City Cluster, City of London

• Drawing 1: "Consolidation of the City Cluster of High Buildings." Courtesy of Foster + Partners, 1998. [1]

• "Drawings like this one from an intermediate planning and design report suggested that the tower would enhance the skyline by completing the “cluster” of towers in the City’s northeastern quadrant."
• (Foster + Partners)

[edit] INTRODUCTION

"The City Cluster comprises an ever densifying and expanding part of the City of London, as evidenced by the ongoing construction of tall architectural towers and an increasing working population which provides a demanding audience on the historic streets and spaces of the Cluster. The public realm must respond to these demands and pressures to enable economic growth and maintain and extend the reputation and attractiveness of the Cluster as a global leader in financial services and reaffirm itself as a destination, both as a workplace and as a cultural attraction beyond the working day. Against this changing backdrop, the public realm must have not only the capacity to accommodate change but also predict and encourage new uses in support of the wider ambitions of the area."

City of London (2019) 'The City Cluster Vision'

[edit] • A glimpse of 'The City Cluster Vision'

Learn More

[edit] • 1600-2021 From Tudor times to the 21st Century

In 2021, Ollie Bye released a video entitled 'The Growth of London: Every Year' which illustrates the growth of London from 47 to 2021. [2]

• Table 1: Thumbnails of selected frames from Ollie Bye's video outlining the chronological development of London - click to enlarge.

[edit] • City Cluster

[edit] Conclusion

"We came to the conclusion that in order to have a fully credible financial centre it was necessary to have a fairly complete set of capabilities. Such a complete set within a financial centre’s community is an enabler of innovation. If one piece of iconic infrastructure were missing, the perception of the power of the centre would be significantly diminished. If, therefore, London were to lose several of its major infrastructure providers (say the LSE and LCH.Clearnet), this would undoubtedly have a damaging effect not only upon the credibility of London as Europe’s main financial centre, but also on its overall capacity to support that position."

Cox, P. and Jones, L. (2008) 'The Competitive Impact of London's Financial Market Infrastructure', p.46

[edit] Update

• City of London predicted skyline by 2030, with the 11 new towers expected to be built: 1) 2-3 Finsbury Avenue; 2) 6-8 Bishopsgate; 3: 1 Leadenhall Street; 4) 1 Undershaft; 5) 100 Leadenhall Street; 6) 40 Leadenhall Street; 7) 70 Gracechurch Street; 8) 55 Gracechurch Street; 9) 50 Fenchurch Street; 10) 85 Gracechurch Street; 11) 55 Bishopsgate. Photograph: City of London/GMJ

[edit] References

[1] Foster + Partners (1998) 'Consolidation of the City Cluster of High Buildings' in 'Record Set of Presentation, 19th and 21st October 1998'.

[2] Bye, O. (2021) 'The Growth of London: Every Year', YouTube

City of London (2019) 'The City Cluster Vision'

A International Financial Centre

B 99-101 Bishopsgate

C Swiss Re House

D Commercial Union

E Deutsche Bank

F Stock Exchange

G Angel Court

H Drapers' Gardens

I Dashwood House

J Lloyd's

K Dresdner Kleinwort Benson

L Barclays, Lombard St.

Cox, P. and Jones, L. (2008) 'The Competitive Impact of London's Financial Market Infrastructure', City of London

[edit] Further Reading

Dutta, A. (2012) 'Marginality and Metaengineering: Keynes and Arup', Chapter 10 in 'Governing by Design', University of Pittsburgh Press

Kaika, M. (2010) 'Architecture and Crisis: Re-inventing the Icon, Re-imag(in)ing London and Re-branding the City', ResearchGate

Kollewe, J. (2023) 'London financial district to have 11 more towers by 2030', The Guardian, 2 November

Massey, J. (2013) 'The Gherkin: How London's Famous Tower Leveraged Risk and Became an Icon', archdaily, 5 November

Massey, J. (2013) 'The Gherkin: How London’s Famous Tower Leveraged Risk and Became an Icon (Part 2)', archdaily, 12 November

Massey, J. (2013) 'The Gherkin: How London’s Famous Tower Leveraged Risk and Became an Icon (Part 3)', archdaily, 19 November

Massey, J. (2013) 'The Gherkin: How London’s Famous Tower Leveraged Risk and Became an Icon (Part 4)', archdaily, 26 November

Wainwright, O. and Elmanu, M. (2015) 'A tortured heap of towers': the London Skyline of tomorrow', The Guardian, 11 December

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• 30 St. Mary Axe.
• After the Fire: London churches in the age of Wren, Hooke, Hawksmoor and Gibbs.
• City Cluster, Kit of Parts.
• Coal holes, pavement lights, kerbs and utilities and wood-block paving.
• Conservation.
• Densification.
• Heritage.
• Historic building.
• IHBC articles.
• London.
• Lloyd's of London.
• NatWest Tower.
• Nikolaus Pevsner.
• Sir Christopher Wren.
• Stuart architecture.
• The Livery Halls of the City of London.
• The Institute of Historic Building Conservation.
• The Rebuilding Acts.
• Worshipful Company of Constructors.

--Archiblog 12:00, 24 Jan 2023 (BST)

Disclaimer:— This article does not reflect the views of the author.