It’s a beautiful morning in London – but this is how the city might have looked if the developers of yesterday had gotten their way.
Experts at LondonOffices.com have put together an image of how the capital’s skyline might have looked today if city planners hadn’t been quite so rigorous.
The image includes many of London’s most iconic landmarks, such as the Gherkin, Walkie Talkie building and the Shard.
But it also includes eight buildings which were proposed for central London but never constructed after city planners gave them the thumbs down.
Among the eight are Sir Christopher Wren’s 1675 draft design for St Paul’s Cathedral, which featured a tall spire and a much smaller dome than the one which eventually became a London icon and a familiar sight to millions.
Also included in the fantasy skyline is the Citygate Ecotower, which at 108 floors and 485 metres would have dwarfed even the Shard but was rejected in 2007.
At the centre of the skyline stands the 91 metre high tower of the proposed Eco-energy station which was rejected by planners in 2008.
Also dominating the centre of the skyline is the very imposing Crystal Palace Tower. This building was drawn up by an architect way back in 1861 in response to a brief for ideas about what to do with the original Crystal Palace after the Great Exhibition.
At 300 metres tall it would have almost matched The Shard and been by far the highest structure in Victorian England. But, perhaps wisely, the planners said no.
Next we have Edwardian London’s answer to France’s Eiffel Tower. Our proposed response was the Watkin’s Tower which would have been taller than the Paris icon. Again, it seems the planners were unmoved, ordering the hastily erected base to be pulled down in 1907.
One of the oldest structures on our skyline is the 75m tall statue of Britannia which was proposed as an iconic landmark for London in the late 1700s. It never saw the light of day.
One of the most eye catching designs is the 442 metre tall Green Bird Building which was rejected by the planning department officials in the early 1990s. It would have been the height of one and a half Shards.
Finally we have the ‘Helter Skelter’ building aka the Pinnacle Tower which was proposed for the City in 2005. Planners granted permission for the construction of a tower which would have stood at almost the same height as the Shard. Work began but was soon abandoned for business reasons. The site is now being redeveloped as a smaller building.
A spokesman for LondonOffices.com said: “London has some fantastic buildings and many of them have become synonymous with the city. Think London and your likely to picture the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, while modern additions such as the Gherkin, Walkie Talkie and even the Shard have quickly become classics.
“But it’s interesting to consider just how differently the city could look today if different decisions had been taken in the past.
“Had it not been for the planners and property developers of the past London could look very differently today. It’s interesting to imagine how things could have been done differently but we at LondonOffices.com think the city looks amazing as it is. We wouldn’t want to change London for the world.”
Key to buildings as numbered in image above:
St Paul’s Cathedral (The Warrant Design by Sir Christopher Wren) 1675.
Citygate Ecotower (2007)
Eco Energy Station (2008).
Crystal Palace Tower (1861)
Watkins Tower (1907)
Britannia Statue (late 1700s)
Green Bird (1990)
Helter Skelter Building (AKA Pinnacle Tower) 2005.
Please note position of buildings on skyline in relation to their proposed sites is not entirely accurate.
