{"id":10051,"date":"2013-10-13T07:01:06","date_gmt":"2013-10-13T07:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gardenvisit.com\/blog\/?p=10051"},"modified":"2013-10-13T07:01:06","modified_gmt":"2013-10-13T07:01:06","slug":"the-122-leadenhall-cheesegrater-and-protecting-londons-skyline-landscape-view-of-st-pauls-cathedral-from-fleet-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gardenvisit.com\/blog\/the-122-leadenhall-cheesegrater-and-protecting-londons-skyline-landscape-view-of-st-pauls-cathedral-from-fleet-street\/","title":{"rendered":"The 122 Leadenhall Cheesegrater and protecting London's skyline landscape view of St Paul's Cathedral from Fleet Street"},"content":{"rendered":"
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St Paul's Cathedral, the Fenchurch Cheesgrater and the London Skyline from Fleet Street<\/p><\/div>\n

London has had controls on tall buildings since the Great Fire of 1666 and views of St Paul’s Cathedral have been protected since Faraday House was built in 1938. A recent consequence of this protection is that No 122 Leadenhall Street, dubbed the Cheesgrater, was shaped like a wedge of cheese. The planners and the designers (Rogers Stirk Harbour Architects), sought to lessen the impact on the much-loved view of St Paul’s Cathedral for those traveling east along Fleet Street. As the above photographs show, the west elevation is shaped like a church spire on its south face and a rectangular block on its north face. This reduced the floor area by almost 50% (and the rental income by approx \u00a34.5m\/year). I commend the sacrifice of profit to beauty but is the result beautiful? My answers are (1) the north and south elevations of the Cheesegrater drive an ugly wedge into the City’s once-harmonious skyline. So the endeavour was worthy but the result is only a partial success. (2) The most important street view of St Paul’s Cathedral, from Ludgate Hill, would have been unaffected by an any-shaped building at 122 Leadenhall Street (3) I would prefer a spire, in keeping with London’s traditions, or a curvilinear building to harmonise with the Gherkin and the Walkie Talkie (also known as Vinoly’s Bulge). Please consider the following questions, with the above images from left to right:<\/p>\n