Broadgate Tower For Spec Build

Following last week's exclusive on a new tower at 201 Bishopsgate and speculation on this site two days ago it would begin, British Land have announced they will build the project, the Broadgate Tower, speculatively.

Previously British Land had proposed a midrise occupying the whole site which had been approved by the planning authorities however this was never built thanks to the lack of demand. This design has now been scrapped and the site split in two.

The Broadgate Tower which will be 31 floors for office accomodation, a 3 storey lobby plus 1 plant floor and towering to a height 164.3m above ground level, is designed by Skidmore Owings and Merril. Developer British Land say it is set to be the next skyscraper for the City of London with construction timetabled to start in 2005 and completion scheduled for 2008.

The design itself is very Chicago and clearly harks back to previous S.O.M designs such as the John Hancock Center with the diagonal crossbracing running all the way up the fascades of the tower. White in colour, these crossbraces are designed to provide a visual contrast with the darker bluer reflective glass cladding behind it.

The actual shape of the tower, which has been designed for multiple smaller lets CityPoint style, is a four-sided figure with opposite sides parallel, in essence a parallelogram.

In addition to the tower will be a neighbouring 12 floor midrise called 201 Bishopsgate curving around the corner of the plot and a part continuation of what has been planned previously for the site. This in particular has changed substantially from the design published on this site last week a previous design as many of the curves are gone and its generally sharper and less rounded.

These two buildings will be joined together by a central atrium with a public plaza under it supported by impressive half vaulting which will provide both a link between them, and a pedestrian walkway through the development.

There will be some attempt to bring life into the ground level around the development, something many projects in the City of London fail to do but which has been done with great success in the neighbouring Broadgate Centre, by introducing 900 sq m of retail and leisure facilities in the base of 201 Broadgate and a separate 370 sq m retail pavillion.

Significantly, they represent the final phase of the massive Broadgate project which began in the mid 1980s and will mark the north eastern extent of the city cluster as well as create a noticeable landmark which will stamp the Broadgate Estate's profile on the skyline.

Between them the buildings will contain 76,923 sq m of space split into 37,161 sq m for Broadgate Tower and 39,483 sq m for the 12 floor midrise making it the largest speculatively built project in London.

Clearly British Land expect the tower and its shorter neighbour to be ready in time for the next predicted property cycle which is expected to peak around the 2008 mark with space required for tens of thousands of new jobs in the City of London alone.

It marks the latest in a number of projects getting off the ground in the City of London including the Willis Building at 51 Lime Street and Ropemaker Place on the northern fringes literally over the road from the City in Islington which show after a quiet period things are finally hotting up again.