NLA Walking Tour – The City

The industrial aesthetic expressed in Richard Rogers’ 1984 Lloyd’s Building unleashed a sea change in architecture within the City, with a tradition-breaking legacy of Portland Stone facades and a cluster of ever-taller office towers including his own 122 Leadenhall Street.

Within a tiny perimeter, dictated by legal sightline constraints, glass tower offices at 52-54 Lime Street (KPF), 100 Bishopsgate (Allies and Morrison/Woods Baggot) and 22 Bishopsgate (PLP) have set the bar to new heights, to be challenged by oncoming 40 Leadenhall Street (Make Architects), 1 Undershaft (Eric Parry), 100 Leadenhall Street (SOM) and 6-8 Bishopsgate (Wilkinson Eyre) within the next few years.

In contrast, the nearby ‘groundscraper’ Fen Court by Eric Parry sits at just 15-storeys high, alternatively drawing attention with colourful illuminations emanating from its ‘coronet’ top and a spacious public viewing garden complete with rill.

New lower-height developments like the mixed new/retrofitted Angel Court by Fletcher Priest Architects and OMA’s Rothschild Bank enhance the Bank Junction area. The 2018 RIBA prize-winning Bloomberg Square by Foster + Partners is noted for its co-joined bronze and sandstone offices, covering 3.2 acres surrounded by a bronze running water feature – a nod to the sustainability of the project.