In August, it emerged that investment bank UBS were planning to build a new headquarters in what would be the largest office in the Square Mile. Today, they've released the first image of what the behemoth will look like.
Located at 5 Broadgate, the development will replace two existing buildings that date from the 1980s. Though only thirteen storeys above ground, the commodious new building has 65,000 sq m of space, with some individual trading floors at 6,000 sq m, which the developers note is large enough to include an entire football stadium, should the traders want to practice their keepy-uppy skills. Design wise, the architects have gone for a brash, metallic look, and an imposing facade with a confusion of angular window-slits that fronts ungainly onto Broadgate Circle.
The unusual design is fairly typical for Make architects, the somewhat controversial practice headed by Foster + Partner alumnus Ken Shuttleworth, but has since made a dubious reputation with some 'challenging' (to put it diplomatically) projects, including this thankfully unrealised scheme near the Old Bailey.
