Green Office Building Takes Step Nearer

The construction of a £1 billion skyscraper in the City of London has taken a step towards reality after investment body AXA IM bought up a site at 50 Fenchurch Street.

It means work can now proceed on the construction of a pre-approved 35-storey tower featuring a green wall, a major architectural and environmental innovation aimed at greening the heart of the capital.

Global head of AXA IM Alts Isabelle Scemama said: “50 Fenchurch presents us with another rare opportunity to secure a prime development site in the City of London, which we continue to believe is one of the most desirable office locations in the world.”

Right now few construction workers will be thinking of buying winter work wear amid the blazing hot weather, but this will be required a few months from now as the project proceeds and the seasons change.

The project itself represents a new major investment by AXA IM in City of London office space after the recent completion of the 22 Bishopsgate Tower, the tallest building in the Square Mile, a reflection of rising demand for office space as the pandemic has eased. However, the construction of the building itself and its green wall mark a response to something else rising – the temperature.

It is not just that Britain has just seen the thermometers recording 40 degree C temperatures for the first time, which underlines the general need to take action to curb climate change. It is also that buildings themselves can generate and reflect heat and exist in environments where everything from car exhausts to cookers can add to the ‘urban Island heat effect’.

This effect leads to built-up areas of cities being hotter than neighbouring areas, something more greenery and water can help to curb. The addition of green roofs and green walls on buildings can help to achieve this in areas without a lot of open space.