- Plans revealed for one undershaft to be installed at a height of 309.6 meters
- It was designed by London-based Eric Parry Architects for Singaporean company Aroland Holdings.
- The tower, known as the Trellis, will house the capital’s highest public viewing gallery.
Plans have been revealed for a new London skyscraper that will rival The Shard and become one of the tallest buildings in Western Europe.
A new 1-undershaft design called Trellis, located at a height of 309.6 meters, has been unveiled.
The top of the towering building will house a free public gallery, an education center to host school trips, and a restaurant.
The skyscraper will have the highest occupied storey height in the UK and offer approximately 2m sq ft of space, according to Eric Parry Architects, who designed the scheme for Singaporean firm Aroland Holdings.
The tower will have an 11-story podium, with the top two floors made entirely of glass.
Eric Parry said the plans follow “post-pandemic needs, revised market demands, a reassessment and response to the changing circumstances and aspirations of the City of London”.
The architects say the scheme’s design aims to provide buildings that are “efficient, sophisticated and timeless” and that they are “comfortable to look at from anywhere in London, up close or at a glance”. It is of exceptional quality, both on its own and in the spectacular setting of the London skyline.” ‘.
A document submitted to the City of London, seen by MailOnline, added: “The building’s new stepped clustering improves public and workplace provision in terms of wellbeing and urban greening by providing outdoor amenity spaces throughout the building.”
“Exciting new public realm experiences will be delivered in elevated public terrace gardens at ground level and level 11, supported by new food and flexible cultural spaces on levels 10, 11 and 12.
“The top of the building maintains the agreed volumes and tapered contours, and the top two levels maintain a free-to-visit public viewing gallery and dedicated education space, both by the Museum of London. It’s managed.”
Construction of the tower is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2030, according to technical documents submitted with the application.
More than 170,000 tonnes of concrete, 12,200 tonnes of steel, 2,000 tonnes of glass and 2,600 tonnes of plasterboard will be used to construct the skyscraper.
The building will join other famous landmarks in the area, located between the Gherkin and Cheesegrater buildings, and will stand out as the tallest building in the city’s financial sector.
The new site is about five meters higher than Eric Parry’s previous site concept, which was approved in 2016 but was deemed not sustainable enough to attract occupiers.
The plan includes the demolition of the 28-storey Aviva Tower, built in the 1960s.
This follows the sudden rejection of Tulip, a “phallus-shaped” observation tower, in 2021.
The proposed development would be the second tallest building in Western Europe at 305.3 meters in height.
Concerns were raised that the building, which features a rotating pod and observation deck with skybar, would cast a shadow on the World Heritage Site Tower of London.
Speaking in 2021, Historic England CEO Duncan Wilson said: “We have always opposed this proposal, primarily because of the impact it would have on the Tower of London, so we are pleased with this decision. “
“We have long felt that the tulips are visually distracting and look very out of place from key vantage points in the tower, detracting from the experience of visiting the site for millions of tourists and Londoners. I was thinking about becoming deaf.
“It is also our view that it would undermine the exceptional importance of the Tower of London as a World Heritage Site, and the proposal is therefore contrary to local and national planning policy.”
“We welcome this result, which will help protect one of the world’s great historic buildings, which has been the scene of our shared history for more than 900 years.”