1 Undershaft

Last updated

1 Undershaft
1 Undershaft
General information
StatusProposed
TypeOffice
Address1 Undershaft
Town or city London, EC3
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′51″N0°04′54″W / 51.514242°N 0.081583°W / 51.514242; -0.081583
ClientAroland Holdings
Height
Architectural309.6 m (1,016 ft) (AOD) [1]
Technical details
Floor count74
Floor area117,000 m2 (1,259,378 sq ft) (office) [2]
Design and construction
Architecture firm Eric Parry Architects
Structural engineer WSP [3]

1 Undershaft is a supertall skyscraper planned for the City of London financial district. The scheme is being developed by Aroland Holdings [4] and designed by Eric Parry Architects. It is set to replace the St Helen's tower, and if built will share The Shard's status as the tallest skyscrapers in London and the United Kingdom.

Contents

The building is the third design for a skyscraper at 1 Undershaft, replacing two previous proposals designed by architects Avery Associates and Eric Parry themselves respectively. The second proposal, nicknamed 'The Trellis' due to its external cross bracing, was given approval in November 2016, but this design was ultimately discarded in favour of a quad-segmented tower revealed in August 2023.

The substantial changes entailed will result in 1 Undershaft needing to once again apply for planning permission from the City of London Corporation. [5] Construction is planned to take around five years subject to planning, with enabling works starting in 2024, construction work starting in late 2025 after the demolition of St Helen's tower, and completion in 2029. [2] [5]

Background

Original proposal (early 2015)

Original design by Avery Associates, to the immediate right of 122 Leadenhall Street 1 Undershaft, City of London.png
Original design by Avery Associates, to the immediate right of 122 Leadenhall Street

In January 2015, early plans emerged of a replacement office building for the St Helen's tower in Undershaft within London's Square Mile. [6] The proposal, named 1 Undershaft, was designed by Avery Associates; who began working on the scheme in collaboration with the then-owner of the site, Simon Halabi, in 2010. [7] At 270 m (890 ft), it would have become the third-tallest building in London and the United Kingdom, behind The Shard and 22 Bishopsgate. [8]

Second proposal (late 2015)

In July 2015, details of a revised scheme by the new owners of the site, Aroland Holdings, were reported. The plans were for a skyscraper of 304 m (997 ft) designed by Eric Parry Architects. [9] According to some reports, the design could be "modelled on Cleopatra's Needle". [10]

In December 2015, the new design was released for a tower of 294.6 m (967 ft) with 73 floors. [11] [12] Subject to planning permission, it was set to become the tallest building in the Square Mile when completed and the second-tallest building in London and the United Kingdom, behind The Shard. [8] A consultation process took place in autumn 2015. [9] On 8 February 2016, a planning application was submitted for the development, [13] with a decision expected to be made in September 2016. [14]

1 Undershaft would replace the St Helen's tower, pictured above St. Helen's - St. Mary Axe- 2011-05-04.jpg
1 Undershaft would replace the St Helen's tower, pictured above

However, a revised planning application was submitted by the developer which reduced the proposed height by 4.66 m (15.3 ft) to 289.9 m (951 ft), due to possible interference with the flight paths of the nearby London City Airport. Each floor was reduced in height by 50 mm and structural floor beam depths were changed. In addition, the level of the soffit was decreased and the viewing gallery height reduced, which was intended to be double height. Despite its height reduction, the proposed height will still make 1 Undershaft the second-tallest building in London and the United Kingdom upon completion. [15]

Following a recommendation by planning officers for approval, the scheme was approved by the City of London Corporation on 28 November 2016, with 19 votes in support and two against; final approval was given by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on 12 December 2016. [16] [17] [18] The start date for construction of the scheme has not yet been decided, but building work is expected to be finished anywhere between six and 10 years from its approval date, [19] with demolition of the St Helen's building currently on the site expected to take 18 months and construction of 1 Undershaft due to take between three and four years. [20]

Design

Second 'Trellis' design for 1 Undershaft (centre), to the left of The Gherkin. Proposed design of 1 Undershaft, London.jpg
Second 'Trellis' design for 1 Undershaft (centre), to the left of The Gherkin.

