London Skyscrapers

London's Tallest Buildings

Reaching For The Sky - London's Skyscrapers

London reaches for the sky. — High-rise buildings tower over St Paul's Cathedral in London

London is becoming an increasingly vertical city, especially in the City, the financial district of the capital. We introduce some of London's tallest buildings.

The Shard

The Shard, originally known as the London Bridge Tower, is a 95 story high skyscraper forming part of the London Bridge Quarter Development. It is the tallest building in the UK and also the fourth tallest building in all of Europe. The privately operated observation deck called "The View From The Shard" has been open to the public since 2013 and gives visitors a fantastic view of the city of London. The project's architect is Renzo Piano and he designed the Shard as a spire-like sculpture that was emerging from the River Thames. One of the surprising facts about the Shard is that 95% of the construction materials come from recycled sources. The Shard currently has 306 flights of stairs available for visitors courageous enough to tackle the towering skyscraper on foot. They also have the option to take the elevator up to the top floor, however.

Walkie Talkie

The skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street is nicknamed the Walkie Talkie due to its unusual shape resembling an old-school portable radio transceiver. The building was designed by Uruguayan architect, Rafael Vinoly, and was completed in 2013. The Walkie Talkie has frequently been called the worst building in the UK despite the fact that it cost over 200 million pounds in construction. Originally, the Walkie Talkie was meant to be 656 feet tall but was scaled down due to concern about its visual impact on the nearby St Paul's Cathedral and Tower of London. The structure curves outward toward the top of the building in order to maximize the high-value space at the upper levels. Visitors are highly recommended to visit the top of the tower that is home to the sky garden, set over the 35th, 36th and 37th floors. The sky garden gives visitors an uninterrupted view of the city of London while being surrounded by beautiful and exotic greenery. Due to the high numbers of visitors per day, bookings should be made for a visit far in advance.

Canary Wharf Tower

Canary Wharf Tower, located at 1, Canada Square, Canary Wharf, is used primarily for offices with some lower floors featuring retail units. The building gains its name from the once abundant sea trade on the West India Trade Docks with the Canary Islands. From 1990 to 2010, Canary Wharf Tower was the tallest building in the UK until it was surpassed by the Shard in 2012. The architect, Cesar Pelli, designed the skyscraper in 1990 inspired by earlier precedents such as: Brookfield Place and Elizabeth Tower and the building is covered with high resistance stainless steel. The most distinctive feature of the Canary Wharf, the sharp pyramid shaped pinnacle, is 800 feet above sea level. The mallincludes three different shopping malls including: Canada Place, Cabot Place and Jubilee Place. The Canary Wharf Tube station lies within easy reach of the tower for visitors. Amazingly, the Canary Wharf tube station is big enough for the entire tower to lie down horizontally and possesses over 20 escalators.

Heron Tower

Heron Tower is the tallest building in the London commercial district and is located at 110 Bishopsgate, London. The building was completed in 2011 and is formally known as Heron International. The interior of Heron Tower features a concierge style entrance and a 70,000 litre fish aquarium that is home to over 1,200 fish. This aquarium is the largest privately owned aquarium in the UK with an entirely sustainable ecosystem. A bar-restaurant, called the Drift, is on the first floor and is popular with first time and seasoned visitors for its laid back atmosphere and handcrafted cocktails. The building is known for being environmentally friendly due to its use of photovoltaic cells to generate energy using solar power. The Heron Tower has been awarded the highest BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating of "excellent". At the very top of the tower is the restaurant and sky bar where visitors can enjoy the panoramic view of the city while enjoying a luxurious dinner and drinks.

The Leadenhall Building

The Leadenhall Building, known informally as the "Cheesegrater" for its wedge-like shape, is one of the newest skyscrapers built in the London financial district. In 2017, the building was sold to a Chinese business tycoon for 1.15 billion pounds, becoming the second biggest sale in UK building history. The building leans away from St Paul's Cathedral so as to avoid blocking the view of St Paul's and other historical sites in the area. The Leadenhall building is 224 meters high and is now completely leased by financial companies. This building is extremely unusual in that it possesses no central core like most other skyscrapers, but instead makes use of a tube structural perimeter envelope that allows the building to have an external support core. On the ground level, there is a 28 meter high open public space that pedestrians can access the building through.

Tower 42

Tower 42, commonly referred to as the NatWest Tower, is located at 25 Old Broad Street and is the third tallest building in London at present. It derives its name from originally being the National Westminster Bank's international headquarters. The tower was formally opened in 1981 by Queen Elizabeth the Second. The tower cost approximately £278 million in construction costs when we take into account inflation today. There are grade A office spaces and restaurant facilities throughout the building for visitors to enjoy. NatWest Tower was the first skyscraper to be built in London to international standards and represented a huge departure from the previous restrictions on tall buildings in London in the 1980's. Tower 42 is also known for having one of London's tallest LED lighting displays seen during the London Olympics when they displayed the intertwined five rings for all to see.

