NOOKS and CORNERS
APPLICATION papers from architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to redevelop 1 Silk Street, in the City of London, claim that the design “benefited from dialogue with heritage organisations, including 20th Century Society, Historic England, Georgian Group, Victorian Society, and Barbican Estate, ensuring the building respects and enhances the area’s context.” Yet the views expressed during that dialogue have been completely ignored.
No one is arguing that the current building, a 1980s-built law firm office of no particular merit and poor energy efficiency, is worth keeping on heritage grounds. But the 21-storey replacement designed by SOM for a development scheme by LaSalle Investment Management and Lipton Rogers Developments is much bigger, meaning it will have a significant impact on the neighbouring Barbican estate and loom over many of the protected buildings nearby.