20 Fenchurch Street, also known as the the name of the walkie-talkie toweris one of London's most controversial buildings.
However, the place is full of treasures. Let's discover this London building.
Walkie-Talkie in London: article summary
Talkie-Walkie in London: the Sky Garden
At the top of the tower is the aerial garden, spread over floors 35, 36 and 37, offering breathtaking views over London. However, even though it's free, there's something you can't ignore.
In fact, given the large number of visitors expected, it's advisable to book well in advance.
Visit Sky Garden takes some planning, but it's well worth it. So book your place at the Sky Garden as early as possible.
Of course, it's not quite up to the standard of Kew Gardens, but if you like to dine al fresco, it's the place to be, you have a choice of three restaurants.
One of London's tallest buildings
During its construction, the tower was billed as "London's tallest building". It certainly passes above the rooftops of traditional London.
It has wider upper floors that give it a distinctive, weighty appearance. Designed to increase office space and exploit rents and views, rather than for aesthetic reasons.
Talkie-Walkie in London: one tower replaces another
Although often considered out of place in London, 20 Fenchurch Street replaced an earlier tower on the same site.
Designed by architect William. H. Rogers and built by Land Securities in 1968, it was occupied by Dresdner Kleinwort and distinguished by its distinctive roof and the fact that it was one of the first of a wave of large buildings in the 1960s.
Measuring 99 meters in height, the previous building was considerably shorter than the current one.
Talkie-Walkie in London: a building that was supposed to be much bigger
It was originally proposed in 2005 at 220 meters high, to be one of the city's tallest buildings, but after concerns about its impact on St. Paul's Cathedral, its height was reduced in 2006, giving it the stocky appearance we see today.
Owned by the Canary Wharf group
20 Fenchurch Street marked the group's first foray Canary Wharf in the development of the City in London.
The walkie-talkie was developed in collaboration with Land Securities and backed by sovereign wealth from China and Qatar.
Together, they saved the building industry from the credit crunch, but considerably altered the development, simplifying the complex cladding, turning the Sky Garden into a small garden that loses some of its original beauty.
Walkie-talkie in London: it melted a car
In a now infamous episode dubbed "scorchgate", a particularly sunny summer day saw the building's glare melt part of a Jaguar.
The original design incorporated sunshades (solar blades) to combat solar glare from the convex glass façade.
These were abandoned when the cladding was simplified. To solve glare problems, a Californian specialist used a sunshade on the tower's facade.
The specialist was appointed after solving similar problems at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas. Viñoly also designed this tower.
London's Walkie-Talkie has been the talk of the town ever since it first appeared on the London skyline. But it's still a pleasant place to be, especially if you can visit the Sky Garden.
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