Government architecture watchdog CABE has praised architect Renzo Piano’s designs (pictured) for Irvine Sellar’s “Shard of Glass” skyscraper in central London as “high quality”.
In contrast, English Heritage has called the proposed tower “a stake through the heart of London”.
CABE today commended the designs in a letter to the architects, following a meeting earlier this month. CABE’s head of Design Review, Peter Stewart, said: “We reiterate our support for a building of this height, of this high quality, on this site.”
If built, the mixed-use scheme would rise to over 310m above London’s South Bank and rank as one of the world’s tallest buildings.
CABE expressed doubts about “the way the building relates to its immediate surroundings at the lower levels, on which it will have a huge impact” when it last saw the designs in March 2001.
But CABE is positive about the latest attempts to resolve some of these issues, which it believes offer “the welcome prospect of a comprehensive solution to a longstanding series of problems,” including slum regeneration, opening up public space and improving public transport access.
EGi News 22/01/02
