British Land Announce Cheesegrater Start

British Land Announce Cheesegrater Start

In a move that surprises no-one, British Land have announced to investors that they will definitely be building the Leadenhall Building at 122 Leadenhall Street in the City of London just as soon as they have cleared the current site.

First revealed by this site back in 2003 and nicknamed "the Cheesegrater" by us, the 225 metre tall tower will be the tallest building in the City when completed. The distinctive wedge-shaped skyscraper has been designed Richard Rogers and will contain 58,856 square metres of space inside.

Presently the location of the project is occupied by an older building that is being demolished. Demolition itself isn't a rare thing but the way this one is being done by the contractor, McGee, has raised eyebrows thanks to the unusual methods being used.

The lower floors of 122 Leadenhall Street have been completely demolished leaving the upper floors in place, supported by the central core and structural strength of the roof creating the impression there's a huge Borg cube that's invaded London.

The removal of the lower floors and the basements will allow them to build the new Leadenhall Building by laying the piling works and detensioning beams for the core whilst simultaneously demolishing the existing structure. This helps to avoid the usual lengthy time delays, sometimes stretching a year, developers experience when getting rid of an old, large building and shows just how eager British Land are to get in before other developers and have their latest scheme finished.

It comes hot on the heels of the other two towers they already have under construction in the City, the Willis Building which is being built to the specification of the insurance group it takes its name after, and the Broadgate Tower development which is being constructed speculatively and is largely pre-let.

British Land are also working on Ropemaker Place and it's expected they"ll add another tall building to their pipeline in 2008 with the redevelopment of a plot in the Broadgate Centre.

The Leadenhall Building is expected to cost British Land £286 million to build. Giving an idea of how much costs have gone up in building since then, back in 2004 it was announced that construction would cost a mere £194 million.

Arup are the structural engineer and Bovis Lend Lease will be the main contractor with completion for delivery to tenants expected by British Land in the first quarter of 2011.

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Coin Street Community Builders have had their tower planned for Doon Street redesigned following complaints about the height and design of it, falling victim like many other developers to a trend of downscaling tall residential buildings in London.

Worked on by architect Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands it was previously 168 metres tall, had 47 floors and 355 apartments within. With four floors sliced off it will now be only 140 metres tall, a relatively minor height reduction but one that should make it almost invisible from vantage points such as Somerset House, 43 floors and 329 apartments.

The cumulative effect of this trend over similarly sized developments throughout central London is reducing the potential housing stock by several hundred apartments per year every year at a time when they are all desparately needed.charms
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