London - 20 Fenchurch Street 'Walkie-Talkie'
Skygarden
20 Fenchurch Street is a commercial skyscraper in London that takes its name from its address on Fenchurch Street, in the historic City of London financial district. It has been nicknamed 'The Walkie-Talkie' because of its distinctive shape. Construction was completed in spring 2014, and the three-floor 'sky garden' was opened in January 2015. The 38-storey building is 160 m (525 ft) tall, making it the sixth-tallest building in the City of London and the 12th tallest in greater London.
Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and costing over £200 million, 20 Fenchurch Street features a highly distinctive top-heavy form which appears to burst upward and outward. The entrance floor and 34 floors of office space are topped by a large viewing deck, bar and restaurants are included on the 35th, 36th and 37th floors; these are, with restrictions, open to the public.
The tower was originally proposed at nearly 200 m (656 ft) tall but its design was scaled down after concerns about its visual impact on the nearby St Paul's Cathedral and Tower of London. It was subsequently approved in 2006 with the revised height. Even after the height reduction there were continued concerns from heritage groups about its impact on the surrounding area. The project was consequently the subject of a public inquiry; in 2007 this ruled in the developers' favour and the building was granted full planning permission. In 2015 it was awarded the Carbuncle Cup for the worst new building in the UK in the previous 12 months.
In July 2017 the Hong Kong food company Lee Kum Kee Groups agreed to purchase the building from Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group for £1.3 billion.
The new tower at 20 Fenchurch Street was designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly in a postmodern style. The top-heavy design is partly intended to maximise floor space towards the top of the building, where rent is typically higher.
The building uses double- and triple-glazed panelized aluminium cladding on its exterior.
The 'sky garden' at the top of the building was claimed to be London's highest public park, but since opening there have been debates about whether it can be described as a 'park', and whether it is truly 'public' given the access restrictions. The garden spans the top three floors, which are accessible by two express lifts and include a large viewing area, terrace, bar and two restaurants. Fourteen double-deck lifts (seven low-rise up to the 20th floor, seven high-rise above the 20th floor) serve the main office floors of the building.
The south side of the structure is ventilated externally to improve efficiency and decrease solar gain, whilst the east and west faces incorporate extensive solar shading. There is a southern entrance in addition to the main northern entrance set back from Fenchurch Street.
The building won the Carbuncle Cup in 2015, awarded by Building Design magazine to the worst new building in the UK during the previous year. The chairman of the jury that decided the prize, Thomas Lane, said "it is a challenge finding anyone who has something positive to say about this building", whilst a town planner at the nearby Royal Town Planning Institute described the building as "a daily reminder never to let such a planning disaster ever happen again.
During the building's construction, it was discovered that for a period of up to two hours each day if the sun shines directly onto the building, it acts as a concave mirror and focuses light onto the streets to the south. Spot temperature readings at street-level including up to 91 °C (196 °F) and 117 °C (243 °F) were observed during summer 2013, when the reflection of a beam of light up to six times brighter than direct sunlight shining onto the streets beneath damaged parked vehicles, including one on Eastcheap whose owner was paid £946 by the developers for repairs to melted bodywork. Temperatures in direct line with the reflection became so intense that a reporter for the newspaper City A.M. was able to fry an egg in a pan set out on the ground. The reflection also burned or scorched the doormat of a shop in the affected area. The media responded by dubbing the building the "Walkie-Scorchie" and "Fryscraper".
In September 2013, the developers stated that the City of London Corporation had approved plans to erect temporary screening on the streets to prevent similar incidents, and that they were also "evaluating longer-term solutions to ensure the issue cannot recur in future". In May 2014, it was announced that a permanent awning would be installed on the south side of the higher floors of the tower.
The building's architect, Rafael Viñoly, also designed the Vdara hotel in Las Vegas which has a similar sunlight reflection problem that some employees called the "Vdara death ray". The glass has since been covered with a non-reflective film.
