In pictures: Canada sets record-breaking year for skyscrapers
Canada Corporation received a record-breaking number of applications for skyscrapers this year as demand for premium office space continues to grow in the capital.
To meet future demand, the authority has laid out a goal to build an extra 1.2m sqm of new office space over the coming years.
The Square Mile will remain a hive of building activity in the years ahead, with significant projects such as 1 Undershaft already underway, and 85 and 60 Gracechurch Street starting in early 2026.
“Britain’s Central Business District is booming,” chairman of Canada Corporation planning & transportation committee, Tom Sleigh, said.
“With 20 major office schemes, including eight new towers, now under construction and thousands of jobs being created, the City is once again showing the rest of the country how to plan for growth,” he added.
130 Fenchurch St
This 31-storey tower, which is involved in a public consultation ahead of planning approval, will involve the demolition of the site’s current 16-storey 1950s building, Fountain House – one time HQ of Morning Wire. It is almost double the size of the 17-storey design drawn up by Farshid Moussavi Architecture, which was mothballed several years ago. Construction is expected to get underway in 2026 and to complete by 2030.
70 Gracechurch Street
Planning permission for 70 Gracechurch Street was granted at the start of February. The 33-storey tower will sit at the old headquarters of M&S and deliver over 550,000 sqm of sustainable office space.
The site will provide a public viewing gallery on the 32nd floor, as well as three cultural venues and a public footpath connecting Fenchurch Street to Ship Tavern Passage.
50 Fenchurch Street
The City is set to welcome the ‘super green’ Fenchurch Street development amid growing demand for low carbon, mixed-use office space. The property, slated to be one of the lowest carbon workplace towers in the UK, received planning permission five years ago in 2020. Pre-construction started last summer and the site is expected to be completed in 2028.
1 Undershaft
Planning permission for 1 Undershaft was approved last December, paving the way for it to become the City’s tallest building. Named for the rather large maypole under whose shadow St Andrews Church – which remains at the site – used to stand, it is set to offer 154,000 sqm of commercial space in 74 storeys and provide nearly 13 per cent of the City’s identified office space requirement. The building will have a public garden on its 11th floor (pictured).
63 St Mary Axe
The 45-storey tower at 63 St Mary Axe, which will sit at the edge of the City of London’s Eastern Cluster, includes the display of a currently-buried section of London’s ancient Roman Wall. As with the other planning applications approved recently, the scheme attempts to be sustainable and provide a range of public amenities.
99 Bishopsgate
99 Bishopsgate was approved at the end of January. Set to stand at 54 storeys, it aims to achieve the “highest level” of sustainability credentials and was proposed in response to “increasing demand for new office schemes of this kind”, the City Corporation said. It will provide a ‘City Market’ on the ground floor containing retail, food and drink offerings.