southwark Bridge Road is a road in Southwark, London, England, between Newington Causeway near Elephant and Castle and Southwark Bridge across the River Thames, leading to the City of London, in a meandering route.
One Blackfriars is a mixed-use development at No. 1 Blackfriars Road in Bankside, London. It is informally known as The Vase or The Boomerang due to its shape.
The Bakerloo line extension is a proposed extension of the London Underground Bakerloo line in South London from its current terminus at Elephant & Castle to Lewisham station.
City Hall, in the London Borough of Newham in east London, is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA), the regional government for Greater London. It replaced the previous City Hall, in Southwark in 2022. The building opened in 2012 and was previously an exhibition centre for sustainable architecture, known as The Crystal. Built and opened by Siemens, it was the first building in the world to reach the highest sustainable award level. It was bought by the GLA in 2019 for the docklands redevelopment project.
Downings Roads Moorings is a mooring for barges on the River Thames near Tower Bridge that is home to a small community of houseboat dwellers in Central London. In 2003 and 2004, they were threatened with eviction by Southwark Council. The members of the community appealed. The then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone commented in a letter to Southwark Council that "The principle of retaining the moorings is supported by the London Plan policy 4C.19 and supporting text contained in paragraphs 4.117 and 4.118. The mix of uses proposed for these moorings should be seen as broadly acceptable in the context of a multi functional Blue Ribbon Network as long as there are appropriate amenity and environmental safeguards in place.". Their eviction was quashed in late 2004.
Blackfriars Crown Court was a Crown Court centre which dealt with criminal cases at 1–15 Pocock Street, London SE1. It is located in Southwark a short distance from Blackfriars Road, from which it takes its name.
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