HKR Design New Blackfriars Block
Published on 27-08-2008 by Skyscrapernews.com
It's been a long time coming, but one of the key sites on Blackfriars Road in the heart of the London Borough of Southwark could finally be set for a redevelopment.
Situated at 43-46 Blackfriars Road, it's the location of a previous 100 metre tall office tower to that was local architects Lifschutz Davidson was floated by JS Developments but subsequently refused planning permission by Southwark Council back in 2002.
This time the architects are HKR and they have designed a mixed use office and hotel building with 20 floors that will reach 75 metres in height with the offices located on the lower six floors and the hotel element of the scheme standing above them.
43-46 Blackfriars Road is basically a building of two halves. The lower office floors broadly fill up the entire site and feature floor to ceiling glazing with an irregular patterning of solid vertical adding a spot of solidity to what would otherwise be a glass box.
As well as having a set back, a clear visual demarcation is provided between the office section and the hotel with a vastly reduced amount of glazing for occupiers of the hotel rooms to enjoy. Privacy is clearly more important here than big airy spaces although as the tower increases in height the amount of glazing on the cladding becomes more apparent, perhaps to offer better views to those who have paid for more expensive rooms further up the building.
The end result is a conservative design that is noticeably squatter than it could otherwise have been, perhaps because of the need to play it safe, not least because two developments on Blackfriars Road have already been called in for public inquiries and a smooth ride through the planning system is always cheaper for a developer than a bumpy one.
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