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'Say no to Walkie Talkie tower'
By Mira Bar-Hillel, Evening Standard Last updated at 10:39am on 01.03.07
Blight: this image of the 525ft Walkie Talkie tower was released by English Heritage today as it demanded a veto on new skyscrapers being built
Conservation chiefs today launched all-out war on London's skyscrapers warning they would blight the city's historic skyline.
English Heritage demanded a veto on new skyscrapers being built between the City of London and Canary Wharf.
Today it will announce plans for a new protected view from Waterloo bridge, looking east, which could spell the end for the controversial "Walkie-Talkie" tower.
The conservation group unveiled new pictures of how it thought the 525ft tower would damage the skyline - just days before a public inquiry into the plans.
The objections to the "Walkie-Talkie" scheme are part of a broader campaign against skyscrapers which could damage London's protected views.
In a statement to the Evening Standard, the Government's conservation advisors described the tower as a "brutally dominant expression of commercial floor space".
They add: "The building's height and top-heavy, oppressive form will have a damaging impact on London's historic environment, particularly on the panorama experienced from Waterloo Bridge, which is one of the Mayor's protected views, and on the Tower of London World Heritage Site.
"The building will stand isolated from the tall buildings proposed-within the City's Eastern Cluster, forming an unwelcome distraction on the skyline."
A public inquiry into the plans, from developer Land Securities, will begin next Tuesday.
Proposals for the 37-storey tower at 20 Fenchurch Street were submitteed last March and approved by the City's planning committee in September.
But the tower is situated outside the Corporation of London's designated tall building cluster, which is centred on Bishopsgate and Leadenhall Street and an inquiry was ordered by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly last November.
She wants a professional inspector to examine:
• the appropriateness of this location for a very tall building
• the impact on the Tower of London World Heritage Site
• its impact on the skyline of London, including views of St Paul's Cathedral
• and whether the proposals comply with relevant planning policy.
The developers, Land Securities, said they were "baffled" by her decision.
Mike Hussey of Land Securities said: "We are very surprised and felt that we had covered all the bases.
"It's a beautiful building and an asset that London will benefit from."
The "Walkie Talkie", so dubbed for its concave shape, has already had to be reduced by 115 feet to safeguard historic views of St Pauls Cathedral, although Mayor Ken Livingstone preferred the original 45-storey proposal.
Ironically, the most oppressive view of the Walkie Talkie will be from Mr Livingstone' own City Hall, which is almost directly across the river.
The innovative design by architect Raphael Viñoly, which is bigger at the top than at street level, features a public "Sky Garden" at the top of the building.
Reader views (18)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Walkie talkies went out of fashion in the 80s. Unless you're blind, this resembles an already out of date overweight mobile phone (think Nokia from 2003). I love change, new skylines, moving forward and I also love all of the proposed skyscrapers for London's near future; The Shard, The Pinnacle amongst others. Yet this is an absolute monstrosity. What a shame that this seems to have been given the go ahead. I'll have to move to Milton Keynes for a more fetching skyline now. Well done the bozos that said yes.
- Luke, London, London UK
This sort of adventurous and imposing architecture should be limited to sites like Canary Wharf, I'm all for skyscrapers, but those that are planned for the city should be of a particularly high standard, with greater attention paid the the street level frontages and their effect on the surroundings and cityscape. The Gherkin has gelled perfectly with its surroundings, enhancing the skyline, others such as the Bishopsgate and Leadenhall towers are of a similar quality. Canary wharf is the blank canvas, use that for experimentation and boosting egos. When skyscrapers aren't just out your window or down the road as in Thatcham village, then the attitude above of 'build all you can' has no consequence.
- Matt, London
I like it. The more skyscrapers the better. Skylines change and so progress marches on.
- Matt Whitby, Thatcham, Berkshire
Looks like an opportunity for some architect to get a knighthood or peerage (if he/she hasn't got one already) for being 'bold' and 'brave' - while the rest of us have to suffer this carbuncle on the skyline for generations to come. Whoever designed this is simply trying to show off and make a name for themselves - and those who might allow it to be built should think responsibly.
- Martin, Beckenham, UK
'The War' against London skyscrapers is lost - this article sounds like something from thirty years ago, which is hardly surprising.
There are currently 5 towers ranging from 27 to 48 floors under construction in the City and Canary wharf - however these will be dwarfed by a new crop of super talls all of which are to begin construction this year.
The tower in question here - the 'walkie-talkie' is actually a re-design and is lower than that first put forward - interestingly English Heritage had nothing to say about the original proposal, maybe the recent UNESCO nonsense about protecting buildings that are barely visible on the skyline has stung them in to action, personally I think English Heritage should use their scarce resources to renovate and keep up sites of interest instead of their endless legal battles against modern buildings.
- Chest, London England
There are some excellent designs for new skyscrapers in the City of London, but both the location and the form of this building are totally inappropriate and it should not be built.
The strange inverted form clashes badly with both existing towers (Tower 42, Swiss Re Building) and towers in development (Bishopsgate, Leadenhall Street etc) all of which feature a tapered form, narrowing as the buildings rises, which is I believe the most aesthetically pleasing for a skyscraper. The City of London and architects should be working to integrate the design of the high rise cluster, instead of allowing an 'anthing goes' architectural mishmash.
