Tower 42

Tower 42
Tower 42 looking north from Bishopsgate in May 2011
Map
Former namesNatWest Tower; International Financial Centre
Record height
Tallest in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1991[I]
Preceded byBT Tower
Surpassed byOne Canada Square
General information
TypeCommercial
Location25 Old Broad Street, London
Coordinates51°30′55″N 0°05′02″W / 51.51528°N 0.08389°W / 51.51528; -0.08389
Construction started1971
Completed1980
Height
Roof183 metres (600 ft)
Technical details
Floor count47
Floor area30,100 m2 (324,000 sq ft)[1]
Lifts/elevators21
Design and construction
Architect(s)R Seifert & Partners
Structural engineerPell Frischmann
Main contractorJohn Mowlem & Co
Website
http://www.tower42.com/

Tower 42, commonly known as the NatWest Tower, is a 183-metre-tall (600 ft) skyscraper in the City of London. It is the sixth-tallest tower in the City of London and the 19th-tallest in London overall.[2] Its original name was the National Westminster Tower, having been built to house NatWest's international headquarters. Seen from above, the shape of the tower resembles that of the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement).[3]

The tower, designed by Richard Seifert and engineered by Pell Frischmann, is located at 25 Old Broad Street in the ward of Cornhill. It was built by John Mowlem & Co between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in 1980, and formally opened on 11 June 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II.[4]

At 183 metres (600 ft) high, it was the tallest building in the United Kingdom until superseded by One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in 1990. It was the tallest building built in London in the 1980s and remained the tallest in the City of London until overtaken by the 230-metre (750 ft) Heron Tower in 2010.

The building today is multi-tenanted and comprises Grade A office space and restaurant facilities, with restaurants on the 24th and 42nd floors.[5] In 2011, it was bought by the South African businessman Nathan Kirsh.

  1. ^ "Tower 42". Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Home | CTBUH Skyscraper Center". Buildingdb.ctbuh.org. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  3. ^ Hibbert, Christopher; Weinreb, Ben; Keay, John; Keay, Julia (2011). The London Encyclopaedia (3rd ed.). Pan Macmillan. p. 574. ISBN 9780230738782. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  4. ^ Anne's baby to be called Miss Zara Glasgow Herald 12 June 1981 page 1
  5. ^ "Rent Office Space in Tower 42, City of London | the Search Office Space Blog | Searchofficespace". Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2016.

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