Reach for the stars: Spire London to be the tallest residential building in Western Europe
![The London Docklands](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vnNZQV33n7qjAcNqRnagW7-415-80.jpg)
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
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
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).
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Westminster Coroner's Court renovation delicately blends moments of softness and austerity
Westminster Coroner's Court gets a refresh and addition, courtesy of Lynch Architects and artist Brian Clarke
By Ellie Stathaki Published