The other problem is that it's closer to the river than the other towers and so becomes very dominant as seen from the South Bank and London's bridges, even though it is lower than the rest of the City cluster.
- Duncan Smith, London, UK
20 Fenchurch street tower, or the 'walkie talkie' is certainly not the best skyscraper London will have to offer, but not only is it significantly better than what is there, it will also create jobs and prove a new landmark. I feel it will add to the trully world clss buildings such as Bishopsgate tower (Now known as The Pinnacle) and 122 Leadenhall Street.
And to those who said London is all about history... You obviously know even less about the city than me, and I don't even live there. Paris is about history, London is about a mix of architectural styles. Believe it or not, the Gherkin is extremely popular, and the likes of it and the London eye are competitors for places like the tower of London for tourism.
London is always going to be a vibrant changing city architecturally. And for those who don't like the new buildings, get over it. They are coming.
- Leslie Ferris, UK
I feel that some of you need to get with the times. Yes I do agree London does have some beautiful historical landmarks, but we are lacking in some really tall skyscrapers. The walkie Talkie is horrible, but we could do with some attractive tall buildings, not just for offices, but also as a modern landmark, where tourists can come and see.
Kuala Lumpa, NY and many other citys have tall buildings, and people dream to go and see them. London needs to get bright, big and artistic.
- Ro, UK
The people who are complaining about these skyscrapers should realise that all the new skyscrapers in London are of the highest-quality designs and are of superb architecture, the strict planning laws in this country make sure that the skyscrapers that are approved will enhance the skyline and not make it uglier.
This skyscraper has mixed opinion and the fact that it has been called into a public inquiry proves that not just any tall building proposed will be allowed to be built. The naysayers should not worry that the historic London they love will be blighted by 'monstrosities' as the skyscrapers that will soon be under construction are actually quite beautiful glass and metal sculptures and not the ugly concrete boxes that perhaps the people against skyscrapers are thinking they will turn out to be.
The fact is the majority of people in London are pro-skyscraper and the new buildings will become a part of the fabric of London much like the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye, and it can only serve to show the world that London is a truly 21st Century city.
Another point to make, that in this more environmentally aware world, skyscrapers are much more ecologically friendly than low-rise buildings of the same floor-space. By building upwards it prevents more urban projects being built into the precious green belt which would have a far more devastating impact than a few extra tall buildings in the centre of London.
- Dan, Camberley, Surrey
I'd be happy to see plenty more skyscrapers in the city or further east, if it could be linked to improvements elsewhere. How about clearing all the nondescript low(ish)-rise buildings between St. Pauls and the river, creating both a new park and some great close-up views of St. Pauls from the South bank? Or choose the worst eyesores anywhere in London, and link building the new quality skyscrapers to arranging for the demolition of the eyesores.
Also it's not just views. If there are more skyscrapers there will be more people travelling to fill the new office space created. So the developers should be required to fund public transport improvements. Get them to make a significant contribution to Crossrail, say, which might persuade the government to actually fund the rest!
- Nigel, London
Do not want these new taller than tall buildings in London. Having worked in New York and not seeing daylight for days even weeks unless you have the luxury of a 50th floor apartment / office, these new super tall buildings are an awful mistake. You soon appreciate, when having been away from London, that its range of fantastic historical, 'normal' sized buildings and the advantage of seeing the sky, is too good to ruin!
- Nick, London
As I work next door to where they are planning on putting this building I would rather not see it go up. We have enough highrise buildings around here that are blocking views/daylight and creating wind tunnels in the streets all year round. There are a lot of empty buildings around the city, do we really need this?
- Lyn, London
Tall buildings should be opposed if they are ugly, and not because they are tall. Mira Bar-Hillel has been waging a campaign against tall buildings in general for many years in the pages of the Evening Standard.
She opposed the construction of the Swiss Re building on St Mary’s Axe - a building which is now loved by a great many Londoners and featured prominently in the promotional material for London’s Olympic bid. Had she been alive 400 years ago, she would almost certainly have squared up to Sir Christopher Wren and opposed the construction of St Paul’s as well.
London is a working city. It has NEVER stood still. And it would be a grave mistake if it were to grind to a halt architecturally now.
- Richard, Farnborough, Hampshire
London is all about history. These new buildings are absolutely crass and will destroy the peaceful views London has to offer.
- Whoopi, The City
I think London needs more buildings that stand out so the ride on the Millenium eye actually serves a purpose for some views. For example (and no offence meant here) there isn't much going on in the ' North East', or the 'South'. Don't get me wrong, I love London and its history, but I think we do need to start competing with some of the world's cities that have major eye-catching buildings. History is great, but so is art!
- Queen Beena, Wembley
I'm fed up with seeing these massive buildings being build for no good reason at all. The 'walkie talkie' doens't look particularly nice and I would rather have a nice view across London any day than to have to look at that. I back English Heritage completely.
- Anna, East London
I don't see what the problem is here. As long as the building is designed in an aesthetically pleasing manner, I actually think it would enhance the skyline and make it more interesting. We need to look at building in a different manner now as we run out of space in the city so it is logical to build upwards instead of sideways now.
- Dave, Wandsworth
Personally I'm glad that the building of this skyscraper has been halted. We don't need anymore of these huge eyesores, I don't want to look out of a window and see these monstrosities. There is no need for all of these buildings being built as there is plenty of otehr office space already disused.
- Bill, Kennington
