Reach for the stars: Spire London to be the tallest residential building in Western Europe

London is not short of ambitious new buildings – from the Shard, to the Cheesegrater and the Walkie Talkie, to the whole chunks of the city currently being regenerated, such as the 195-hectares Nine Elms and the Greenwich Peninsula, set to create 15,000 new homes. Yet there is always space for more, and the capital is about to welcome its skyline’s latest addition: Spire London.
Heralded by the team behind it as ‘the tallest residential tower in Western Europe’, the Spire is the newest member of the Docklands’ rapidly growing family of buildings. Reaching 235,145 m in height and spanning 67 storeys, the scheme is the brainchild of the Greenland Group, one of China’s largest premium residential developers, and architects Larry Malcic and Christopher Colosimo of award-winning architectural practice HOK.
The glass- and bronze-clad structure will contain 851 apartments, including luxurious suites and duplex penthouses. It will also include five-star lifestyle amenities such as a spa and club bar, concierge, retailing and private gardens; interiors created by Nicola Fontanella of Argent Design.
The building was designed to provide the best panoramic views of London, explain the architects, influenced by the site’s nautical history as well as the orchid flower – ergo, its top, which is shaped to look like the constellation of three ‘petals’ or ‘sails’.
The tower’s launch has only just been announced but the team is not wasting time; construction is already underway, with full completion scheduled for 2020. In the meantime, an exhibition suite created by Argent Design is housed in Warehouse Number One, right next to the development site on Hertsmere Road.
The slim, glass- and bronze-clad building is the brainchild of the Greenland Group and award-winning architectural practice HOK
The structure will contain 851 apartments, including luxurious suites and state-of-the-art duplex penthouses
The Spire was designed to capture some of London's best panoramic views
The residential units' interiors were created by Nicola Fontanella of Argent Design
Apart from its set of contemporary residential spaces, the tower will also include five-star lifestyle amenities
Residents will be treated to a 35th floor spa and club bar, concierge, retailing and private gardens
Construction on the tower is already underway, with full completion scheduled for 2020
INFORMATION
For more information visit the HOK website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Tour David Lynch's house as it hits the market
David Lynch's LA estate is for sale at $15m, and the listing pictures offer a glimpse into the late filmmaker's aesthetic and creative universe
-
A new Tadao Ando monograph unveils the creative process guiding the architect's practice
New monograph ‘Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture’ by Taschen charts decades of creative work by the Japanese modernist master
-
Inside the sculptural and sensual philosophy of jewellery house Renisis
Sardwell, founder of jewellery house Renisis, draws on sculpture, travel and theatre to create pieces that fuse sensual form with spiritual resonance
-
The new 2025 London Open House Festival tours to book
2025 London Open House launches this weekend, running 13-21 September; here, we celebrate the newcomers in the residential realm, flagging the exciting additions to the festival's growing home tour programme
-
The wait is over – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist is here
The restored home of Big Ben, creative housing for different needs, and a centre for medical innovation – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist has just been announced, and its six entries are as diverse as they can be
-
Slides, clouds and a box of presents: it’s the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s quirky new pavilion
At the Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London, ArtPlay Pavilion by Carmody Groarke and a rich Sculpture Garden open, fusing culture and fun for young audiences
-
Bay House brings restrained modern forms and low-energy design to the Devon coast
A house with heart, McLean Quinlan’s Bay House is a sizeable seaside property that works with the landscape to mitigate impact and maximise views of the sea
-
A whopping 92% of this slick London office fit-out came from reused materials
Could PLP Architecture's new workspace provide a new model for circularity?
-
Meet the landscape studio reviving the eco-brutalist Barbican Conservatory
London-based Harris Bugg Studio is working on refreshing the Barbican Conservatory as part of the brutalist icon's ongoing renewal; we meet the landscape designers to find out more
-
A refreshed Victorian home in London is soft, elegant and primed for hosting
Sobremesa house by architects Studio McW shows off its renovation and extension, designed for entertaining
-
15 years of Assemble, the community-driven British architecture collective
Rich in information and visuals, 'Assemble: Building Collective' is a new book celebrating the Turner Prize-winning architecture collective, its community-driven hits and its challenges