In an interview with The Guardian, Viñoly said that horizontal louvre windows on the south side that had been intended to prevent this problem were removed at some point during the planning process. While he conceded that there had been "a lot of mistakes" with the building, he agreed with the building's developers that the sun was too high in the sky on that particular day. "[I] didn't realise it was going to be so hot," he said, suggesting that global warming was at fault. "When I first came to London years ago, it wasn't like this ... Now you have all these sunny days."
The 'sky garden' has been criticised since opening for the tight restrictions and advance booking requirements placed on the visiting public, and for failing to meet pre-construction expectations of the extent and quality of the "garden". Oliver Wainright, architecture critic of The Guardian, described it as "a meagre pair of rockeries, in a space designed with all the finesse of a departure lounge".
The City of London Corporation's former chief planner, Peter Rees, who approved the structure, said: "I think calling it a sky garden is perhaps misleading. If people [are] expecting to visit it as an alternative to Kew, then they will be disappointed." In July 2015 it was reported that planners are to consider a landscape architect's alterations to the layout, following claims it is not consistent with illustrations submitted with the original planning application. The 'sky garden' was a key feature in sealing approval for the building, which is situated outside the main cluster of skyscrapers in the City.
In July 2015 it was reported that the building has had an unexpected impact on wind strength at street-level. The City of London Corporation received an increased number of complaints about draughts around 20 Fenchurch Street following its completion. The Corporation's head of design, Gwyn Richards, said: "The wind outcome at street level experienced post-construction on a number of projects differs somewhat to the conditions we were expecting from the one outlined in the planning application wind assessments."
(Wikipedia)
20 Fenchurch Street ist ein Hochhaus in der Fenchurch Street in der City of London. Es wird angesichts seiner Form auch als The Walkie-Talkie bzw. The Pint (engl.: das Bierglas) bezeichnet. Ursprünglich war eine Höhe von 200 m geplant; diese wurde jedoch aufgrund der Nähe zur St Paul’s Cathedral und dem Tower of London auf 160 m reduziert. Im Jahr 2015 wurde das Gebäude mit dem Carbuncle Cup ausgezeichnet, einem Preis für das hässlichste Gebäude, das in den letzten zwölf Monaten im Vereinigten Königreich fertiggestellt wurde.
Auf der obersten Etage des Hochhauses befindet sich eine für die Öffentlichkeit zugängliche große Aussichtsplattform, inmitten derer sich außerdem die Sky Gardens befinden.
Das Vorgängergebäude war ein 25-stöckiges Hochhaus des Architekten William H. Rogers, erbaut 1968. Es war eines der ersten Hochhäuser in der City of London.
Das Gebäude wurde vom uruguayischen Architekten Rafael Viñoly entworfen.
Nach oben hin vergrößern sich stetig die Flächen der Stockwerke, sodass die oberste Etage weit über den Grundriss des Gebäudes hinausragt. Hierdurch wird eine Maximierung der Flächen der oberen Etagen ermöglicht, die höhere Mieteinnahmen als die unteren generieren. Da nur die Südseite von direktem Sonnenlicht getroffen wird, ermöglicht eine Belüftung der Fassade eine effiziente Klimatisierung des Gebäudes, während West- und Ostseite weitestgehend im Schatten liegen.
Die Krümmung der Glasfassade hatte während der Bauzeit zur Folge, dass reflektierte Sonneneinstrahlung an bestimmten Stellen in der Umgebung so stark gebündelt auftrat, dass z. B. Kunststoff an geparkten Autos beschädigt wurde. Daher wurden mehrere Parkplätze gesperrt. Daraufhin wurden auf der Südseite Lamellen angebracht, die Sonnenlichtreflexionen verhindern. Ein ähnliches Problem tritt beim ebenfalls von Rafael Viñoly entworfenen Hotel Vdara in Las Vegas auf.
Der dreistöckige botanische Garten „Sky Garden“ auf dem Dach ist Londons höchster öffentlicher Park. Der Zutritt ist gratis, aber es ist eine Voranmeldung nötig.
