25 Old Broad Street

skyscraper in the City of London

Tower 42 is the third-tallest skyscraper in the City of London and the eighth tallest in Greater London.[1] Its original name was the National Westminster Tower, having been built to house the National Westminster Bank's international division. Seen from above, the shape of the tower resembles that of the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement).[2]

Tower 42
Tower 42 is the third-tallest building in the City of London
Map
Former namesNational Westminster Tower; International Financial Centre
General information
TypeCommercial
Location25 Old Broad Street, London
Construction started1971
Completed1980
Height
Roof183 metres (600 ft)
Technical details
Floor count47
Lifts/elevators21
Design and construction
ArchitectR Siefert & Partners
Structural engineerPell Frischmann
Main contractorJohn Mowlem & Co Ltd

The tower, designed by Richard Seifert and engineered by Pell Frischmann, is located at 25 Old Broad Street. It was built by John Mowlem & Co between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in 1980, and formally opened on 11 June 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II.[3]

The construction cost was £72 million (approximately £311 million today).[4] It is 183 metres (600 ft) high, which made it the tallest building in the United Kingdom until the topping out of One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in 1990. It held the status of tallest building in the City of London for 30 years, until it was surpassed by the Heron Tower in December 2009.

References change

  1. "existing | Buildings". Emporis. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  2. Hibbert, Christopher; Weinreb, Ben; Keay, John; Keay, Julia (2011). The London Encyclopaedia (3rd ed.). Pan Macmillan. p. 574. ISBN 9780230738782. Retrieved 20 Aug 2014.
  3. "Glasgow Herald, June 12, 1981, p1". Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  4. UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Measuring Worth: UK CPI.