| Architect |
GMW
Architects |
| Date Built |
Completed
1992 and refurbished 2009 |
| Location |
Corner of
Lombard Street & Gracechurch Street |
| Description |
|
| The Pevsner Guide for The City
of London describes this postmodern
building as having, "Three bulgy
grey-clad towers of varying heights
(that) face Gracechurch
Street. They have rounded and
glazed tops, each like the Chrysler
Building in New York without its
finial. The tallest in the
centre is of seventeen storeys."
It was built to be the London headquarters
of Barclays Bank and remained that until
2003 when the bank moved to its new
headquarters in Canary Wharf. After the bank left it, the owners decided that it was time to commission a complete refurbishment and rebrand the building. Orms won the competition for this project the goal of which was, " ... to reclad the four podium floors to establish a new relationship to the street, the primary elevation now being to the east – giving the building the new name and address of 20 Gracechurch Street. The elevations draw from the geometry of the original building’s curved forms, but are freshly integrated with the neighbouring buildings with their elegant Portland stone cladding and new retail units. Internally, the podium floors and the 16 levels in the tower above have been refurbished to Category A standard, achieving between 30 and 35% greater efficiency in their energy use." |
|
|
54
Lombard Street, London, UK
 |
