Richard Roger's high hopes for the city

The Leadenhall Building is Roger's at his most extravagant and unrestrained having clearly been given the brief to do a landmark building that can become part of the wonderful new collection of towers London's skyline promises. It has his trademark diagonal bracing on the cladding, the exciting pseudo-industrial crown, and glass lifts on the outside of the building which whizz up to the very tip of it. The use of colour on the spine of the building which contains the main structural support harks back to his recent design 88 Woodstreet as does the texture and layout of the cladding. The nightlighting too is typical of Rogers, with strong reds and yellows providing contrast and breaking up sheer mass. The tower’s distinctive tapering form – designed to protect views of St Paul’s Cathedral from Fleet Street - will make a dynamic addition to the City of London’s skyline. The base of the tower will form a six-storey enclosed public space with shops, cafes and restaurants. The site is currently occupied by a 12 storey high office building built in the 1960s which will be demoslished to make way for the new 48-storey building.