First look at new London skyscraper set to become one of Europe’s tallest buildings with restaurant & viewing platform

A NEW London skyscraper is set to break records and be the same height as The Shard.

The new tower will be one of Europe’s tallest buildings and new plans have designed the tower taller than when it was announced in 2016.

Officially named 1 Undershaft, it will see St Helen’s tower demolished to make way for the 309.6m and 73-storey behemoth in the City.

The locale is in the eastern cluster of skyscrapers meaning it will be neighbours with the Gherkin and the Cheesegrater.

New designs by Eric Parry Architects have removed the trellis look on the outside and instead brought in a grid design.

The revised plan is now for a segmented tower, which would match The Shard at 309.6m tall.

Construction is expected to start in 2026 and be completed in 2030.

The building is set to have multiple roof gardens, retail spaces, and restaurants.

The Museum of London is also set to play a role by curating the educational spaces in the building.

Plans say the public viewing gallery and education space will be on the top two levels 72 and 73 of the site, or 282 and 286m in the air.

Levels two to seven will be flexible working spaces similar to a business dojo or a WeWork.

Office floors will then climb from level 14 to level 71 with amenity spaces at levels 30 and 48.

Eric Parry Architects, who have designed the plans for  firm Aroland Holdings, says the skyscraper will have the highest occupied floor height in the UK.

More than 170,000 tonnes of concrete, 12,200 tonnes of steel, and 2,000 tonnes of glass will be used to build the tower. 

When construction begins there is the possibility that Roman ruins or a medieval churchyard will be dug up as the site is within the old city walls, the plans say.

The plans are currently under consideration with the City of London Corporation.

Plans were initially revised in 2016 to lop five metres off the top of the building as it was too close to flight paths.

London has a history of having tall towers that broke records.

St Paul’s was the tallest building in the world for a year after it was built in 1310.

The church remained the tallest building in London until Millbank Tower overtook it in 1963 kicking off skyscraper dominance.