One Angel Lane in London, United Kingdom

November 16, 2010 Category: Open Space, Urban Design

That located in London, United Kingdom, was designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, One Angel Lane formerly known as Watermark Place, replaces Mondial House, a redundant international telephone exchange in the heart of the City of London, on a riverside site next to Cannon Street station. The site has an important place in the history of the Thames and is defined by the working river. The northern edge boundary is also the line of the Roman riverbank, and the ‘Steelyard’ under Cannon Street station was a Hanseatic trading post, the largest medieval trading post in Britain.

Strategic viewing corridors to St. Paul’s Cathedral inform the height and massing of the new building. Twin rectangular blocks to the north are attached by a full-height atrium, and the fluid forms of the lower pavilions enclose a south-facing open square with a restaurant to encourage active use.

Occupants enjoy magnificent views along the river from Tower Bridge to Westminster, the building is clad in high-performance glazing, using dot-matrix glass with a palette of colours derived from a pixilated image of the water to create a dappled façade. The lower waterside buildings have clear glass cladding protected by a massive five-storey timber structure redolent of historic wharf structures and responsive timber louvres, which protect the lower pavilion.

One Angel Lane design by Fletcher Priest Architects