Gracechurch Street

The City of London planners insisted that the building fit in with the largely stone streetscape while the client desired a light, elegant building with maximum glazing. Our response was to design an elevation incorporating textured limestone panels with floating stone fins. The stone is virtually invisible from the interior while providing visual mass when viewed externally from an oblique angle.

The floors are served by four high-speed panoramic glass lifts, designed by Formation Architects. These connect to the office floors over slim platforms which project into the atrium. The themes of lightness and openness extend to the interior where careful analysis meant that only two cores were necessary, providing the maximum clear floor area wrapped around a full height atrium.