London has one of the most interesting skylines of any city in the world. It is home to a number of iconic buildings, from St Paul’s to Tower Bridge and newer pieces of commercial architecture like the Shard. What is most amazing is it is always changing and evolving. This will continue for many years to come because there are so many new proposals in the pipeline.
The latest annual review from New London Architecture gives some great information about the changes we can expect for the skyline. It says there are currently proposals for 587 new skyscrapers. Of these, 310 have full planning permission. In addition, 127 are under consideration and could get approval in the near future.
More proposals get approval
According to the data, the number of skyscrapers getting permission in London has been rising for several years. In 2020 there was a 10.8% rise over the previous year. The figures for 2021 may also show a rise, although covid has curtailed a number of plans.
New offices
The new high rise projects for London are incredibly diverse. They include huge residential towers and mixed use developments. However, a number of them are also offices. This may be surprising to some, especially with covid changing how many people work. However, there is still a big push to create more office space to tackle a long term shortage.
Many businesses are also looking at creating new offices for the post-pandemic world. Their goal here is to encourage more people to return to the office and the traditional way of working in the future. To do this they may need buildings with more space and new facilities.
It will be interesting to see how many of the high rise projects progress in 2022 and beyond. There will be a number of challenges, including access to materials and labour. As a result, they may have a big impact on how many of the projects top out.
Speak to us about commercial architecture
Coffey Architects is a proud company from London that can support clients in any sector. We work to produce outstanding designs for everything, from individual homes to commercial and public spaces. Our passion is easy to see and we have great resources for you to use.
So, if you are thinking about commercial architecture and want a great partner to bounce ideas off, choose us. You can get in touch today to tell us what you have in mind.