Lime Street Square | City of London | 190m | 40 fl | Approved

[bccscl]

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[Ferryman]

It would be great when they release renders of this - what with 100 Bishopsgate, Leadenhall and 20 Fenchurch under construction this will create a nice dense City of London

[Ebeneezer_Goode]

I'm assuming the "scalpel" shape is to allow for the St. Pauls sightline?

[Gherkin]

So we're looking at 190m and 35 storeys. Render from KPF Architects:




From Dezeen:

W. R. Berkley Corporation to build new European headquarters in the City of London

W.R. Berkley Corporation, one of the world’s premier property casualty insurance providers, has submitted a planning application for a major new European headquarters at 52-54 Lime Street, London EC3, in the heart of the City of London.

Demonstrating the strength of W.R. Berkley Corporation’s commitment to London as one of the world’s leading insurance centres, the company, whose member insurance companies are rated A+ by Standard & Poor’s, will be funding the 35-storey building, which will draw together all of the company’s London presence into one place, from its own balance sheet. W. R. Berkley Corporation London companies will initially be occupying approximately 25% of the building. Other occupiers have already expressed interest in the building.

Designed by multi-award winning international architects, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), who also designed the Heron Tower, the planned building is approximately 190m tall, consisting of 35 floors of offices above ground and mezzanine levels with an additional two basement and two roof plant levels. Entrances to the building would be on Leadenhall Street and from a new public square.

Floor plates will range in size from 9,000 sq ft to 22,000 sq ft and are arranged around a side core located to the south of the building, which optimises floor plate dimensions, limits solar gain and offers views of London to the, north, east, west and south west.

Public space created by the development will include a ‘square’ of approximately 11,000 sq ft which will complement the existing precinct around the Willis Building. The space will include public seating and planting as well as potential space for public art and tables linked to a specialist ground floor coffee shop, echoing the 17th century origins of the specialist insurance markets at Lloyds Coffee House.

With Lloyd’s of London and Willis adjacent to the new public square and Aon to occupy 122 Leadenhall Street, W.R. Berkley’s new European headquarters will effectively create a global ‘HQ’ of the insurance industry in London.

KPF’s work is being led by Bill Pedersen, one of the world’s most decorated architects and seven time winner of the American Institute of Architects National Honour Award.

Subject to planning, work on the project is scheduled to start by 2013 and it is anticipated that the development could be ready for occupation by 2017.

William Berkley, founder and chairman of W.R. Berkley Corporation comments:

“The proposed development of 52-54 Lime Street is an integral component of our international growth strategy. With the continuing expansion of our operations here, it makes sense to invest in a landmark building which will provide a strong base for that growth.

“This major investment is a signal of our belief and confidence in London as the centre of the global insurance market. Creating a new European headquarters on Lime Street, alongside of some of the largest companies in the industry, is an affirmation of the City of London as the centre of the insurance and reinsurance industries.”

About London’s insurance industry

Insurance companies and pension funds are crucial to the UK and City of London economy, accounting for £32.5bn in GDP contributions

The City of London is the home of the specialist insurance sector, with gross premiums on the London market conservatively estimated at £36.9bn in 2010, and Lime Street is the heart of the sector – from historic players like Lloyds, to world leading brands like Willis, Aon, and Aviva

[SkyscraperSuperman]

Wow, it looks fantastic to me! 190m is a really nice height too, so that'll make it the 3rd tallest in the City behind Leadenhall and Heron Tower (until the Pinnacle - either in its approved form of something of a similar height - is built, of course). Let's just hope it doesn't get the typical cheapening/height reduction, although hopefully it will be OK since it's surrounded by other tall buildings.
Wondering if it'll get a nickname like all the others...

[DeFiBkIlLeR]

190m...AOD?

Given that part of the city is on a hill (relative to the Thames) it's actual height will be closer to 180m..I think.

[Gherkin]

We'd need to see more renders before we start throwing nicknames at it. I'm sure the media will label it 'the scalpel' or 'the blade' or something un-creatively similar. Including the plant rooms it's just over 5.1m per floor, which seems high... so it's likely AOD.

[Core Rising]

That looks fantastic! Very sleek. Looks quite modern North American and the folded glass is similar to 100 Bishopsgate.

[Core Rising]

Originally Posted by DeFiBkIlLeR

190m...AOD?

Given that part of the city is on a hill (relative to the Thames) it's actual height will be closer to 180m..I think.

Already been discussed on the last page. 190m should be the AGL height, with 206m being the AOD height.

[delores]

the knife?

[DeFiBkIlLeR]

Originally Posted by Gherkin

We'd need to see more renders before we start throwing nicknames at it. I'm sure the media will label it 'the scalpel' or 'the blade' or something un-creatively similar. Including the plant rooms it's just over 5.1m per floor, which seems high... so it's likely AOD.

If you look at the render, the top 7 or 8 (mezzanine levels?) floors seem to be almost double height.

I wonder if that 35 floors includes those?, if not,it could account for the height to low floor count ratio.

There's about 31 floors visible in the render (not including the double height ones), so add in the ones not visible, it could be 35 floors for occupancy plus the top mezzanine levels.????

[Core Rising]

Indeed, I count 32 visible office floors with the bottom levels obscured by the crop of the image. That should come to 35 office floors. I’m guessing the top spire levels are plant floors, of which I count the space for about 9 right to the tip of the spire. Of course the article states that there are only two of these levels, so what is above them, I have no idea. Empty space?

[hifive605]

wow.. could one of our resident geniuses do a quick model-up on google earth I wonder??

[jamiefearon]

Reminds me of 240 Blackfriars:

[The Champ]

Reminds me a bit of the new WTC building with the white edging and mirrored glass



http://all-new-york.ru/interesting/f...ower-new-york/

[delores]

There really is nothing interesting about this building apart from the angles of the facade which is nothing really new.

[Core Rising]

Originally Posted by delores

There really is nothing interesting about this building apart from the angles of the facade which is nothing really new.

I'm fine with that. It looks sleek and slender, but it isn't trying to out compete the buildings around it. A welcome addition, not every new building has to be groundbreaking. The one thing it really isn't is ugly. I'm very pleased with the design.

[hifive605]

^its classy and restrained, I think it might have some excellent interaction with leadenhall on the skyline as well as plugging the gap between fenchurch tower and the main cluster..

[derekhales]

The City Corporation knew that there was likely to something of this size slotted into the gap. I am sure it will get going a lot faster than we are used to in London. Looking forward to some more renders, especially in relation to the city cluster but looks very nice from a non stand out and look at me point of view, good filler.

[Yorkshire Boy]