St George Wharf Tower

St George Wharf Tower (aka Vauxhall Tower) is the tallest residential building in the UK and also the eighth tallest building in London. Located in Vauxhall, London, the building is part of the St George Wharf development. Interestingly, the tower's floor plan is based on the design of a Catherine Wheel, a type of firework consisting of a powder filled spiral tube giving out bright sparks. The sky garden allows residents to have easy access to semi-outdoor spaces where they can lounge within view of exotic flowers and plants. The tower's location right next to the River Thames also gives residents a excellent view of the city skyline and river. The majority of the apartments have been purchased by the super rich from overseas.

30 St Mary Axe

30 St Mary Axe, known popularly as the Gherkin, is a commercial skyscraper that is located in London's main financial district, The City. The building has become one of the most iconic features of the city of London and stands as an example of contemporary London architecture. One of London's highest bar and restaurants is in the Gherkin, standing a lofty 180 meters higher than the restaurants in the Shard or 20 Fenchurch Street. The Gherkin has an astonishing 24,000 square meters of glass forming its exterior, which is roughly the equivalent of five football pitches. Another fascinating fact about the Gherkin is that the remains of a young Roman girl were found at its base at the very beginning of construction and reburied there upon completion of the skyscraper.

High rise London in 2023 seen from south of the river with Millennium Bridge in the foreground. — High-rise London in 2023 seen from south of the river with Millennium Bridge in the foreground

Broadgate Tower

Broadgate Tower is one of the newer skyscrapers located in the Broadgate development in London, having been built between 2005 and 2009. The building stands as a landmark to the northern entrance of the city and offers high quality office spaces to financial companies such as Adapt PLC and Dickson Minto. It was built at an estimated cost of £240 million, and was designed by the architects: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

Strata SE1

Strata SE1, also known as the Electric Razor, is located at Elephant and Castle in the London Borough of Southwark. It is currently one of the tallest residential buildings in all of London with more than 1,000 residents currently residing there. The building is comprised of 43 stories and is popular to its residents for the unobstructed and spectacular view of the city it provides. Strata SE1 is the first building in the world to incorporate wind turbines into its structure to promote sustainability. The electricity generated by the turbines are used to supplement the landlord's supply for the common area of the building. This eco-friendly new luxury residential building in London divides opinion having won a number of awards for its architecture and design as well as being nominated as one of the ugliest buildings in the capital.

Lloyd's Building

The Lloyd's Building is a somewhat older and shorter tower block that no longer gets much limelight but which is equally fascinating.

The Lloyd's Building was completed in 1986 after a rather lengthy period of construction that lasted 34 years.

The most striking thing about its appearance is that the guts of the building, the staircases, elevators, and all the pipes and ducts that carry power, water, heating, ventilation, etc are on the exterior of the building rather than the more usual central core of a structure. What this provides is of course a more spacious, open interior.

BT Tower

The BT Tower in Fitzrovia is one of the oldest of the capital's tall buildings. It is located near Warren Street and Euston Square tube stations to the west of Tottenham Court Road. 177 metres in height, the BT Tower was completed in 1965 and was designed by architects Eric Bedford and G. R. Yeats. The BT Tower has gone through a number of name changes in its history. It has been variously known as the Post Office Tower, the London Telecom Tower, and the British Telecom Tower.

No. 7 More London Riverside

No. 7 More London Riverside is the location of a gleaming, glass-sheathed, modern commercial building on the south bank of the River Thames in central London. Welcome to the Batman Building. Across the internet, on social media sites, it has earned several nicknames, all with Batman themes like The Batman Building, The Bat Building, and Wayne Enterprises, etc. The reason is obvious from the photo above, as from a certain viewpoint a combination of shadow and reflection causes shapes very similar to the logo of the famous comic book and blockbuster movie franchise hero.

Heron Tower

Heron Tower is the second tallest building in The City financial district and in the top ten tallest buildings in London. It is 230 meters (755 feet) tall including its 28-meter(92 feet) mast. It was completed in 2011 after fours years in construction. Tenants include various law firms, stockbrokers and software companies. It is a short walk south from Liverpool Street Station and close to St Paul's Cathedral.

Twentytwo

22 Bishopsgate aka Twentytwo is a prominent skyscraper located in London's financial district. Standing at a height of 278 meters, the tower has 62 storeys in total. Originally began as the Pinnacle, the skyscraper was redesigned and rebranded as 22 Bishopsgate. It offers a mix of office spaces, retail areas, and a public viewing gallery on the 58th floor, providing panoramic views of London. Completed in 2020, 22 Bishopsgate incorporates sustainable features, including energy-efficient systems and green spaces.

London's Rooftop Gardens