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20 Fenchurch Street

Coordinates: 51°30′41″N 0°05′01″W / 51.51139°N 0.08361°W / 51.51139; -0.08361
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20 Fenchurch Street
Artist's impression of 20 Fenchurch Street within the City of London and The Pinnacle in the background (left)
Map
General information
StatusUnder construction
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Construction started2009
Estimated completionMarch 2014
Height
Roof160 m (525 ft)
Technical details
Floor count34 (plus three-storey 'sky gardens')
Design and construction
Architect(s)Rafael Viñoly
DeveloperLand Securities and Canary Wharf Group
Structural engineerHalcrow Yolles
Main contractorCanary Wharf Contractors
The previous building on the site, as seen from the Monument.

20 Fenchurch Street is a commercial skyscraper under construction on Fenchurch Street in central London. It has been nicknamed The Walkie-Talkie and The Pint because of its distinctive shape.[1] Upon completion in 2014 the building will be 160 m (525 ft) tall with 37 storeys.

Costing over £200 million, it is designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and will feature a highly distinctive, top-heavy form which appears to burst upward and outward. A large viewing deck and 'sky gardens' will be included on the top three floors; these will be open to the public.

The tower was originally proposed at nearly 200 metres tall but its design was scaled down after concerns about its visual impact on the nearby St Paul's Cathedral and Tower of London. It was subsequently approved in November 2006. Even after the height reduction there were continued concerns from heritage groups about its impact on the surrounding area. The project was subsequently the subject of a public inquiry. In July 2007, this ruled in the developers' favour, and the building was granted full planning permission.[2]

In their preliminary results for 2007, joint-developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group said 20 Fenchurch Street would be completed in 2011, however in 2009 this date was pushed back to 2014.[3][4]

It is one of a number of new tall buildings for the City of London financial area; others include The Pinnacle, the Leadenhall Building, and an as yet unnamed project at 52-54 Lime Street. Several insurance companies have agreed to become tenants of 20 Fenchurch Street upon its completion.

Previous building

The previous building at 20 Fenchurch Street was 91 m (299 ft) tall with 25 storeys and was built in 1968 by Land Securities. The architect was William H. Rogers.[5]

The building was formerly occupied by Dresdner Kleinwort and was notable for being one of the first tall buildings in the City of London, and for its distinctive roof. It was one of the towers nearest to the River Thames when viewed from the southern end of London Bridge.

In 2007, one of the upper floors was used in the drama series Party Animals.

Demolition of the building was completed in 2008. Despite the top-down method of construction, the old building was not demolished from the bottom-up, as a temporary structure was built, allowing Keltbray, the demolition contractor, to demolish the building from the top down.

Design

The new tower at 20 Fenchurch Street is designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. The top-heavy design is partly intended to maximise floor space towards the top of the building, where rent is typically higher.

It will be clad with double- and triple-glazed panelised aluminium cladding. The botanical gardens at the top of the building will be London's highest public park — marginally higher than Rickman Hill Park in Coulsdon at 155 m above sea level at its highest point. The gardens will span the top three storeys, will be accessible by two express lifts, and shall include a viewing area, terrace, café, bar and restaurant. Fourteen double-deck lifts (seven low-rise up to the 20th floor, seven high-rise above the 20th floor) will serve the main office floors of the building.

The south side of the structure will be ventilated externally to improve efficiency and decrease solar gain, whilst the east and west faces incorporate extensive solar shading. There will be a southern entrance in addition to the main northern entrance set back from Fenchurch Street.

Construction

In January 2009, piling began on the site of 20 Fenchurch Street, signalling the start of construction of the Walkie-Talkie. Piling and ground works were completed in June 2009.[6]

In January 2011, work at the basement level of the tower began.[7] By the end of October 2011, the building was rising above street-level. December 2011 saw the tower's core begin to rise.[8][9] The concrete core was topped out in March 2012 and by July the structural steelwork was under way around the core.[10] Structural steelwork topped out on 12 December 2012.[11]

Fire protection contractor Sharpfibre Ltd began applying fire protection to the structural steelwork in December 2012, completing in March 2013. Cementitious spray was applied to the steelwork, which was supplied directly to the entire building using a purpose-built mixing and pumping station located on the ground floor.[12]