The second design's proposed skyscraper is rectangular in shape and slightly tapers as it gets higher. [21] Developer Aroland Holdings, a British Virgin Islands entity of undisclosed ultimate ownership, [4] originally wanted 1 Undershaft to be taller than the proposed height. However, the height has been limited by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to avoid intruding on flight paths. In addition, the building's crown, which was intended to resemble Cleopatra's Needle, was not accepted by City planners who wanted "a less demonstrative top. They didn't want another overt shape". [21]

The tower is designed to be built 10.5 m (34 ft) off the ground in order to create public space underneath the building. To make room for the public space, the core will need to be positioned to the side of the tower. As a result, bronze-coloured diamond-shaped external cross-bracing will be required, giving the building its nickname The Trellis. [11] [22] [23]

A public square is also part of the proposed scheme, with 2,178 m2 (23,444 sq ft) of retail space below ground level. [24] [21] The top of the skyscraper is set to have London's highest viewing gallery free for public access (which could include a museum run by the Museum of London), [25] and a restaurant. [11] [21]

Construction financing scam

In 2017, a bogus bond financing scheme supposedly funding the construction of 1 Undershaft was launched in the United Kingdom. A £30 million tranche of 9-year bonds was issued by Trade Mark International Limited, a Cayman Islands-registered limited company. An accompanying website, www.trademarktint.com, was registered by Paul Mantoura.

A number of investors subscribed for the bonds, yielding 10% per annum coupons and a capital guarantee at maturity, through Paul Mantoura and his Platinum Associates firm in Brazil. However, when investors stopped receiving communications in 2020, Intel Suisse, a financial investigation specialist firm, was called in and discovered the fraud: Trade Mark International never existed. The webhost firm confirmed Paul Mantoura's ownership of the website, which he acquired in 2017 and is now offline. [26]

Third proposal (2023)

In August 2023, Eric Parry Architects revealed a substantially revised design for 1 Undershaft, prompted by changes to working habits following the COVID-19 pandemic, [2] as well as to improve the building's sustainability credentials. [5] In place of the previous cross-braced and tapered tower, this redesign proposes a tower segmented into four vertical blocks, increasing the usable floor area by 30%. At 309.6 m (AOD), the revised configuration will reach the exact same height as The Shard, sharing its status as the United Kingdom's tallest buildings. [27]

A public roof garden on the 10th floor has been added, extending over a curved canopy above the corner of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe; several winter gardens up to approximately 1,530 m2, external office terrace spaces up to 1,370 m2, and around 110,000 m2 of workspace, up from the second design's 90,000 m2. The public viewing gallery, shared with the Museum of London, remains part of the proposals. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Helen's (skyscraper)</span> Commercial skyscraper in London, England

St Helen's is a commercial skyscraper in London, United Kingdom. It is 118 metres (387 ft) tall and has 23 floors. The postal address is No. 1, Undershaft, though the main entrance fronts onto Leadenhall Street, in the City of London financial district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shard</span> Skyscraper in London, 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 Bermondsey, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development. Standing 309.6 metres high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, the seventh-tallest building in Europe, and the second-tallest outside Russia behind the Varso Tower in Warsaw, which beats the Shard by less than half a metre. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">22 Bishopsgate</span> Commercial skyscraper in London, England

22 Bishopsgate, also known as Horizon 22, is a commercial skyscraper in London, England. Completed in 2020, it occupies a prominent site in Bishopsgate, in the City of London financial district, and stands 278 m (912 ft) tall with 62 storeys. The project replaces an earlier plan for a 288 m (945 ft) tower named The Pinnacle, on which construction was started in 2008 but suspended in 2012 following the Great Recession, with only the concrete core of the first seven storeys. The structure was later subjected to a re-design, out of which it became known by its postal address, 22 Bishopsgate. It is the second tallest building in the United Kingdom and the seventeenth tallest building in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heron Tower</span> Skyscraper in the City of London, England

Salesforce Tower, 110 Bishopsgate is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands 230 metres (755 ft) tall including its 28-metre (92 ft) mast making it the second tallest building in the City of London financial district and the fifth tallest in Greater London and the United Kingdom, after the Shard in Southwark and One Canada Square at Canary Wharf. 110 Bishopsgate is located on Bishopsgate and is bordered by Camomile Street, Outwich Street and Houndsditch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V Building</span> Building in Birmingham, England

