High rise – Is 2019 London’s year of the tall building?

More tall buildings will be completed this year in London than ever before, according to a new survey. A total of 76 towers will transform the skyline – more than three times as many as last year.

The new skyscrapers will go up across the capital, with buildings planned for 22 of London’s 33 boroughs. The largest number (18) will be in Tower Hamlets, with 11 towers planned for Lambeth. For the first time, buildings of 20+ storeys are also earmarked for the boroughs of Camden, Barnet and Hounslow.

London’s deputy mayor for planning, regeneration and skills, Jules Pipe, said: “London continues to grow and with this comes a number of challenges. Located in the right place and designed with their surroundings in mind, tall buildings have a role in meeting the needs of our rapidly expanding city.”  

Around 90% of the tall buildings proposed are substantially for residential use, delivering an estimated 110,000 new homes.  

But while some urban planners see building skywards as a necessary part of a global city’s growth, campaigners against tall buildings have called the findings “heartbreaking”.

Barbara Weiss, director of the Skyline Campaign, said: “If you look down the river it’s horrific, if you look at the City of London it’s horrific. You can’t get away from these towers.”

Notable new skyscrapers include 60-70 St Mary Axe, a building already being called the ‘Can of Ham’. Other towers being completed are Nine Elms Point in Lambeth, Chelsea Waterfront at the former Lots Road power station site and the Embassy Gardens in Wandsworth.

The figures are revealed in the New London Architecture (NLA) Tall Buildings Survey 2019. The NLA, is an independent body for London’s built environment, bringing together professionals, politicians and the public. The study was completed with property consultancy, GL Hearn and is the NLA’s sixth annual survey of its kind.

Peter Murray, chairman of NLA, said: “After six years of undertaking this review, I think we can finally declare 2019 as the year of the tall building.  

“Tall buildings are becoming increasingly accepted as a necessary form of urban development, not just in commercial centres like the City or Canary Wharf, but to provide much-needed new homes right across the capital.”

Read more about this story in the Evening Standard Homes & Property and on the NLA website.