Width of tower would also be increased by 3m to accommodate larger stair core
PLP has drawn up plans to add two storeys to a 34-storey tower in Native Land’s Bankside Yards masterplan as part of a second staircase redesign.
The practice has submitted a non-material amendment application for plot BY6 in the £2.5bn mixed-use next to the Tate Modern at the southern end of Blackfriars Bridge in Southwark.
The revisions aim to bring consented proposals for a 32-storey tower on the site up to date with building safety requirements for two stair cores in residential buildings taller than 18m which came into force in April last year.
The wider Bankside Yards masterplan was approved in 2020 and includes a total of eight buildings up to 50 storeys in height.
It is a large part of an emerging tower cluster around SImpson Haugh’s existing One Blackfriars building which is also set to include three towers designed by Foster & Partners for US developer Hines.
> Also read: Bankside Yards: A new net zero model for London?
PLP’s changes to the Bankside Yards tower would add two additional storeys to the consented 32-storey tower and one additional storey to its podium, while floor-to-ceiling heights would be cut from 3.2m to 3.1m.
The revisions, submitted earlier this month, would also widen the footprint of the tower by 3m to accommodate the enlarged two-stair core.
PLP said increasing the height of the building was the only feasible option to accommodate the increased size of the core due to site constraints.
It argued in the submitted planning documents that the revised tower would “appear very similar” to the consented scheme on the skyline” and result in the “same effect on views, townscape character and heritage assets”.
“There would be no harm to heritage and no harmful effects on townscape character and views. The townscape and visual character of the site would be positively transformed,” the practice said.
As a result of the redesign, the number of homes in the tower would increase from 165 to 173 market units and from 15 shared ownership units to 26 social rented units.
Native Land has been approached for comment.
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