Koolhaas Plans First London Tower

Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA could finally get his first tower in the U.K if plans to build a new headquarters for N.M Rothschild in the City of London are realised. The development at New Court near Cannon Street Station on St Swithins Lane is understood to be a 20 floor tower with a complex form that is a single building in which Rothschild can concentrate all their banking staff. The final design has yet to be chosen, in this case they have been presented with at least three options that the client can choose from so that the building fits their needs the closest.The scheme for Rothschild is being developed in partnership with Stanhope, within which N.M Rothschild is one of the founders of and owns a substantial stake given synergies here that most financial institutions would fail to replicate - that is the construction of top quality corporate headquarters at cost and save millions.Rothschild have occupied the banking site, currently three buildings, on St Swithins Lane since 1812 giving them one of the oldest pedigrees in the City of London that dates back to the commissions they earned on payments during the Napoleonic Wars. The choice of Koolhaas however shows they are going for something that is anything but conservative. Given his polemics on modernisation what better to focus on than a stuffy British Bank, a motive that would explain his breaking of his embargo on working in his adoptive home city. The development has been described as "three boxes stacked on top of one another" by one person working on the project, a traditional Koolhaas technique of subverting International architecture by reordering it. Koolhaas has been joined by Allies and Morrison, a rare decision until you realise that they both share the love of the box, a lightness of touch with design, and also an impeccable eye for detail as the cladding on Bankside 1 shows.A planning application is expected to be seen later in the summer but they will have a step hill to claim if they can rival the nearby Darth Vaders Helmet for sheer eccentricity.