21-Story London Office Project Approved Despite Objections

Despite objections from heritage groups, a 21-story office project on Fleet Street in London has been granted planning permission by the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat reports. The project, developed by CO—RE, involves detaching the Daily Express building, which is Grade II* listed, from the River Court building, which will be demolished to make way for the new office building. The office building will wrap around the heritage Art Deco building on two sides and will feature a series of stepped roof terraces starting on the sixth floor. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, it will deliver 50,550 m² of office space and 1,700 m² of retail space. A dedicated cyclehouse with storage for more than 1,000 bicycles with a bicycle concierge service and coffee shop will be situated on the ground floor. The Daily Express building will also be redeveloped into a publicly accessible cultural venue with a public roof garden.