Barbican tower plans scaled back after backlash

Plans for an office block opposite the Barbican have been reduced in scale after a backlash from residents – but the changes have been dismissed as a "token gesture".

Developers LaSalle Investment Management, Lipton Rogers and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) say they have listened to feedback and made "substantial" revisions to the 1 Silk Street plan, and have reduced the western section of the block by three storeys.

The original plans for the 1980s former Linklaters building involved demolishing it and building a block of two towers, each standing 20 storeys above the ground floor.

Around 1,000 objections were lodged, with residents calling the original proposal "needlessly overpowering".

A spokesperson for campaign group Barbican Quarter Action (BQA) said the height reduction was welcome but "brings no relief".

Under the revised design, the western tower's 17 storeys would still be three storeys taller than the current block, while the eastern tower remains 20 storeys above the ground.

The amendments will significantly reduce the loss of daylight to neighbouring homes, it is claimed, with the Barbican's Speed House and Cromwell Tower particularly close by.

The adjustments will mean 5% less office floorspace than first proposed.

Despite this, the BQA spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "No, the developer has not listened. Consultation fell on deaf ears, as these revisions demonstrate."

They added that trimming the western end "is a token gesture that brings no relief" and that the building will "steal light and privacy".

The group pointed to other developments near the Barbican, including London Wall Place by MAKE and 88 Wood Street by Richard Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, as examples showing "that profitability and respectful, proud and civic architecture can go hand in hand".

They continued: "Here at 1 Silk Street, it is obvious that developer and architect have lost that last bit of ambition and appreciation they had for the building, site, and context from the outset."

BQA said they hoped the design team would be "sent back to the drawing board".

Gary Moore, head of international accounts, Europe, at LaSalle Investment Management, said the revised plans "reflect our continued commitment to listening carefully to residents and investing in the City of London's future".

Sir Stuart Lipton, founding partner at 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.

"It opens itself to the community, enriches the cultural fabric of the Square Mile, and delivers clear improvements for Silk Street and its surroundings."

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