Atrium entrance and internal spaces at 1980s City landmark to be given facelift aiming to attract modern occupiers
Tower 42 is set for a major refurbishment under plans being drawn up by architect dMFK, the building’s owner has revealed.
Long-term landlord Tower 42 Estate said it was planning a “significant transformation” of the 1980s City of London landmark to bring it up to date with the expectations of modern office occupiers.
Designed by Richard Seifert, the 47-storey tower was completed in 1980 and was the UK’s tallest building for the rest of the decade until it was surpassed by Canary Wharf’s One Canada Square in 1990.
It was extended with a three-storey glazed atrium following the 1993 IRA bomb on Bishopsgate, which damaged the tower so extensively that it had to be entirely reclad and refurbished internally with the work carried out by John Laing.
Its owners have said the 1990s interiors have now become dated, “lacking the flexibility and amenity expected by today’s occupiers”, while the glazed atrium had a “disjointed feel”.
The atrium would be reimagined as a set of three separate spaces under dMFK’s proposals, with the ground floor to feature a cafe, three bookable meeting rooms, a large conference space and a central seating area.
The mezzanine level would remain as the tower’s reception with the addition of new seating and management office, while the level above would become a “serene, biophilic sanctuary” to contrast with the busier floors below.
Ben Knight, director at dMFK, said the firm’s designs aimed to “celebrate and evolve the original tower, to make it the best version of itself”.
Associate at the firm Isobel Eaton said the refurbishment envisaged a “greenhouse-like glazed entrance” with fluted tiles and terrazzo inspired by the building’s distinctive brutalist design.
The lift lobbies would also be opened up with large ceiling coffers aiming to enhance the “sense of being within the core rather than walking around it”. A dedicated cycle entrance would also lead into a redesigned basement with 160 bike spaces alongside end of trip facilities.
Both exterior and interior design is being handled by dMFK, with the project team also including Exigere on costs, DP9 on planning, Mosaic on structures, Velocity on transport, L&P Group on services and Force Fire on fire.
Proposals for the refurbishment come seven months after plans were submitted to transform another Richard Seifert-designed building on the estate, the five-storey office at 20 Old Broad Street, which is set to be transformed into a hotel by Stiff & Trevillion.
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