Plans submitted for City of London’s tallest tower

The City of London’s skyline could be radically altered yet again as plans for a 309.6m-tall tower have been submitted for planning approval.

The new tower will be the same height as The Shard – Europe’s tallest building, which stands just across the river in Southwark.

Designs from Eric Parry architects plan the demolition of the headquarters of insurance giant Aviva to make way for a 73-storey steel-framed tower at 1 Undershaft.

It would stand 28m higher than the replacement steel-framed tower for the Pinnacle scheme at 22 Bishopsgate.

The 90,000m² building would be able to accommodate 10,000 people and boast a viewing platform higher than that of The Shard, and London’s highest public sky restaurant.

A conceptual design by Avery Associates for the previous owner of the 1 Undershaft site proposed an angular sloping sided glass tower peaking at 270m, a design that lead to it being dubbed “The Fang”.

The new design is for a more conventional office tower block with distinctive visible structural steel cross bracing.