(Wikipedia)
London - 20 Fenchurch Street 'Walkie-Talkie'
Skygarden
20 Fenchurch Street is a commercial skyscraper in London that takes its name from its address on Fenchurch Street, in the historic City of London financial district. It has been nicknamed 'The Walkie-Talkie' because of its distinctive shape. Construction was completed in spring 2014, and the three-floor 'sky garden' was opened in January 2015. The 38-storey building is 160 m (525 ft) tall, making it the sixth-tallest building in the City of London and the 12th tallest in greater London.
Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and costing over £200 million, 20 Fenchurch Street features a highly distinctive top-heavy form which appears to burst upward and outward. The entrance floor and 34 floors of office space are topped by a large viewing deck, bar and restaurants are included on the 35th, 36th and 37th floors; these are, with restrictions, open to the public.
The tower was originally proposed at nearly 200 m (656 ft) tall but its design was scaled down after concerns about its visual impact on the nearby St Paul's Cathedral and Tower of London. It was subsequently approved in 2006 with the revised height. Even after the height reduction there were continued concerns from heritage groups about its impact on the surrounding area. The project was consequently the subject of a public inquiry; in 2007 this ruled in the developers' favour and the building was granted full planning permission. In 2015 it was awarded the Carbuncle Cup for the worst new building in the UK in the previous 12 months.
In July 2017 the Hong Kong food company Lee Kum Kee Groups agreed to purchase the building from Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group for £1.3 billion.
The new tower at 20 Fenchurch Street was designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly in a postmodern style. The top-heavy design is partly intended to maximise floor space towards the top of the building, where rent is typically higher.
The building uses double- and triple-glazed panelized aluminium cladding on its exterior.
The 'sky garden' at the top of the building was claimed to be London's highest public park, but since opening there have been debates about whether it can be described as a 'park', and whether it is truly 'public' given the access restrictions. The garden spans the top three floors, which are accessible by two express lifts and include a large viewing area, terrace, bar and two restaurants. Fourteen double-deck lifts (seven low-rise up to the 20th floor, seven high-rise above the 20th floor) serve the main office floors of the building.
The south side of the structure is ventilated externally to improve efficiency and decrease solar gain, whilst the east and west faces incorporate extensive solar shading. There is a southern entrance in addition to the main northern entrance set back from Fenchurch Street.
The building won the Carbuncle Cup in 2015, awarded by Building Design magazine to the worst new building in the UK during the previous year. The chairman of the jury that decided the prize, Thomas Lane, said "it is a challenge finding anyone who has something positive to say about this building", whilst a town planner at the nearby Royal Town Planning Institute described the building as "a daily reminder never to let such a planning disaster ever happen again.
During the building's construction, it was discovered that for a period of up to two hours each day if the sun shines directly onto the building, it acts as a concave mirror and focuses light onto the streets to the south. Spot temperature readings at street-level including up to 91 °C (196 °F) and 117 °C (243 °F) were observed during summer 2013, when the reflection of a beam of light up to six times brighter than direct sunlight shining onto the streets beneath damaged parked vehicles, including one on Eastcheap whose owner was paid £946 by the developers for repairs to melted bodywork. Temperatures in direct line with the reflection became so intense that a reporter for the newspaper City A.M. was able to fry an egg in a pan set out on the ground. The reflection also burned or scorched the doormat of a shop in the affected area. The media responded by dubbing the building the "Walkie-Scorchie" and "Fryscraper".
In September 2013, the developers stated that the City of London Corporation had approved plans to erect temporary screening on the streets to prevent similar incidents, and that they were also "evaluating longer-term solutions to ensure the issue cannot recur in future". In May 2014, it was announced that a permanent awning would be installed on the south side of the higher floors of the tower.
The building's architect, Rafael Viñoly, also designed the Vdara hotel in Las Vegas which has a similar sunlight reflection problem that some employees called the "Vdara death ray". The glass has since been covered with a non-reflective film.