The V Building was a proposed 51-storey residential skyscraper approved for construction on Broad Street on the Westside of the city centre of Birmingham, England. The tower was part of the larger Arena Central development scheme on the former ATV / Central Television Studios, closed in 1997. The entire development site covered an area of 7.6 acres (31,000 m2). On completion the development was set to include offices, shops, restaurants, cafes, leisure/entertainment, fitness centre and hotel. It was to have been built on the site of a multi-level underground car park next to Alpha Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Birmingham. The total cost of the entire scheme was expected to be £400 million and of the tower, £150 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury City Tower</span> Supertall skyscraper in Moscow, Russia

Mercury City Tower is a supertall skyscraper located on plot 14 in the Moscow International Business Center (MIBC), in Moscow, Russia. Occupying a total area of 173,960 square metres (1,872,500 sq ft), the mixed-use building houses offices, apartments, a fitness center, and retail stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panorama Tower</span> Skyscraper in Miami, Florida, USA

Panorama Tower is a mixed-use 85-story skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. Located in the Brickell district of Downtown Miami, it is the tallest building in Miami, and the tallest building in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St George Wharf Tower</span> Skyscraper in Vauxhall, London, England

St George Wharf Tower, also known as the Vauxhall Tower, is a residential skyscraper in Vauxhall, London, and part of the St George Wharf development. At 181 metres (594 ft) tall with 50 storeys, it is the 20th-tallest building in London and was the tallest residential building in the United Kingdom on its completion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Capitals</span> Mixed-use complex in Moscow, Russia

The City of Capitals is a mixed-use complex composed of two skyscrapers and an office building located on plot 9 in the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia with a total area of 288,680 square metres (3,107,300 sq ft). The two skyscrapers are named after the two historical capitals of Russia: Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Construction of the complex began in 2005, with the office building completed in 2008 and the two skyscrapers completed in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Street Tower</span> Residential building in Manchester, England

River Street Tower is a high-rise residential tower in Manchester, England. The tower is situated immediately north of the Mancunian Way on land which was formerly occupied by a concrete car park frame from 2005 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia 108</span> Residential skyscraper in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Australia 108 is a residential supertall skyscraper in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Having officially topped out in June 2020, it became the tallest building in Australia by roof height, surpassing the Eureka Tower, and the second-tallest building in Australia by full height, surpassed by Q1 Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sky City (Changsha)</span> Planned skyscraper in Changsha, Hunan, China

Sky City, or Sky City One, was an 838-metre-tall (2,749 ft) planned skyscraper in the city of Changsha, Hunan in south-central China. The prospective builders, Broad Sustainable Building, estimated it would take just 90 days to construct. Including the 120 days required for prefabrication before on-site work commenced, the sum of time needed was 210 days. Pre-construction activities were halted in August 2013 after government regulators required additional approvals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardian London</span> Residential in Canary Wharf, London

Wardian London is an ultra-luxury residential complex located in the centre of Canary Wharf’s financial district from Eco World-Ballymore and designed by architect firm Glenn Howells. The scheme consists of two skyscrapers that completed in 2020, is one of the tallest residential developments in London and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Nine Elms</span> Mixed-use skyscraper

One Nine Elms is a mixed-use skyscraper in Nine Elms, London. It was originally developed by Wanda One, a UK subsidiary company of Dalian Wanda, until they sold the project to R&F Properties, another Chinese firm in 2018. It was designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF). The development replaces two towers on the site built in the 1970s called Market Towers and forms part of a wider redevelopment of the Nine Elms area of London. The development consists of two towers: the 57-storey City Tower contains 334 homes, while the 42-storey River Tower contains a 203-room Park Hyatt luxury hotel and 103 luxury Park Hyatt-branded apartments. Upon completion in 2024, One Nine Elms became one of the tallest residential developments in London and the United Kingdom.

