Core of 51 Lime Street tops out

The core of one of the tallest buildings in London currently under construction has topped out.

The 51 Lime Street Tower, which will be 125 metres tall with 26 floors, is currently under construction after commencing in December 2004. Surrounded by the Lloyds TSB Building and the SwissRe Tower, the tower is set to become an iconic headquarters building for the Willis Group.

The building's shell and core is set for completion in late 2006 with the installation of the facade and furnishings to be completed during 2007.

The project is enormous. When completed, there will be more floorspace in the building than SwissRe which is considerably taller than 51 Lime Street.

The design in fact consists of three towers, each smaller than the one behind it making it bulky overall. The curvature of the walls is set to blend in perfectly with the surroundings which consist of largely curved buildings, the most notable, SwissRe designed by Sir Norman Foster.