“Gimmicky” Gherkin, Walkie Talkie and Cheesegrater house of design should be a thing of the past according to the City of London Corporation’s first head of design Gwyn Richards.
Richards has called for an end to ‘iconic’ buildings in favour of those that blend in to their surroundings along with increased public space.
“I think what we are increasingly looking for is less iconic buildings, less provocative buildings, fewer buildings which might have nicknames because I think the City has such a rich deep-rooted pedigree that we do not need to do that,” he said.
“There might be other cities in the world that feel a need to do that but what we want is exceptionally sound, high-quality architecture, without trying to be gimmicky.”
Richards has a clear view on the type of design he would like to see in the City and is not shy about setting out a new course of action for building design in London’s most important commercial district.
That does not mean no more tall buildings – quite the opposite, in fact – but what it probably means is no more Gherkins, Walkie Talkies or Cheesegraters.
The Gherkin – 30 St Mary Axe, EC3 – in particular, is very much an example of the older generation of tall towers that are markedly different from what the City would like built today. It is a “round peg in a square hole”, according to Richards, which while iconic, has a tendency to create a dead space at its feet as it “bleeds away” from the grid of streets around it.
He wants to see more shops, more open spaces, more public access at the top, bottom, and throughout developments – these are some of the new priorities that will be given to the corporation’s planning and transport committee this week, as its criteria for judging proposed buildings is updated.
A new report, which will be formally debated this week, will outline what the City thinks the buildings of the future should be like. It is a call to arms for inclusive design and will effectively dictate the future battlefields on which developers in the Square Mile will have to fight.
