Plans for tall buildings abound in London, Milan.

KONE Modernization in London Includes Polaris

KONE has been awarded a contract to modernize the elevators of global law firm Clifford Chance at its Canary Wharf offices on 10 Upper Bank Street in London. The deal includes the integration of the KONE Polaris® elevator destination-control system to the 27 elevators in the 33-story building. In addition to reducing elevator travel times and eliminating overcrowding and unnecessary stops, it addresses the building’s requirement to move 25% more people as its population increases. Work has begun, with completion expected by December 2017.

SOM’s “Toblerone” Towers Greenlighted for London

A pair of 39-story towers designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) that includes more than 400 residences, 50,000 m2 of office space, 1,628 m2 of retail, a 350-seat auditorium and public space has received approval from officials in London, Building Design reported. The “Toblerone” buildings (nicknamed thusly due to their shape) are set to have multilevel, landscaped rooftops, and developer London & Properties plans to include “affordable” housing. The towers are planned at Elephant and Castle in the Southwark area on the site of a 1980s office building, library and hostel.

London’s 1 Leadenhall Planned

By 2018, Brookfield hopes to start building a 37-story, 65,000-m2 office tower at the corner of Leadenhall Street and Bishopsgate in London, Building Design reported. Designed by Ken Shuttleworth of Make Architects, the structure has a stepped design and would contain 50,000 m2 of office and 4,700 m2 of retail space on the first three floors. Leadenhall Court, currently occupied by Amazon, would be demolished prior to construction. Brookfield had planned to submit its plans to the city over the summer. The project is scheduled to take approximately three years.

44-Story Milanese Building Tops Out

designboom reported in June that a 170-m-tall twisting skyscraper in Milan, Italy, had topped out. Designed by Zaha Hadid, it is part of the large CityLife development. Originally named “Lo Storto” (“The Twisted One”), the 44-story structure is now called “Generali Tower” after the insurance firm that will occupy it. Its base will contain a commercial shopping area that connects to Milan’s underground metro and an underground parking lot. Above, 39 stories will accommodate approximately 3,200 people. The concrete structure contains a central core able to withstand lateral loads, with a radial set of columns allowing the structure to twist as it rises. Temperature control is aided by sun-shading louvers and a double glazing system with integrated ventilation. It is to be completed next year.