London is growing up
After millenia of being a short, stubby city with the odd pinnacle to one bank or another, London has finally woken up to the idea that skyscrapers are a good thing. Although seen as distinctly American, and therefore obviously antithetical to all that is good, the skyrocketing price of land coupled with a new fervour for investment banking has seen London grow upwards albeit painfully slowly.
Silly little issues like roadside noise have slowed construction of the Bishopsgate Tower to a crawl, but despite these little spanners thrown into the works, London continues to rise. Riverside South, St. George’s Wharf, Heron, Bishopsgate, and of coures the Leadenhall ‘cheesegrater’ Building are all under construction and taller, or similar in height to, the very tallest buildings in the city.
Skyscrapers are important because they are geographically efficient: on one small plot you can have 50x the usage. The construction of a tower often results in economic growth around the area, as shown by the development after Tower 42 came up near Bank. Most notable about London’s designs is their edgy quirkiness (which cities like Hong Kong seem to have abandoned e.g. International Finance Centre). Having these easily identifiable landmarks is greatly beneficial to the city, because while London has many landmarks, it doesn’t have one which provides the thrill of a commanding view over the city. I’m most excited by the fact that my view from Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath is going to get a lot more interesting.
