39 storeys for 145 City Rd EC1
2012/3259\Demolition of existing buildings and erection of a 39 storey residential building with retail or café / restaurant units at ground floor a 10 storey office building with retail or café / restaurant units at ground floor and a single storey retail or café / restaurant kiosk. The development consists of a total of 302 residential units (26 x studios 121 x 1 bed 126 x 2 bed and 29 x 3 bed) 10625sqm of Use Class B1 (Office) floorspace and 943sqm of Use Class A1 (Retail) or A3 (Restaurant or Cafes) floorspace plus basement associated landscaping car parking (29 spaces including 4 disabled spaces) vehicular access and cycle parking (459 spaces). Application accompanied by an Environmental Statement submitted pursuant to the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011.” http://idox.hackney.gov.uk/WAM/showCaseFile.do?action=show&appType=Planning&appNumber=2012/3259There’s loads of drawings obviously but the Design & Access Statement Appearance would probably be a good starting point. This is the existing building for demolition; http://www.freeofficesearch.co.uk/propertyimages/29460.JPG“
benjamin
Permission granted;http://elrnews.com/2013/02/14/rocket-approved-in-shoreditch/
insabordination
Bloody Hell! – Have any of the people granting permission actually walked around in that area lately?Already there’s hardly any light touching the ground anymore thanks to all the new buildings that have shot up and now they want to add a 39 storey monstrosity, evidently so we can all become Morlocks and wave goodbye to daylight forever! :/
benjamin
@insabordination You’ll be disappointed to learn that there are many more tall buildings in the pipeline for City Road. It’s true that they reduce light at street level (but then so do trees) but the additional residential, office and retail space will transform City Rd into a thriving central London location that can only be good for Hackney as a whole. Aesthetics are of course subjective, but personally, I like the design and think it quite elegant;
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insabordination
…I live just around the corner and I think the current buildings are already borderline too tall… London is not Manhattan – I don’t mind thriving central locations but not if it means living in eternal darkness! – 39 storeys is just too tall! – And I really wish they’d finish that concrete skeleton that’s forlornly been abandoned for the last 3 years first before starting on new projects!
benjamin
London is not Manhattan but cities and their buildings types and heights are always evolving; from two/three storey timber and thatch constructions to five storey Georgian terraces, to Victorian mansion blocks, to ten storey Art Deco apartment blocks, to modern high-rise from the mid 20th century etc.\Too tall” for what? It’s essential that central London locations densify in order to lessen urban sprawl. That concrete skeleton has indeed been a blot on that road for too long but other unrelated projects can’t be stopped until another is finished and I understand that construction there will soon be restarted. I do hope that when it’s all done you feel you have gained more than you have lost.”
insabordination
\Too tall” for the average resident walking at ground level! – And I have never seen a tree-lined street that manages to blot out daylight even a fraction of a fraction of what those giant hulks can do!But yes I hope you’re right and it will all come out in the wash… and it’s good news about the skeleton!”
benjamin
\And I have never seen a tree-lined street that manages to blot out daylight even a fraction of a fraction of what those giant hulks can do!”
I’m not trying to make a direct comparison (as a campaigner for more street trees I certainly think they contribute far more than they take away) merely pointing out that there are always pro and cons to everything.”“Too tall” for the average resident walking at ground level!” That would depend on the priorities of the “average resident” (a tricky concept).”
insabordination
I agree that trees in streets are definitely an asset and there should be far more of them! – But even in the picture above, there is more light to be seen than at most times during the day within those narrow shafts created by tall buildings!I would wager (but don’t quote me on it!) that the average resident walking on ground level would be with me in enjoying daylight in a wind-tunnel free street…
benjamin
But then, when completed, the \average resident” will include those living in the new high-rises which will line City Road so presumably they would consider the pros to outweigh the cons.”
insabordination
Hmmm… I sense the twain will not meet here…The difference is that the residents of those new high-rises have a choice as to their location, whereas us long established ones simply have this environment imposed on us!