1 Undershaft is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

planned for the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

financial district. The scheme is being developed by Aroland Holdings and designed by

Eric Parry Architects Eric Owen Parry (born 24 March 1952) is a British architect, designer, writer and educator. Parry is the founder and principal of Eric Parry Architects established in London in 1983. His built work includes the restoration and renewal of St Mar ...

. It is set to replace the St Helen's tower, and if built will be the second-tallest building in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at 294 metres. Its height above sea level will match that of the

Shard Shard or sherd is a sharp piece of glass, pottery or stone. Shard may also refer to: Places * Shard End, a place in Birmingham, United Kingdom Architecture * Dresden Shard, a redesign of the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden, German ...

at just shy of 310 metres, making them appear the same height on the skyline. 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 In construction, cross bracing is a system utilized to reinforce building structures in which diagonal supports intersect. Cross bracing is usually seen with two diagonal supports placed in an X-shaped manner. Under lateral force (such as wind ...

, 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 The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

. 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.

Background

Original proposal (early 2015)

In January 2015, early plans emerged of a replacement office building for the St Helen's tower in Undershaft within London's Square Mile. 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 Bassam Simon Halabi ( born August 1958) is a Syrian-born British businessman and property developer. His wealth derived initially from his father, who was a successful businessman in Syria and backed his son in his early ventures. Embarking on ...

, in 2010. At , it would have become the third-tallest building in London and the United Kingdom, behind

The Shard The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey mixed-use development supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that for ...

and

22 Bishopsgate 22 Bishopsgate 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 tall with 62 storeys. The project replaces an earlier plan for a ...

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 designed by Eric Parry Architects. According to some reports, the design could be "modelled on

Cleopatra's Needle Cleopatra's Needles are a separated pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks now in London and New York City. The obelisks were originally made in Heliopolis (modern Cairo) during the New Kingdom period, inscribed by the 18th dynasty pharaoh Thutmose I ...

". In December 2015, the new design was released for a tower of with 73 floors. 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. A consultation process took place in autumn 2015. On 8 February 2016, a planning application was submitted for the development, with a decision expected to be made in September 2016. However, a revised planning application was submitted by the developer which reduced the proposed height by to , due to possible interference with the flight paths of the nearby

London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...

. Each floor was reduced in height by 50 mm and structural floor beam depths were changed. In addition, the level of the

soffit A soffit is an exterior architectural feature, generally the horizontal, aloft underside of the roof edge. Its archetypal form, sometimes incorporating or implying the projection of rafters or trusses over the exterior of supporting walls, is t ...

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. 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 Sir Sadiq Aman Khan (, ; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting (UK Parliament constituency), Tooting ...

on 12 December 2016. 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, with demolition firm Keltbray the 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.

Design

The second design's proposed skyscraper is rectangular in shape and slightly tapers as it gets higher. Developer Aroland Holdings, a British Virgin Islands entity of undisclosed ultimate ownership, 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". The tower is designed to be built off the ground in order to create public space underneath the building. To make room for the public space, the

core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...

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. A public square is also part of the proposed scheme, with of retail space below ground level. 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 London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

), and a restaurant.

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.

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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, as well as to improve the building's sustainability credentials. 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 294m, the building will be the tallest in the City and second tallest in London as a whole. 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.

References

{{reflist

External links

Avery Associates websiteEric Parry Architects website
Buildings and structures in the City of London Proposed skyscrapers in London Redevelopment projects in London