Revised plans submitted for joint tallest building in Western Europe

Eric Parry Architects have put forward revised plans for the One Undershaft tower in central London. A planning application for the project was first submitted to the City of London authority in 2016. The revised plans would make it the joint tallest building in the UK.

At nearly 290 m tall it was originally planned be one of the tallest skyscrapers in Western Europe. The revised plans add an extra storey and 20m in height, which would make it as tall as Renzo Piano’s Shard which is in the same area of London.

According to a statement from the architects, “the notable increases in the desire for more wellbeing-led office space, and the City of London Corporation’s new ‘Destination City’ initiative, the development team have taken the opportunity to reconsider their approach. The new proposals deliver a more wellbeing-led commercial space, with high-quality external spaces, public opens spaces, improved sustainability and a cultural and creative offer.”

The new larger design, which is backed by Singaporean developer Aroland Holdings, provides 160,000 sq. m. of office space and a further 20,000 sq. m. of additional space, including publicly accessible space.

The plans include the demolition of the 28-storey Aviva Tower, which was built in the 1960s. The new planning application states the redesigned 1 Undershaft tower ‘follows a re-evaluation and response to the post-pandemic needs, revised market demands, and the changing context and aspirations of the City of London’.

Image: DBOX for EPA