Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
City skyscrapers
Throughout the 1990s, most people's favourite modern building in the City was Richard
Rogers' glitzy
Lloyd's Building
- a vertical version of Rogers' own Pompidou Centre
in Paris - a startling array of glass and blue steel pipes. Lloyd's was eclipsed in the
mid-2000s by its near neighbour, Norman Foster's 590ft-high, glass diamond-clad
Gherkin
, which has endeared itself to Londoners thanks to its cheeky shape.
Despite the economic recession, the City skyline continues to sprout yet more sky-
scrapers, with
The Cheesegrater
, Richard Rogers' 737ft wedge-shaped office block, op-
posite the Lloyd's Building, leading the charge. Still to rise, close by, is the
Scalpel
, a
620ft twisted angular shard of glass due for completion in 2017. More controversial has
been Rafael Viñoly's 525ft
Walkie Talkie
, on Fenchurch Street, which features a public
“sky garden” on the top floor. Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, of course, is the
tallest of the lot, Renzo Piano's 1016ft
Shard
, by London Bridge.
