New 53-storey tower to replace 1970s office block near Liverpool Street station

A 1970s Seifert-designed office block near Liverpool Street station is to be replaced with a new tower double the height of the one its replacing, now that the City of London has granted planning permission.

The replacement building at 99 Bishopsgate will be split into two, with the main 53-storey office block sitting next to a smaller, separate “cultural building” that will include a gallery, hall, and workspaces.

Part of the argument put forward by the developer for demolition is that the floor heights are low by modern office standards, both for light and comfort, but also for underfloor facilities. Although most of the existing tower will be demolished, they plan to reuse the foundations and basements to reduce the impact of the development. In total, they expect to be able to retain about a quarter of the current structure and nearly half of the embedded carbon.

The design will slightly copy the concept used at the “cheesegrater” office block, with the main lifts and stairs located on the outer wall of the replacement building, leaving more floor space inside for the tenants. Within the steel structure of the main office block, it will be broken up by three-storey high winter gardens.

There will also be more space for pedestrians walking around the building, with wider pavements and a new passageway opened up between the main office tower and the new cultural centre.

Approval was granted for the development because demand for modern post-pandemic office space is high.

According to property consultancy Knight Frank, availability in newly constructed office buildings has fallen to just 0.5 percent in the City of London, causing prime rents in the area to rise 16 percent over the past 12 months. It was also reported that the City’s tallest office building at 22 Bishopsgate, had recently become completely let to tenants.

That’s mainly as tenants are moving out of older less suitable buildings into newer buildings that meet current working practices. And in turn those older buildings will be redeveloped when they’re empty as the cycle continues.

Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, Shravan Joshi, said: “A much-needed office development has been approved in the City of London and it speaks to the confidence that global investors have in the local real estate market, as well as the UK economy, more widely.”

“The 99 Bishopsgate scheme will also give the Square Mile one of the largest public realm upgrades from a single planning application, in recent history, increasing the ‘walkability’ of the City, so that it becomes a safer and more pleasant place to travel through.”