South Quay Plaza is a residential-led development under construction on the Isle of Dogs, London, England, within the borough of Tower Hamlets. It is being developed by Berkeley Group Holdings and was designed by architect Foster + Partners. The site of the development lies to the immediate north of Marsh Wall and to the immediate south of the financial district Canary Wharf. The entire development is scheduled for completion in 2028.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spire London</span> Construction Project

Spire London, previously known as Hertsmere House, is a construction project located in West India Quay, near Canary Wharf. Developed by Greenland Group and designed by HOK, construction on the tallest building of 67 stories commenced in 2016, and was targeted for completion in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Goodsyard</span> Mixed use in London, England

The Goodsyard is a proposed development on the site of the former Bishopsgate Goods Yard in Shoreditch, London. It spans the border between the two London boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets. The scheme, which is a joint venture between developers Hammerson and Ballymore, previously included 12 buildings, the tallest of which was planned to be 166-metre (545 ft) tall with 46 floors. In total, 1,356 homes were proposed, as well as offices, retail and workshop space and a 0.97-hectare (2.4-acre) park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Tower, Sheffield</span> Future residential skyscraper in Sheffield, England

Kings Tower is an approved skyscraper that will be located on Castle Square at the junction of High Street and Angel Street in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. With a planned height of 120 m (390 ft) once completed, Kings Tower will overtake Code Sheffield, and St Pauls Tower as the tallest building in Sheffield and in Yorkshire. Plans for the tower were submitted by architects Hodder + Partners in September 2020, calling initially for a 39-storey tower. Planning permission was granted in December 2020, and construction is planned to complete in 2023. Amended plans were submitted in late 2022, adding a 40th floor to the project.

References

  1. ↑ "Revised Height Submitted for London Commerical [sic] High-Rise". CTBUH. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Spocchia, Gino (25 August 2023). "Eric Parry redesigns plans for City's tallest building". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  3. ↑ Rogers, Dave. "Singapore developer unveils plans for London's tallest tower". Building. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 "AROLAND HOLDINGS LIMITED". Find and update company information. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Lowe, Tom (29 August 2023). "Eric Parry unveils revised design for City's tallest tower". Building Design. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  6. ↑ Morby, Aaron (16 January 2015). "Design unveiled for City of London's tallest skyscraper". Construction Enquirer. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Stott, Rory (20 January 2015). "Avery Associates Reveals Design for 270-Metre Tower Next to London's Cheesegrater". ArchDaily. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Skyscraper Center - London". The Skyscraper Center. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 Edmonds, Lizzie (6 July 2015). "Plans for skyscraper to rival the Shard to be submitted to City of London". Evening Standard. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Wainwright, Oliver (30 June 2015). "22 Bishopsgate – and the steroidal towers set to ruin London's skyline". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Tucker, Emma (7 December 2015). "Eric Parry Architects unveils tallest tower in City of London". Dezeen. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "No. 1 Undershaft at The Skyscraper Center". The Skyscraper Center. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  13. ↑ Williams, Richard (8 February 2016). "Plans for City of London's tallest building submitted". Property Week. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Bevan, Robert (21 July 2016). "The Shaft will rival the The Shard for coolest skyscraper in London". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  15. ↑ Waite, Richard (3 October 2016). "Eric Parry reduces height of tallest tower in City". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Lynch, Russell (21 November 2016). "Square Mile's tallest tower dubbed the "Trellis", set for thumbs-up". Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  17. ↑ Bourke, Joanna (28 November 2016). "Plans to build City of London's tallest skyscraper given green light". Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Prynn, Jonathan (13 December 2016). "Sadiq Khan gives backing for City's two tallest towers to be built". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  19. ↑ Sullivan, Connor (28 November 2016). "City of London approves 73-storey skyscraper to rival Shard". Financial Times . Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  20. ↑ Bury, Rhiannon (28 November 2016). "1 Undershaft, the tallest tower in the City of London, gets the green light". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Wainwright, Oliver (7 December 2015). "1 Undershaft, the tallest skyscraper in the City of London, revealed". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  22. ↑ Heathcote, Edwin (7 December 2015). "City of London's tallest building rises above corporate interests". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  23. ↑ Morby, Aaron (21 November 2016). "London's second tallest tower set for approval". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  24. ↑ Waite, Richard; Braidwood, Ella (28 November 2016). "Thumbs up for tallest tower in City". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  25. ↑ Haslett, Emma (2 June 2016). "Could a new City skyscraper host London's highest museum?". City AM. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  26. ↑ Yan LaSur, Lee (7 July 2023). "Investors in South & Latin America targeted in major UK property scam". St. Vincent Times. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  27. ↑ Morby, Aaron (29 August 2023). "New One Undershaft tower plan as tall as the Shard". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.