This office building, designed for the heart of the City, offers a long-term, sustainable return for our clients. Its bold design respects its historic setting while still realising the full potential of the site.
We have designed a building of character that responds directly to the context of the City and its people. Since Roman times, buildings and streets within the City of London have constantly evolved to meet the needs of the day, and we have been particularly interested in the human scale that characterises the City’s medieval streetscape. We have sought to reinforce a feeling of intimacy at street level that reflects its historic precedent, while ensuring that the building maintains relevance as a contemporary office building.
As a result, we created a distinctive and dramatic silhouette – a building form which complements the neighbouring buildings, including the Grade 1-listed Tower of All Hallows Staining, and respects the public realm by opening up the historic, medieval walkway of Star Alley. Progressive jettying of the building – as if each floor has been twisted one on top of the next – increases the public realm below while maximising floor plates above, all the while providing variety in the densely built context. In addition, a patterned glazed façade creates a solid appearance with no apparent windows, so it offers a point of difference to uniform ‘glass boxes’ in the City.
The building’s shifted form blends with its surroundings whilst giving it a uniqueness and exciting presence on its busy street. To amplify space and natural light, circulation has been placed to the western side, providing triple aspect views to all floors. It has been designed to offer flexible office space that can be let on a floor-by-floor basis, yet the striking, high-profile design enables it to also be single-let as a unique headquarters building.
