Sixty tall buildings, of more than
20-storeys, were completed in Greater
London in 2019, the highest number on
record and an increase of 140% from the
number in 2018.
The data, from the latest New London
Architecture (NLA) annual London Tall
Buildings Survey, also reported that
planning permissions continued to rise,
by 7% in 2019, suggesting an increasing
willingness of planning committees to
approve tall building proposals.
The vast majority of tall building
proposals are located within inner
London. However, the survey shows that
there has been a further shift towards
outer zones; 13 of the 20 outer London
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boroughs now contain tall buildings at
various stages of the process. There was
a noticeable increase in outer London
boroughs, with 6% more tall buildings in
the pipeline compared to 2018.
Peter Murray, Curator-in-chief of
New London Architecture said: “These
figures are for a period when the world
was very different. COVID-19 means
we will have to re-evaluate the direction
of development in our cities. It raises
questions about population growth in
London, about property values and social
quality.”
Stuart Baillie, Head of Planning at
Knight Frank, the report’s Programme
Champion and Research Partner, said:
“London’s tall buildings completion rate,
which amounted to 60 in 2019, is quite
staggering. Knight Frank’s research found
that there is a continued willingness
from planning authorities to consider
height positively, particularly in outer
London boroughs where we have seen
significant pipeline growth. Elsewhere we
are seeing a fairly consistent number of
new schemes coming into the planning
system. Clearly, COVID-19 will impact
the pipeline in 2020, but we’re confident
that planning policies, land availability
and housing need in London are likely
to facilitate a return to a stronger tall
building pipeline in the medium term.”
Due to complete next year, 103 Colmore
Row, which will be Birmingham’s tallest
office building, is already towering over
the city landscape.
The 26-storey and 105m-high building
will comprise 20,700m2 of office space
over 20 floors, and 700m2 of restaurant
space on the ground and top floors.
Designed by architects Doone Silver
Kerr, the landmark building features a
winter garden, an 18th floor terrace and
multi-purpose lobby business lounges.
Rockspring Property Investment
Managers LLP (Rockspring) and
Sterling Property Ventures (Sterling),
the development team behind the office
tower, have selected BAM for the £80M
build contract.
Michael Pryer, Partner and
Fund Manager at Rockspring said:
"Birmingham is the UK’s most exciting
regional city. The investment in
transport infrastructure and its youthful
demographics have made it a magnet for
occupiers and inward investors.
“103 Colmore row will, without doubt,
be the city’s premier business address.”
Severfield is fabricating, supplying
and erecting the steelwork for the
project. Some of the most significant
steel elements for the job are four ‘Mega
Columns’, each 20m-tall and weighing
20t. The columns will eventually form
the four-storey-high ground floor winter
garden and support the weight of the
building.
Soho Estates’ new Ilona Rose House
Development is transforming a large
swathe of land between London’s
Charing Cross Road and Greek Street
into a new creative hub.
Occupying the plot previously
occupied by the famous Foyle’s book
shop, Ilona Rose House is a new
27,800m2 mixed-use development that
will include ground floor shops and
restaurants, office space on the upper
eight floors including garden terraces,
and a four-level basement that will
house Warner Brother’s European postproduction
studios, including a doubleheight
60-seat editing theatre.
Surrounding the building, a large
portion of the site is dedicated to new
public realm space with a new café and
restaurant-lined mews linking Manette
Street to Greek Street. The mews will
also provide an entrance to the extensive
subterranean creative office and postproduction
space.
Aiming to achieve a BREEAM
‘Excellent’ rating, the scheme also
includes redevelopment of 14 Greek
Street, a Grade II listed building, which
will be protected and carefully restored.
Next door at 12-13 Greek Street the
façade of the building is being retained
while eight affordable housing flats are
constructed behind it.
The main building consists of a steelframed
superstructure, which is erected
around a centrally-positioned concrete
core.
Cellular steel beams, used to
accommodate services within their
depth, have been used throughout.
Working on behalf of main contractor
Sir Robert McAlpine, William Hare is
fabricating, supplying and erecting the
steelwork.
Sir Robert McAlpine Project Director
Allan Cameron said: “From the outset,
William Hare has worked hand-in-hand
with structural engineer Tier Consult
to provide the most efficient solution
with a key consideration given to
buildability.
“With a fully coordinated and
integrated 3D model in place prior to
any site works commencing, all key
interfaces have been resolved reducing
the risk of any on-site clashes.”
Ilona Rose House development is due
to complete in 2021.
News
Record number of
high-rise buildings in
London for 2019
Birmingham landmark building taking shape
Creative space aplenty at new Soho development
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Fabrication
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Multi-storey_office_buildings#Mixed_use_commercial_buildings
/Leisure_buildings#Theatres_and_auditoria
/BREEAM
/Facades_and_interfaces
/Facades_and_interfaces#Facade_retention_in_building_renovation
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Concept_design#Concrete_or_steel_cores
/Concept_design#Concrete_or_steel_cores
/Steel_construction_products#Cellular_beams
/Service_integration
/Fabrication