The ceremony to mark the topping-out of The Leadenhall Building was held last week.
Owned by the 50:50 joint venture between British Land Company PLC ("British Land") and Oxford Properties ("Oxford"), the building, opposite Lloyd's of London in the heart of the City of London, has been under construction since early 2011. It is due to complete in summer 2014 and will comprise 610,000 sq ft of office space over 47 floors.
The striking architectural design of The Leadenhall Building incorporates 18,000 tonnes of steel and 70,000 sq metres of cladding. In one of the most advanced forms of construction by main contractor, Laing O’Rourke, 85% of the structure (by construction value) has been manufactured off-site.
As well as being the newest addition to London’s skyline, The Leadenhall Building will be part of the City's fabric at ground level, creating a half acre, seven storey galleria which will include formal lawns, seating, mature trees, retail units and an actively managed events space, creating a vibrant and welcoming environment open to the public.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "The Leadenhall Building is the latest landmark to grace London’s iconic skyline, demonstrating our city’s ability to design and construct world-class architecture. This ambitious project has created jobs in London and elsewhere across the UK supporting great British manufacturing all over the country. The building’s soaring pinnacle symbolises the confidence in London’s status as a global centre of finance and trade."
The Leadenhall Building was designed by Graham Stirk, partner at world-renowned architecture practice Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. The building's distinctive tapered profile has been designed to protect the sight line of St Paul's Cathedral. Unusually for a tall building, The Leadenhall Building has no central core, with an external mega frame providing the lateral stability and the 26 passenger lifts housed in the building's Northern Core, painted bright yellow, at the rear of the building.
Ray O’Rourke, Laing O’Rourke Chairman said: “Laing O’Rourke is proud to be delivering this iconic addition to the London skyline. The project is a prime example of our innovative Design for Manufacture and Assembly approach, with a substantial amount of the buildings core elements manufactured off-site. This not only creates a high quality building, it’s safer, more efficient, and has reduced the number of vehicle movements in a highly congested city environment.”
A year ahead of its completion the building is 51% pre-let, following commitments with international insurance company Aon, which will relocate its head office to the building from Chicago, and specialist underwriter Amlin.
Chris Grigg, Chief Executive of British Land, said: "When British Land and Oxford Properties started construction of The Leadenhall Building in 2011 some said it was a bold call. It was only three years after the global financial crisis and the economy and property market were still in a fragile state. Yet we were confident enough to start The Leadenhall Building because so many positive factors were in our favour. We have a world class design, an exemplary construction team, a strong collaborative partner in Oxford Properties and excellent occupiers in Aon and Amlin. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been involved in this project to date."
Blake Hutcheson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Properties said: "Being a part of this project has been very exciting for Oxford. Thank you to our great partner British Land, and to the wider team – including the City of London. With $24B of real estate around the globe and currently close to $5B of development initiatives underway we know how Cities can help make or break a project. Throughout this experience we have found that the City has been working with us not against us, at every turn. We appreciate this "can do" business friendly attitude which ensures we will continue to invest here. The Leadenhall Building deserves a world class team – and we have one. This building is a great example of what collaboration and partnership can achieve."
Source: Ray O’Rourke 20.06.2013 See more at: http://www.laingorourke.com/media/news-releases/2013/europe/the-lea denhall-building-topping-out.aspx#sthash.TXPS1NyE.dpuf