22 Bishopsgate Project Tops Out

Representatives from across the project team, including Multiplex, AXA IM – Real Assets, on behalf of an international consortium of investors, Lipton Rogers Developments and PLP Architecture attended the ceremony to mark this significant milestone for the project.

22 Bishopsgate, located close to Liverpool Street and Bank stations, will offer 1.275 million sq ft of workspace designed to accommodate 12,000 people and up to 100 companies of various sizes.

The building has been designed to respond to the major shifts in the way people work and live, brought about by cultural, demographic and technological advances in the world of work. The building is one of the first in London to incorporate dedicated community spaces throughout, which have been designed to give tenants the opportunity to meet new people, interact and share ideas, invigorating workers and providing a platform that encourages collaborative and creative thinking.

In another first of its kind, the 62-storey tower, with the fastest lifts in Europe, will also house a fresh food market, innovation hub, gym, wellbeing retreat, curated 'art walk', business club, cycle hub, destination restaurant, as well as the London's highest free public viewing gallery.

The unique shape of the floorplate permits flexible floor layouts. New technologies will make life easier for occupiers and their people, while simultaneously simplifying building management for the landlord. It is also the first UK core and shell building to be registered for the International WELL Building Institute's WELL Building Standard (WELL).

22 Bishopsgate's main superstructure comprises a steel-framed tower with a central supporting concrete core. The floor slabs are composite with cellular steel beams, providing a diaphragm-action restraint to the perimeter columns. There are three column positions on either side of the core to act as outrigger lateral stability structures. These outriggers, contained within two plant room floors, are connected to the core through storey-deep trusses. The lightweight concrete mixes have been poured higher than ever before in London, supplying 54 floors so far and therefore exceeding the previous record in London of 50 floors at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf.

The basement is three levels deep with a network of supporting columns and transfer structures taking loads down to piled foundations. The façade is a closed-cavity glazed curtain wall system which circulates air within the cavity and allows the building to have very clear glazing whilst delivering a strong environmental performance.

Andrew Feighery, Project Director at Multiplex, said:

"22 Bishopsgate is a truly innovative building in the heart of London's Square Mile, which will foster a creative environment for the 12,000 people occupying the building."