Tall Buildings in EC3
EC3 has some of the best-known tall buildings in the City of London - e.g. the Gherkin, the Scalpel, the Walkie Talkie and the Cheesegrater.
Did you know that the City of London leads the world in the extent of its free public spaces at the top of its skyscrapers? Half of the fourteen forthcoming tall-building developments due to be completed by 2026, will have free public viewing galleries and terraces in one district.
Those in EC3 include: 120 Fenchurch Street, 1 Leadenhall Street, 100 Leadenhall Street and 1 Undershaft which will also host a Museum of London gallery at the top of the building, alongside interactive learning spaces and London’s highest restaurant.
- 20 Fenchurch Street
- 80 Fenchurch Street
- Fen Court
- 40 Leadenhall Street
- 150 Leadenhall Street
- 52 Lime Street
- Leadenhall Building
- Lloyd's Building
- Monument Building
- 70 St Mary Axe
- 1 Undershaft
- The Willis Building
Fen Court
Also known as 120 Fenchurch Street, it is not the tallest of buildings with fifteen-storeys, designed by architects Eric Parry Associates.
It has a public walkway linking Fenchurch Street and Fenchurch Avenue. The ceiling of the walkway has a wonderful LED display. See Raising the roof for LED innovation
There is also a roof garden designed by German landscape architects Latz + Partner which is open to the public and free of charge. It’s a large and beautifully landscaped garden with a water feature and great views.
70 St Mary Axe (Can of Ham)
With three floors below ground and twenty-one above, it was designed by architects Foggo Associates.
This is another building with a fascinating shape, leading to the nickname of Can of Ham.
80 Fenchurch Street
Another fifteen-storey office building based on a conceptual Foster scheme, has been refined and extended by tp bennett.
150 Leadenhall Street
Also known as Prussian Blue, a new fifty-storey office tower designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre.
It is located on the corner of 6-8 Bishopsgate and Leadenhall Street, and is currently under construction.
40 Leadenhall Street
Like the Willis building this is another stepped building being built on a large site with Leadenhall Street to the north and Fenchurch Street to the south.
With thirty-four stories it has been designed by architects Make.
(Image courtesy of Make)
1 Undershaft (Trellis)
Planning permission was given by the City of London in 2016 for this seventy-three-storey tower designed by Eric Parry and nicknamed the Trellis.
Construction has yet to begin and if it does go ahead this will be the latest tallest building in the City of London.
Leadenhall Building (Cheesegrater)
This building situated at 122 Leadenhall Street is a fifty-storey tower opposite Lloyd’s of London completed in 2014.
The building has a distinctive shape, flat at the back but angled at the front giving it a triangular look and leading to the nickname Cheesegrater.
It had to meet the requirement to respect views of St Paul’s Cathedral, in particular from Fleet Street.
The tower’s design ensures that from this key vantage point the cathedral’s dome is still framed by a clear expanse of sky.
Both the twelve-storey Lloyd’s building and 122 Leadenhall Street were designed by the Richard Roger’s practice known as Rogers, Stirk, Harbour and Partners.
The Willis Building
Completed in 2007 this twenty-eight-storey building is opposite Lloyd’s of London and was designed by Foster and Partners.
A stepped building of elegant curves and standing on the opposite side of Lime Street you get a great reflection of the Lloyd’s building.
The paved area surrounding the building is often used to display a piece of sculpture as part of the annual Sculpture in the City exhibition.
52 Lime Street (Scalpel)
This forty-two-storey building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox as a European HQ for US insurer W.R. Berkley and was completed in 2018.
It stands on the southeast corner of Leadenhall Street and Lime Street across from Lloyd’s of London on the southwest corner.
It is another building with a very distinctive shape whose angles and planes give the building a very sharp, clean profile, hence it’s nickname as the Scalpel.
The tower leans away from Leadenhall so has to be invisible behind the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral when approached from the west on Fleet Street, and the roofline falls away sharply to the south in recognition of the overall composition of the City’s cluster.
30 St Mary Axe (Gherkin)
A personal favourite, this forty-one storey building was designed by Foster and Partners who describe it as London’s first ecological tall building.
Structural engineers Arup worked with Foster and Partners, and they provide some fascinating information about the construction of the building.
The paved area surrounding the building together with the adjacent Bury Court is often used to site sculptures as part of the City of London’s annual Sculpture in the City exhibition.
On Thursday lunchtimes street food traders can be found alongside the Gherkin.
20 Fenchurch Street (The Walkie Talkie)
Also known as The Walkie Talkie, this building was designed in 2004 by Uruguayan born architect Rafael Vinoly.
It is thirty-eight stories tall and at the top of the building there is a Sky Garden, accessed by a dedicated express lift, but advanced booking is required.
The entrance is at the rear of the building.
Lloyd's Building
The current Lloyd’s building was commissioned in 1978 and designed by architect Richard Rogers.
It is an extraordinary building and today still commands attention because of its architectural style which is in contrast to most buildings in the City of London.
Monument Building
The twisting aerofoil fins of this ten‐storey building in Monument Street form a backdrop to the Monument which commemorates the Great Fire of London of 1666.
Designed by architect MAKE, the building has roof terraces, that provide views of the City of London, and a state‐of‐the‐art bike store.
The full‐height curtain of vertical twisted metal ribbons plays on the gilded ‘flames’ that crown the Monument and provide solar shading to the building.