This landmark tower will be the first building in the UK to break the 1000 foot barrier. It will be nearly twice the height of the Gherkin,
and one of the tallest buildings in Europe.
London's first truly "mixed use" tower, the floors will be divided into a mixture of residential, office, hotel, retail and public space.
Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the tower was structurally redesigned to improve stability and reduce evacuation times.
The tower went through a lengthy public inquiry. It was approved by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on 19th November 2003.
The total cost of the project is in excess of £1.2bn and includes major refurbishment of the neighbouring train and bus stations.
The tower has two main tenants lined up - Shangri-La Hotels, who will be occupying floors 34-52 - and Transport for London who will
take some of the office space.
Financial issues plagued the tower for years, but were resolved in 2008 when four Qatari banks took an 80% stake
in the project (buying-out both CLS and Simon Halabi). All funding and contracts were subsequently secured.
Current Status: Under construction!Click here for a video of the schedule. The tower is scheduled for completion by May 2012.
Image credit: Chest
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Thread landmarks (Note: these links refer to the UK forum thread)
Some renders there I havent seen before and it certainly shows that this building is a lot more detailed than I first though. Will be a great focal point, I think.
Construction time is very quick as well. Some buildings half the size take that time!
Well, I can't believe it's taken so long just to reach this stage. The delay has been ludicrous.
In theory, it could already have been completed by now - if English Heritage hadn't forced a public inquiry, if PWC had vacated straight away, and if Sellar had commenced work as soon as it was originally approved.
Yep, it's featured in one of the first scenes, just before the bomb goes off in that shop. The view is from Fleet Street, I think. Which doesn't make sense, because LBT won't be visible from Fleet Street. But anyway... this is the trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwsgkurfCjE
You can't really see it here though, you need the DVD or big screen version to see it properly.
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