London icons including the Gherkin, the Walkie Talkie and the Shard may soon be joined a new skyscraper called the Tulip.
Revealing the plans for the new tower, architects Foster + Partners said the proposed structure would be a “public cultural attraction” without any office space. If approved, it will be built next to 30 St Mary Axe, or the Gherkin, which the firm also designed.
At 1,000ft (305 metres) tall, the Tulip would be the UK’s second-tallest skyscraper, after the 1,003ft (306-metre) Shard.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Jacob J. Safra, owner of Bury Street Properties, will fund the proposed development. The billionaire banker also financed the construction of the Gherkin.
“The Tulip’s elegance and soft strength complements the iconic Gherkin,” Safra told the BBC.
The design features “internal slides and moving transparent pods running outside the building for visitors to ride in”, the news site reports.
The UK’s current second-tallest skyscraper is One Canada Square. The 1991 office building, located in Canary Wharf, East London, would be dwarfed by the Tulip, measuring in at 774ft (236 metres).
Additional upcoming London skyscrapers include the Scalpel, which will be 630ft (192 metres) tall. Owned by the W.R. Berkley Corporation, construction of the site, at 52-54 Lime Street, is set to finish in the spring.
Outside London, a proposed tower, Trinity Islands-Tower X, will be the first to compete against the capital’s skyscrapers. According to The Skyscraper Center, a global database on tall buildings, the proposed development in Manchester is set to be 700ft (213 metres).
If planning permission is granted for the Tulip, construction would begin in 2020 and could be completed by 2025.
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmandsFeature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Argentinian beef is at the center of American farmers’ woesThe Explainer ‘It feels like a slap in the face to rural America,’ said one farmer
-
‘Businesses that lose money and are uncompetitive won’t survive’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right nowSpeed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday dealsSpeed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from LondonSpeed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck againSpeed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacySpeed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