In an interview with The Guardian, Viñoly said that horizontal louvre windows on the south side that had been intended to prevent this problem were removed at some point during the planning process. While he conceded that there had been "a lot of mistakes" with the building, he agreed with the building's developers that the sun was too high in the sky on that particular day. "[I] didn't realise it was going to be so hot," he said, suggesting that global warming was at fault. "When I first came to London years ago, it wasn't like this ... Now you have all these sunny days."
The 'sky garden' has been criticised since opening for the tight restrictions and advance booking requirements placed on the visiting public, and for failing to meet pre-construction expectations of the extent and quality of the "garden". Oliver Wainright, architecture critic of The Guardian, described it as "a meagre pair of rockeries, in a space designed with all the finesse of a departure lounge".
The City of London Corporation's former chief planner, Peter Rees, who approved the structure, said: "I think calling it a sky garden is perhaps misleading. If people [are] expecting to visit it as an alternative to Kew, then they will be disappointed." In July 2015 it was reported that planners are to consider a landscape architect's alterations to the layout, following claims it is not consistent with illustrations submitted with the original planning application. The 'sky garden' was a key feature in sealing approval for the building, which is situated outside the main cluster of skyscrapers in the City.
In July 2015 it was reported that the building has had an unexpected impact on wind strength at street-level. The City of London Corporation received an increased number of complaints about draughts around 20 Fenchurch Street following its completion. The Corporation's head of design, Gwyn Richards, said: "The wind outcome at street level experienced post-construction on a number of projects differs somewhat to the conditions we were expecting from the one outlined in the planning application wind assessments."
(Wikipedia)
20 Fenchurch Street ist ein Hochhaus in der Fenchurch Street in der City of London. Es wird angesichts seiner Form auch als The Walkie-Talkie bzw. The Pint (engl.: das Bierglas) bezeichnet. Ursprünglich war eine Höhe von 200 m geplant; diese wurde jedoch aufgrund der Nähe zur St Paul’s Cathedral und dem Tower of London auf 160 m reduziert. Im Jahr 2015 wurde das Gebäude mit dem Carbuncle Cup ausgezeichnet, einem Preis für das hässlichste Gebäude, das in den letzten zwölf Monaten im Vereinigten Königreich fertiggestellt wurde.
Auf der obersten Etage des Hochhauses befindet sich eine für die Öffentlichkeit zugängliche große Aussichtsplattform, inmitten derer sich außerdem die Sky Gardens befinden.
Das Vorgängergebäude war ein 25-stöckiges Hochhaus des Architekten William H. Rogers, erbaut 1968. Es war eines der ersten Hochhäuser in der City of London.
Das Gebäude wurde vom uruguayischen Architekten Rafael Viñoly entworfen.
Nach oben hin vergrößern sich stetig die Flächen der Stockwerke, sodass die oberste Etage weit über den Grundriss des Gebäudes hinausragt. Hierdurch wird eine Maximierung der Flächen der oberen Etagen ermöglicht, die höhere Mieteinnahmen als die unteren generieren. Da nur die Südseite von direktem Sonnenlicht getroffen wird, ermöglicht eine Belüftung der Fassade eine effiziente Klimatisierung des Gebäudes, während West- und Ostseite weitestgehend im Schatten liegen.
Die Krümmung der Glasfassade hatte während der Bauzeit zur Folge, dass reflektierte Sonneneinstrahlung an bestimmten Stellen in der Umgebung so stark gebündelt auftrat, dass z. B. Kunststoff an geparkten Autos beschädigt wurde. Daher wurden mehrere Parkplätze gesperrt. Daraufhin wurden auf der Südseite Lamellen angebracht, die Sonnenlichtreflexionen verhindern. Ein ähnliches Problem tritt beim ebenfalls von Rafael Viñoly entworfenen Hotel Vdara in Las Vegas auf.
Der dreistöckige botanische Garten „Sky Garden“ auf dem Dach ist Londons höchster öffentlicher Park. Der Zutritt ist gratis, aber es ist eine Voranmeldung nötig.
(Wikipedia)