London’s Tallest Skyscraper Opens to the Public

London’s newest and tallest skyscraper opened its doors to the public last weekend after being under construction for the past three years. The building is officially known as the Leadenhall Building, named after its location at 122 Leadenhall St, but is more commonly referred to as the Cheesegrater due to its wedge shape.  Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners designed the 738-foot, 48-story building and Arup were the structural engineers for the project. Nearly 80% of the $465 million building was prefabricated in the north of England and transported to the site in the middle of the night, proving to be one of the main challenges associated with the project.

After being delayed by the financial crisis, construction began on the skyscraper in 2011. The owners had to ship the majority of the building in pieces from Northern England and then lift them into their proper place.  The video below discusses how this was accomplished. The building’s unique shape has created a lot of interest in the building, and that has helped the building’s developers secure tenants for 53% percent of its available floor space. The only downside to the design is that is has less available floor space compared to other buildings of similar height. The developers are confident they can not only sell the remaining space before the Cheesegrater allows its tenants to move in next year, but also at a higher price per square foot than other buildings in the area. Insurance company Aon recently announced they will signed a 20-year lease for seven floors inside the Cheesegrater. This popularity is in contrast to other recently completed towers in the area such as The Harmon which have struggled to lease all of their available space.

The Cheesegrater will primarily be an office building but it will also have a restaurant, retail and event space, and a landscaped garden on the ground floor.  It will not, however, have a public viewing platform like many other of the world’s tallest buildings. Click here to see a photo gallery of the Cheesegrater.