{"id":1895,"date":"2015-01-22T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/hidden-in-plain-view\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T11:57:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T15:57:39","slug":"hidden-in-plain-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/hidden-in-plain-view\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden in Plain View: Is This the World\u2019s First Contextual Skyscraper?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Architects\u2019 Journal<\/a> recently published an enigmatic set of renderings, displaying what architect Richard Weston describes as a new genre of high-rise building: the “contextual tower.”<\/p>\n

The angular skyscraper \u2014 officially named after its address, 1 Undershaft \u2014 is intended to correlate closely with its surroundings, its form dictated by a careful analysis of adjacent masses to create a structure that combines maximum leasable floor space with the lowest possible visual impact. As low an impact as you can achieve with a 250-meter high building, at least\u2026<\/p>\n

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Via The Architects’ Journal<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Designed by Brian Avery of Avery Associates<\/a>, the skyscraper\u2019s wedge-shaped silhouette is informed primarily by protected viewing corridors towards Christopher Wren\u2019s historic St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral, and the nearby Leadenhall Building, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. In fact, it appears to have taken substantial design cues from RSHP’s landmark tower, affectionately nicknamed the Cheesegrater: As well as massing and orientation, its lattice of structural steelwork and glazing makes it a stylistic extension of the tower next door.<\/p>\n

The head of planning for London\u2019s Square Mile for the past 30 years, Peter Rees<\/a> has likened the City\u2019s skyline to a mountain range, and the cluster\u2019s \u2018Everest\u2019 was intended to be the 304-meter-high Pinnacle<\/a>, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. However, with its core partially constructed, the Pinnacle has been stalled due to its developer\u2019s post-recession financial woes. Now, Avery\u2019s second Cheesegrater could sneak in through the back door to become the City\u2019s crowning peak.<\/p>\n

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Via The Architects’ Journal<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

The reaction of high-rise connoisseurs on skyscrapercity.com<\/a> has generally been positive, with many excited at the prospect of context-sensitive architecture on a previously unseen scale. This is arguably the first real attempt at critical regionalism in the heart of a commercial business district, blending the principles of modernism with a rigorous analysis and response to surrounding formal and cultural factors.<\/p>\n

However, they raise two primary concerns, which Avery will have to answer to in the months ahead. Firstly, there are numerous advocates for the site\u2019s existing St. Helen\u2019s Tower<\/a>, with many saying that the office block \u2014 a rare example of the international style<\/a> in the UK \u2014 should be listed and protected for its architectural and historic value.<\/p>\n

Secondly, numerous commentators have pointed out that in attempting to balance the skyline\u2019s composition, Avery neglected to include a key skyscraper adjacent to the site, set for completion in 2017: 52-54 Lime Street<\/a>, designed by the same architects behind the Pinnacle, has been nicknamed the \u2018Scalpel\u2019 because of its distinctive sharp-edged form.<\/p>\n

How would the Scalpel affect views of Avery\u2019s tower from across the River Thames? Forum member Zin5ki<\/a> kindly Photoshopped 1 Undershaft into this visual, with the Scalpel directly in front.<\/p>\n

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Via <\/i>Skyscraper City<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Commenter Steve Keiretsu<\/a> feels this angle hints at an excess of similar forms on the skyline \u2014 he fears that the addition of both 1 Undershaft and 52-54 Lime Street will \u201cover-egg the pointy pudding.\u201d Mixed metaphor aside, the views from further down the river will be very different, and the contextual tower appears markedly more graceful than Vi\u00f1oly\u2019s broad-shouldered Walkie-Talkie<\/a> skyscraper just to the west.<\/p>\n

Skyscrapers, by their very nature, have a history of showboating, announcing themselves on the skyline with gusto: Their distinctive silhouettes traditionally form the basis for a city\u2019s unique collective identity. The term “contextual tower” therefore appears to be a classic oxymoron, suggesting that a would-be icon deferring to its surroundings like the world\u2019s largest chameleon.<\/p>\n