Bishopsgate Tower

The Bishopsgate Tower
Artist's impression
General information
Location	22-24 Bishopsgate London, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51.5145°N 0.0829°W / 51.5145; -0.0829
Construction started	September 2008
Estimated completion	2013
Height
Roof	288 m (945 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	63
Floor area	131,510 m2 (1,415,560 sq ft)
Design and construction
Main contractor	Wafra Investment, NBK
Architect	Kohn Pedersen Fox

The Bishopsgate Tower, informally referred to as The Pinnacle, is a 288 m (945 ft), 63-storey skyscraper under construction in the centre of London's main financial district, the City of London. It is one of four major towers under construction in London, others being Shard London Bridge, 122 Leadenhall Street and the 20 Fenchurch Street redevelopment. On completion, it will become the tallest building in the City of London and the second tallest building in both the United Kingdom and the European Union, after the 310 m (1,020 ft) Shard London Bridge.

Planning and design

The Bishopsgate Tower will dominate the City of London skyline upon completion

The architects of the tower are Kohn Pedersen Fox and the developer is the fund management company, Union Investment Real Estate AG. The tower was originally proposed at 307 metres (1,007 ft), but scaled down to 288 metres (945 ft) following concerns from the Civil Aviation Authority. Once completed, it will contain 88,000 square metres (947,200 sq ft) of office space.

The tower was submitted for planning permission in June 2005 and approved in April 2006. When completed, it will become the second tallest building in the UK, and in Europe the second tallest building outside of Moscow.

The twisting design of its roof, and the curling patterns in the facade, are based on various organic forms in nature - such as armadillos, mushrooms and seashells. The upper floors will contain restaurants and the second largest public viewing deck in the UK, behind The Shard London Bridge.

The building will contain more solar panelling than any other building in the UK, with 2,000 square metres (21,500 sq ft) of photovoltaic solar cells, generating up to 200 kilowatts of electricity. It will have a double-layered skin like 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), which will allow it to respond dynamically to climatic changes and to utilise effective climate control with low energy consumption. To drive construction costs down, every single panel on the tower will be of exactly the same size.

In August 2006, Keltbray began test piling on site. Demolition began on the smaller of the two buildings in November.

In February 2007, it was confirmed that the Bishopsgate Tower had been purchased by Arab Investments and that the building would be renamed The Pinnacle.

In May 2007, it was confirmed that full funding had been secured and that the tower was likely to be built speculatively.

In June 2007, demolition began on Crosby Court, the larger of the two buildings on site.

In August 2007, Arab Investments signed a pre-construction contract with Multiplex to build the tower.

Demolition of previous building

Demolition of the site began in mid-2007. It was scheduled to be completed by February 2008. This however was changed to April 2008 because of an injunction won by insurance company Hiscox in December 2007, which is based next door. The company complained about the noise from the site.

The initial injunction, obtained by Hiscox Syndicates & Another against The Pinnacle Ltd & Others in January 2008, afforded protection on 3 points:

1. Protection of the right of access to the car park entrance from Crosby Square
2. Protection from water ingress
3. Protection from vibration by way of set PPV (peak particle velocity) limits at certain times during the working day

The injunction was successfully varied at a hearing on 13 June 2008. An application to vary the terms of the injunction in connection with access was granted and a new Order made by the Technology and Construction Court.

Alternative access across the site ensured that access to the car park entrance is maintained whilst demolition above and adjacent to the highway continues.

Demolition was completed by June 2008.

Construction

In late May 2008, a mobile crane and piling rig were on site, preparing the site for construction. It was reported on 1 September 2008 that law firm Davies Arnold Cooper was to take up 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m²) of office space and subsequently that the restaurant which will be at the top of the tower was fully let. The tower was well under construction, with steel rebar cages already inserted into the ground, which formed part of the piles that would hold the weight of the tower. In November 2008 another piling rig came into use on the site, as well as huge steel plates for the piles. On of 30 March 2009, the largest ever piles in the UK had been laid. (The previous record holder was Moor House with foundations 57 metres deep, and these were only built to that depth in 2002 to allow Crossrail eventually to pass under it.) The piles were sunk 48.5 metres below sea level, and 65.5 metres below the site, surpassing Moor House's depth by 8.5 metres.

In the summer of 2009, piling had been completed and workers began excavating deep down, ready to begin constructing the basements. The first blue crane base was put into place in October 2009.

In June 2011 Arab Investments announced that they have secured the near half-billion pound shortfall, meaning that construction work can resume, and on the 19th December, the core had reached the sixth floor.

When completed (still pencilled in for 2013), the building will reach 288m, making it the tallest in the Square Mile and second only to the Shard in stature.

Timeline of floor construction

Below is a complete list of the dates for when each floor became visible under the concrete core box.

Core level	Date
Floor 2	14 Oct 2011
Floor 3	13 Nov 2011
Floor 4	29th Nov 2011
Floor 5	08th Dec 2011
Floor 6	19th Dec 2011

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  Construction in December 2009

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  Construction in July 2010

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  Construction in November 2010

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  Construction in February 2012

See also

• 30 St Mary Axe
• Broadgate Tower
• City of London Landmarks
• Heron Tower
• Shard London Bridge
• Solar power in the United Kingdom
• Tower 42

External links

• Planning application
• Bishopsgate Tower promotional video (23mb)
• Skyscrapernews.com file on the Bishopsgate Tower
• Emporis building detail
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