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Lipton Rogers has submitted revised plans for its proposed office scheme at London’s Barbican Estate, cutting three storeys from the 1 Silk Street project following public backlash.
CGI of the revised plans for 1 Silk Street
The developer, working on behalf of LaSalle Asset Management, said that in response to feedback received during consultation, it was reducing the height and massing of the scheme, as well as enhancing the design and privacy measures.
The £450m City of London office scheme proposed in June last year comprised two 20-storey towers spanning 981,000 sq ft of commercial space plus 24,000 sq ft of retail and community uses.
The scheme’s western section will now sit at 17 storeys, only three floors higher than the existing building at 1 Silk Street, while the eastern side retains its height due to the taller commercial buildings nearby. This will result in 5% less office space.
The facades have also been amended to help the building better fit in with its surroundings. Other changes include removing some of the scheme’s outdoor terraces to address concerns over a breach of privacy at nearby residences. The revisions will also significantly improve the impact on daylight at nearby towers, Lipton added.
The development would see the existing office demolished, with current tenant Linklaters planning to move to new offices in the City at 20 Ropemakers.
The site near the Barbican is owned by Malaysian pension fund PNB, which acquired it for £350m from Beacon Capital Holdings in 2011. LaSalle intends to buy the site if the application is successful.
The original proposals faced more than 1,000 objections, including criticism from heritage groups such as Historic England, the Twentieth Century Society and SAVE Britain’s Heritage all objecting to the scheme.
Stuart Lipton, founding partner of Lipton Rogers Developments, said: “In listening carefully to feedback received, the revised scheme designed by SOM is more modest in scale, while more ambitious in public benefits.”
He added that the revised scheme “opens itself to the community, enriches the cultural fabric of the Square Mile and delivers clear improvements for Silk Street and its surroundings”.
Gary Moore, head of international accounts, Europe at LaSalle Investment Management, said: “The revised proposals for 1 Silk Street reflect our continued commitment to listening carefully to residents and investing in the City of London’s future.”
Earlier this month, an environmental report by the City of London revealed that two peregrine falcons have been spotted using nearby towers as breeding sites.
The developers have been instructed to confirm whether the birds are nesting before any construction begins.
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