Walkie Talkie: A Visit To 20 Fenchurch Street

M@
By M@ Last edited 147 months ago

Last Updated 20 September 2012

Walkie Talkie: A Visit To 20 Fenchurch Street
20fc.jpg
Artist's impression of the Skygarden.
Artist's impression of the Skygarden.
The City cluster, with the emerging Cheesegrater building in the middle, as seen from the 17th floor.
The City cluster, with the emerging Cheesegrater building in the middle, as seen from the 17th floor.
Your plucky editor on the top floor.
Your plucky editor on the top floor.
The building's outward curve can clearly be seen on this shot from the construction hoist.
The building's outward curve can clearly be seen on this shot from the construction hoist.
Fans of unusual juxtapositions are going to have a field day with this view.
Fans of unusual juxtapositions are going to have a field day with this view.
The 17th floor.
The 17th floor.
Looking down on Lloyds and its rarely seen glass roof.
Looking down on Lloyds and its rarely seen glass roof.
Spider crane, spider crane, does whatever a spider crane does.
Spider crane, spider crane, does whatever a spider crane does.
The building as seen from the river.
The building as seen from the river.
It's a long way down.
It's a long way down.
Which tower will win the battle of the views?
Which tower will win the battle of the views?

Have you heard of 20 Fenchurch Street, the "Building with more up top"? A quick straw poll of friends and colleagues suggests that this new London skyscraper has yet to work its way into the popular consciousness. It will, though.

Three things set it apart from any other tower in the city.

  • It's fatter at the top than the bottom, leaning out 13 metres at the top. The bulbous shape has earned it the nickname of the Walkie Talkie.
  • It's set apart from the main cluster of tall buildings in the City, and is closer to the Thames. So, despite being marginally shorter than the Gherkin, it looms over the river like it owns the place.
  • It'll have a public 'Skygarden' on the upper floors, offering hilltop-like views at the top of an office block. What's more, the Skygarden will be free, as a condition of the planning consent. Expect countless articles in 2014 comparing the views between the Walkie Talkie and the Shard.

The tower reached its final floor height (38 storeys) several months ago, its naked core lurking over the City like a monstrous inedible biscuit. The final shape is only now beginning to emerge, as the steel floor plates climb towards the top. It's a complex, curvy form, designed by architect Rafael Vinoly, that developers say couldn't have been designed or built without modern 3D modelling software.

It hardly needs to be said, but the views from the top are pretty special. The main City cluster, with Lloyds, Willis, Gherkin, Heron, Tower 42 and the growing Cheesegrater, looks almost huggable from this perspective, while the other sides offer views of the West End, East End and across the river to the Shard. The Skygarden, due to open at the back end of 2014, is sure to be the hottest free ticket in town.

Most of the tower will be taken up with office space. Despite the ongoing economic doldrums, developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group have had some success in attracting tenants, with 19% of the space pre-let. The variable floor plates are an attraction, allowing different sized companies to snuggle in.  The developers are also banking on an exodus from the estimated 10 million square feet of floorspace up for lease renewal elsewhere in the City between 2014 and 2016.

With its unique shape and unique views, everyone's going to have an opinion on this building.

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