City of London building - Photos © adrian welch / isabelle lomholt:

Willis Building - 51 Lime Street
2005-08
Foster & Partners



Willis Tower Completion - 13 May 2008
Foster + Partners has completed a new UK headquarters for Willis at 51 Lime Street in the City of London. The project is significant in both urban and environmental terms. Open and integrated at street level, its shops and cafés extend the spirit of nearby Leadenhall Market; and its progressive environmental strategy surpasses statutory carbon reduction targets by more than 20 per cent.

The development comprises two separate buildings which step down to a public plaza. Located to the east of the Lloyd’s Building, the 9-storey building at 1 Fenchurch Street responds to the smaller scale of Billiter Street and Fenchurch Avenue, while the 28-storey Willis Building rises to the west of the site. The smaller building’s concave façade shapes the plaza and its curved corners maintain important view corridors, as well as reinstating an historic route through the site. A fringe of shops, cafés and bars at its base together with linear seating and landscaping, combine to enhance the public realm.


Developer: British Land PLC & Stanhope PLC
cost: Approx. £110m

13 Mar 2008
51 Lime Street awarded ‘New City Architecture Award 2007’


credit: Foster + Partners

New headquarters for Willis in the City of London. This annual award for the ‘best new building in the City’ is presented on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects by the former Lord Mayor and judged by a panel including such luminaries as Paul Finch OBE, Deputy Chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

"Foster + Partners has provided Willis with a new and sustainable home in the City of London. Comprising a 29-storey tower on Lime Street and a 10-storey building on Fenchurch Avenue, the building is a dynamic addition to the City. With a fringe of shops, cafes and bars at its base, the scheme extends the vibrancy of nearby Leadenhall Market, creating a lively retail centre in the City as well as a new public space.

With a progressive environmental strategy, 51 Lime Street is BREEAM excellent rated and beats Building Regulation carbon reduction targets by over 20 percent."



Photographs taken with Panasonic DMC-FX01 lumix camera; Leica lense: 2816x2112 pixels - original photos available upon request: info@e-architect.co.uk



51 Lime Street architects : Foster & Partners



Adjacent building to west: Lloyds Building, One Lime street, City of London
1984
Richard Rogers

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Willis Building London - page: adrian welch / isabelle lomholt