Plans for the Square Mile’s tallest skyscraper have been submitted to the City of London Corporation, according to the Telegraph.
At 997ft, the proposed office tower will fall just short of The Shard in terms of its height, making it the second tallest building in Western Europe, but will exceed the height of AXA’s proposed replacement for the stalled Pinnacle, 22 Bishopsgate, which was unveiled last month.
The Singaporean owned Aviva Tower, opposite the Gherkin, would be demolished to make way for the new building, which is reportedly being designed by architect Eric Parry.
However, in the opinion of an unnamed property expert cited by the Telegraph, planning permission for a tower of this scale may prove difficult to obtain, given that the height of 22 Bishopsgate was significantly scaled down following concerns from the Civil Aviation Authority.
The source continued to say that the proposal was certain to fuel the controversy over the impact of tall buildings on London’s skyline.
The Telegraph claims that CGI’s of the proposed building (which it doesn’t show) resemble Canary Wharf’s One Canada Square.
