1980s London Buildings to Make Way for New Tower Plan
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) has devised a plan to replace Linklaters’ 1980s headquarters (HQ) at 1 Silk Street in London, England, with two 20-story towers, Building Design reported in June. The legal services firm plans to move from the mid-rise linked buildings into a new HQ at a 25-story building in East London by 2026. SOM designed the new Silk Street towers for 22 Bishopsgate developer Lipton Rogers to provide 91,000 m2 of commercial space, 2,200 m2 of retail and 2,400 m2 of public space. The old buildings will soon become “unlettable due to requirements for commercial buildings to have a minimum EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of C,” set to be enforced in 2026. Only the basement and foundation of the existing property will remain, with a foliage-filled, terraced structure in its place that Lipton Rogers said would yield a biodiversity increase of 352%. The completed towers are set to open in 2032.
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