A recent PhotoWalk in the city showed that there are two
major office buildings nearing completion, both dominant but quite different
from each other. One I like and one I hate.
The one that I hate is the so called ‘Talkie Talkie’ 20
Fenchurch Street by Rafael Vinoly. An ugly, overbearing building and recently
the cause of problems with reflection from its concave face producing a heat
ray causing damage to shops and vehicles nearby.
The other building is ‘The cheesegrater’ The Leadenhall
Building by Richard Rogers. I really like the look of this wedge shape
skyscraper, which will be the tallest building within The City of London. I
look forward to its completion but already it’s looking good and complements
the Lloyds Building also by Rogers on the other side of the road.
Another skyscraper that I like is The Heron Tower in
Bishopsgate, completed in 2011 by Kohn Pedersen Fox. Clean lines and looks good
with the sky and clouds reflected in the glazing, a successful design for a
tall building.
The Leadenhall Building