The Empress strikes back: West London's landmark Y-shaped office tower, the Empress State Building in Earl's Court, is being refurbished to designs by Wilkinson Eyre Architects. The £78m project involves recladding all three concave facades and adding aluminium sunshading on the south facade. The tower will be topped by a lightweight three-storey structure including a revolving penthouse bar.

The Land Securities development is due for completion next spring. Bovis Lend Lease is construction manager, structural engineer is Anthony Hunt Associates and services engineers are MG Partnership and BWS Partnership. QS is EC Harris.