Tower 42

Tower 42, previously known as the NatWest tower or National Westminster Tower, is a skyscraper in the City of London, England. From above, the shape of the tower is like the shape of the logo of the NatWest bank.

Tower 42
Tower 42 is the fourth-tallest building in the City of London
Former names	NatWest Tower; International Financial Centre
Record height
Tallest in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1991
Preceded by	BT Tower
Surpassed by	One Canada Square
General information
Type	Commercial
Location	London, EC2 England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′55″N 0°05′02″W
Construction started	1971
Completed	1980
Height
Roof	183 metres (600 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	47
Floor area	30,100 m2 (324,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	21
Design and construction
Architect	R Seifert & Partners
Structural engineer	Pell Frischmann
Main contractor	John Mowlem & Co Ltd

It was constructed between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in 1980 and opened on 11 June 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II. When completed it became the tallest building in the United Kingdom and remained the tallest in the city of London for 30 years until the completion of Heron Tower in December 2009.

The cost to build it was £72 million (£283 million today). The building today has grade A office spaces, a restaurant on the 24th floor and a champagne and seafood bar on the 42nd floor.

Design

Night view showing lightning display

In June 2012, a Capix LED multi-media lighting system was installed around levels 39 to 45. This replaced the previous high-energy floodlighting at the top of the building.

The top of the tower is made to resemble the NatWest logo of three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement.

There are four sections known as the core, leaf 1, leaf 2 and leaf 3.