Second Tallest Tower in City of London Given Approval

Plans to build the second tallest tower in the City of London are set to go ahead after planning officers approved the scheme.

Now known as the Trellis, 1 Undershaft has been recommended for approval, with the decision to get a formal approval from the City of London Corporation’s planning and transport next week.

In February, Eric Parry Architects submitted plans for the 73-storey tower skyscraper.

Measured from the ground, the office block will stand at 294.6 metres in height, which is just a few metres shorter than Renzo Piano’s 306 metre Shard across the river.

When calculated from sea level, the buildings are even closer in height, with the new towers standing at 309.6 metres in height and the Shard at 312.7 metres.

Situated next to Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ recently completed Cheesegrater building, the scheme will replace the so-called Aviva Tower, which was formerly the Commercial Union Building – a 118 metre-tall Miesian block by GMW dating from 1969.

Eric Parry Architects’ 90,000 sq m proposal is backed by Singapore based Aroland Holdings and will feature external cross-bracing fins to reduce solar glare and an elevated reception lobby ‘allowing the public to walk freely beneath the skyscraper’.

The proposals, which went out to consultation in December, include a free public viewing gallery ’served by dedicated lifts’ and London’s highest public restaurant. The original designs for a new public square were revised in response to feedback from the public.

Last month it emerged that Parry’s 1 Undershaft plans had been lowered by 5m to comply with airspace concerns flaggged by aviation authorities, giving the new building a height of 304.94m. The new height will make the tower just over 70m taller than the Leadenhall Building, and 10m taller than PLP’s tower at 22 Bishopsgate which got the green light from its backers last month.