The City of London has approved plans for its new tallest skyscraper, a 74-storey office tower that will be tied with the Shard as western Europe’s tallest building. Plans for the tower, called 1 Undershaft — located next door to the Gherkin — were delayed in July after neighbours, including the chair of the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, objected to the design and the loss of public open space.
Investor Aroland and development manager Stanhope have scaled back the size of the ground floor to preserve more of St Helen’s Square, at the base of the tower.
Shravan Joshi, chair of the planning committee for the City of London Corporation — the local government of the UK’s financial district — said the project “speaks to the confidence that global investors have in the London real estate market and the UK economy more widely”.
1 Undershaft, which is expected to be built by about 2030, will be 309.6 metres high, exactly matching the height of the Shard, on the opposite side of the river Thames, which has been the UK’s tallest skyscraper since 2012.
The building, designed by architect Eric Parry, was first approved by the City in 2016. Aroland last year asked the City to sign off plans to significantly expand the tower, introducing a stepped side-profile and adding a storey to its height. The design includes a public garden on the 11th floor, a top-level public gallery and a children’s education space on the upper floors operated in partnership with the London Museum.
