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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. One Angel Lane in City of London, UK by Fletcher Priest ArchitectsApril 3rd, 2011 by Sumit Singhal
One Angel Lane, formerly known as Watermark Place, replaces Mondial House, a redundant international telephone exchange in the heart of the City of London, on a riverside site next to Cannon Street station. The site has an important place in the history of the Thames and is defined by the working river. The northern edge boundary is also the line of the Roman riverbank, and the ‘Steelyard’ under Cannon Street station was a Hanseatic trading post, the largest medieval trading post in Britain.  One Angel Lane, Image Courtesy Richard Davies
 Image Courtesy Richard Davies Strategic viewing corridors to St. Paul’s Cathedral inform the height and massing of the new building. Twin rectangular blocks to the north are attached by a full-height atrium, and the fluid forms of the lower pavilions enclose a south-facing open square with a restaurant to encourage active use. This is the first new public Riverside space between the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London.  Image Courtesy Tim Soar This, together with the pedestrianisation and widening of Angel Lane to the east of the site, more than doubles the existing public space and creates the largest riverside square in the City of London. The new building and its setting form a strategic part of the City of London’s initiative to encourage access to the river and develop a unified river walkway.  Image Courtesy Tim Soar Occupants enjoy magnificent views along the river from Tower Bridge to Westminster, the building is clad in high-performance glazing, using dot-matrix glass with a palette of colours derived from a pixilated image of the water to create a dappled façade. The lower waterside buildings have clear glass cladding protected by a massive five-storey timber structure redolent of historic wharf structures and responsive timber louvres, which protect the lower pavilion. These are designed to work together to give character and animation to the new public square. The South East building is carbon neutral in operation.  Image Courtesy Tim Soar A third of the existing building is reused: the massive retained substructure supports a market driven grid and the interface are bridge scale warren trusses and inclined columns. This results in less demolition and significant savings in time, energy and materials.  Image Courtesy Tim Soar Roof terraces of breathtaking scale allow building users to enjoy the riverside setting and distant views, while high-level sedum roofs encourage wildlife to inhabit the city.  Image Courtesy Tim Soar Fletcher Priest Architects is an award winning practice established in London in 1978. In 1992 we opened our Cologne studio, Fletcher Priest Bösl, and our Riga Studio in 2008. Our work covers urban design, architecture and interiors and we are one of the fifty largest practices in the UK. Clients include St Anne’s College Oxford, Royal Mail, UBS, Sony, IBM and Vodafone. Our projects range from new buildings to renovation and refurbishment of existing structures and from headquarters buildings to the regeneration of public space. Current projects include the Stratford City masterplan in east London, a 73 hectare urban centre delivering the Athletes Village for 2012, and the new urban centre of Riga, Latvia. We have a thriving Design Research team and strong links with Universities and Schools of Architecture.  Image Courtesy Tim Soar  Image Courtesy Tim Soar  Image Courtesy Tim Soar  Image Courtesy Tim Soar  Image Courtesy Tim Soar  Image Courtesy Tim Soar
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Tags: City of London, UK Category: Building |
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