During construction in the summer of 2013, concerns were raised over the reflection of light off 20 Fenchurch Street, with reports suggesting it generated a beam six times brighter than direct sunlight.[13] The reflection has reportedly damaged vehicles parked nearby, including one on Eastcheap whose owner was paid £946 for repairs by the developers, leading the media to dub the building the "Walkie-Scorchie".[14][15][16]

  • March 2012
    March 2012
  • October 2012
    October 2012
  • January 2013
    January 2013
  • April 2013
    April 2013

Tenancy

Lettings for 19 floors have been agreed as of February 2013. In June 2012 the insurer Markel Corporation signed a tenancy agreement with the developers to move into 20 Fenchurch Street upon its completion. Markel, currently based on Leadenhall Street since 2001, was the first confirmed tenant of the new tower and will occupy the 26th and 27th floors.[17]

Another insurer, Kiln Group, announced in September 2012 that it had agreed become the building's second confirmed tenant[18] and Ascot Underwriting followed in November 2012.[19] Other insurance companies that will take space in the building include RSA, Tokio Marine and Liberty Mutual.[20]

Reflecting sun beam

For two to three weeks starting at the beginning of September, the sun is in a position in the sky to be reflected from the building into an intense beam at the pavement below.[21] Turning the building into a concave mirror, this beam of sunlight is so intense it melted the plastic parts of two parked cars, and caused a bicycle seat to smolder.[21] The sun beam also ignited the carpet of a barber shop, and caused shattering of tiles outside a cafe.[22] On September 2, 2013 a the developers issued a statement saying in part, "we are...evaluating longer-term solutions to ensure the issue cannot recur in future."[21]

The building's architect, Rafael Viñoly, also designed the Vdara Hotel which has a similar problem that hotel employees call the "Vdara death ray".[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Heathcote, Edwin (4 November 2011). "Points on views". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. ^ Land Securities (2007). "LAND SECURITIES' 20 FENCHURCH STREET TOWER APPROVED" (PDF). http://www.landsecurities.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Land Securities (2007). "Land Securities Group PLC Preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2007" (PDF). http://www.landsecurities.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Land Securities (2009). "Land Securities Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2009" (PDF). http://www.landsecurities.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Times Online (2008). "William Rogers: architect of groundbreaking office towers". London: http://www.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2008. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Klettner, Andrea (19 October 2010). "Construction to start immediately on Viñoly's Walkie-Talkie". Building Design. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Construction Of Walkie-Talkie Tower Begins". Londonist. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  8. ^ http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6108/6289438745_57da31881a_b.jpg
  9. ^ http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6103/6315754111_50ce6d10e3_b.jpg
  10. ^ "20 Fenchurch Street | City of London | 160m | 36 fl | U/C - Page 318". SkyscraperCity. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  11. ^ Wainwright, Oliver (12 December 2012). "The Walkie-Talkie: battle of the bulge on Fenchurch Street". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Sharpfibre Walks The Talk And Delivers On Time". Sharpfibre. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  13. ^ Jefford, Kasmira; Waterson, James (28 August 2013). "Walkie Talkie building scorches Londoners". CITY A.M.
  14. ^ Waterson, James (2 September 2013). "Exclusive: Walkie Scorchie melted my Jag". CITY A.M.
  15. ^ Sherwin, Adam (2 September 2013). "Walkie Talkie City skyscraper renamed Walkie Scorchie after beam of light melts Jaguar car parked beneath it". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  16. ^ Marsden, Sam (2 September 2013). "Glare from Walkie-Talkie skyscraper 'damaged vehicles'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Markel moves to Walkie Talkie in 2014". Journalism.co.uk. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  18. ^ Buckley, James (14 September 2012). "LandSec/Canary confirm Kiln letting at Walkie Talkie". CoStar UK. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Insurer Amlin rents space in the Cheesegrater". The Telegraph. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Research & Forecast Report". Colliers International. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  21. ^ a b c Sherwin, Adam (2 September 2013). "Walkie Talkie City skyscraper renamed Walkie Scorchie after beam of light melts Jaguar car parked beneath it". The Independent.
  22. ^ Webb, Sam; Duell, Mark (3 September 2013). "Now the Walkie Talkie building is melting BICYCLES: Light reflected from under-construction City skyscraper scorches seat and dazzles passers by". Daily Mail.
  23. ^ "'Death ray' at Vegas hotel pool heats up guests". MSNBC. 30 September 2010.
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51°30′41″N 0°05′01″W / 51.51139°N 0.08361°W / 51.51139; -0.08361

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