How Does Your City Garden Grow? Tulip To Be Planted Next To Gherkin

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23 November 2018

A planning application has been submitted to the City of London Corporation for The Tulip, a massive bulbous shaped tower which would be sited next to 30 St Mary Axe, also known as The Gherkin.

The application went in on November 13 for what is veing described as a new public and cultural attraction - the brainchild of Foster+ Partners.

The project is proposed by J. Safra Group as owners and F+P as architects respectively of 30 St Mary Axe.

Maturing skyline

Since the turn of the Millennium, London’s skyline has matured with new high-rise buildings that reflect its growth as a global financial hub. In addition, the City of London Corporation has been driving proposals to enliven the Square Mile by creating a Culture Mile with world-class tourist facilities.

A classroom in the sky

The Tulip proposes for a 305.3-metre-high visitor attraction with a diverse programme of events.

 A key feature will be the education facility within the top of The Tulip, offering 20,000 free places per year for London’s state school children. This educational resource, provided by the J. Safra Group, will deliver national curriculum topics using innovative tools to bring to life the city’s history and dynamism.

Clearly, The Tulip will seek to provide a stunning vantage point to view London from a height of around 300 metres. The viewing galleries will offer visitors an experience with sky bridges, internal glass slides and gondola pod rides on the building’s façade that will appeal to people across all age groups.

Visitors will benefit from interactive materials and briefings from expert guides about the history of London. Complementing the experience will be a sky bar and restaurants with 360-degree views of the city.

Sustainability objectives

A new pocket park is proposed alongside a two-storey pavilion offering a publicly accessible rooftop garden.  Together with green walls, this increases the current and proposed site’s (including The Gherkin) green surface area by 8.5 times, supporting the Mayor’s goal for London to be the world’s first National Park City.

Public access will also be considerably improved with the removal of over half of the existing perimeter walls around The Gherkin.

Energy performance

A Foster's spokesperson told ThisWeekinFM: "The Tulip’s soft bud-like form and minimal building footprint reflects its reduced resource use, with high performance glass and optimised building systems reducing its energy consumption. Heating and cooling will be provided by zero combustion technology while integrated photovoltaic cells will generate energy on site."

The spokesperson also intimated that both The Tulip and The Gherkin would move towards 24-hour operation to create opportunities for a diverse range of businesses to operate out-of-office hours.

Sir Norm

Sir Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners said: “Continuing the pioneering design of 30 St Mary Axe, The Tulip is in the spirit of London as a progressive, forward-thinking city. It offers significant benefits to Londoners and visitors as a cultural and social landmark with unmatched educational resources for future generations.”

Jacob J. Safra said: “The Tulip’s elegance and soft strength complements the iconic Gherkin. We are confident in London’s role as a global city and are proud to offer its schoolchildren a state-of-the-art classroom in the sky to appreciate London’s history and dynamism.”

See more at The Tulip's website.

Picture: An artist's impression of the Foster+ Partners designed The Tulip.  

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 23 November 2018

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