35-Story Tower Approved for Islington, U.K.

The Islington, U.K. council approved Kohn Pedersen Fox’s plans to transform the Inmarsat building on Old Street roundabout into a 35-story office tower, Building Design reports. The Shoreditch scheme proposes using the 1990s office building at 99 City Road as the base of a 154-m tower containing 65,000 m² of office space. Approximately two thirds of the existing building’s structure will be retained, including the foundations and basement, with a new facade and a new core to be inserted to support the tower. The tower will also include a triple height event space on the ground floor and a large public square leading onto Weston Williamson & Partners’ new Old Street station, which is currently being built by contractor Morgan Sindall and is expected to open in 2024. Historic England objected to the scheme on the grounds of the tower’s impact on views of nearby buildings including the grade I-listed Wesley’s Chapel and the grade II*-listed Armoury House. The planning officers’ report admitted the height of the tower would harm the heritage sites and departs from the borough’s development plan but said this was offset by the scheme’s “exceptional” design, new public realm and the provision of 4,300 m² of affordable workspace. Construction is expected to begin in 2024.