The Leadenhall Building
Designed by Richard Rogers and developed by British Land and Oxford Properties, the new Leadenhall Building is 225m (737ft) tall, with 48 floors.
The commercial skyscraper, opened in July 2014, is informally known as “The Cheesegrater” because of its defining feature – a distinctive tapering shape, angled at 10 degrees, which the architects developed from the earliest design stage.
This was a response to specific planning requirements protecting views of major London landmarks, especially St Paul’s Cathedral in the City and the Palace of Westminster. It is for this reason that the building, when seen from the key vantage point of Fleet Street to the west, appears to ‘lean away’ from the world-famous dome of St Paul’s.
The Leadenhall Building is designed and built to British Land and Oxford Properties’ guiding principle: that a sustainable approach is essential to delivering high quality buildings. Design and engineering elements have been deliberately chosen to make efficient use of energy and resources.
Key to the building’s sustainability is its triple-layer glass ‘skin’. The outer layer of glass is separated from an inner layer of double-glazing by a cavity containing blinds that respond to the sun’s movement, keeping the building comfortably cool in the summer months.
