Skyscraper cluster expansion planned to tackle Walkie Talkie blight
City of London planners are looking at whether the visual impact of Rafael Viñoly’s much-maligned Walkie Talkie could be reduced by extending the Square Mile’s cluster of tall buildings southwards.
The 155m-tall tower at 20 Fenchurch Street, which has been widely disparaged by design critics, currently stands alone from the rest of the cluster.
The corporation is using 3D modelling to understand and explore a number of scenarios for infilling the gap with a small number of new skyscrapers.
Gwyn Richards, head of design at the corporation, told the AJ that the work is taking place as part of a drive to investigate where new space can be found to meet the demand for new office space in the City. He said that the corporation needs to find more space to meet its target of 1.15million m² extra office space between 2011-2026.
City of London planners are looking at whether the visual impact of Rafael Viñoly’s much-maligned Walkie Talkie could be reduced by extending the Square Mile’s cluster of tall buildings southwards
The 155m-tall tower at 20 Fenchurch Street, which has been widely disparaged by design critics, currently stands alone from the rest of the cluster.
The corporation is using 3D modelling to understand and explore a number of scenarios for infilling the gap with a small number of new skyscrapers.
Gwyn Richards, head of design at the corporation, told the AJ that the work is taking place as part of a drive to investigate where new space can be found to meet the demand for new office space in the City. He said that the corporation needs to find more space to meet its target of 1.15million m² extra office space between 2011-2026.
He said: ‘One issue that has been brought to our attention is whether it would be preferable to have the Walkie Talkie effectively moved into the cluster so that it is less assertive. We have been exploring that in some detail.
‘We are hearing from stakeholders saying that it would benefit the cluster to bring it into a tightly knitted group. The intention that 20 Fenchurch Street should provide a standalone vantage point over the cluster is not widely accepted.’
The corporation is also running modelling on wind levels around the building, which Richards said were also a problem.
He said: ‘We are starting to digest the wind impact around the cluster. The initial conclusions suggest that the wind is being pushed around the periphery of the cluster – and one of the affected areas is Fenchurch Street.’
However, he said that a number of constraints are likely to limit the quantum of development between the Walkie Talkie and the cluster.
He pointed to six conservation areas in the vicinity and residential developments which could suffer from overshadowing.
In addition, he said that any new high-rise development would likely be focused around the western end of Fenchurch Street in order to protect views from the Tower of London World Heritage Site.
He said: ‘There are a limited number of sites but in terms of infilling the gap in the view from Waterloo Bridge you only need one or two. We are not talking about a wholescale redevelopment of the area.’
Richards also said that views from the Walkie Talkie’s ‘sky garden’ would also be protected in any new plans for development.
He said that it would be up to politicians to decide whether to incorporate the possible expansion of the cluster into formal planning policy.