Dismantling the Urban Panopticon - Xenia Pohl

DISMANTLING THE URBAN PANOPTICON

RETHINKING THE INTERRELATION OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC WITHIN THE OFFICE BUILDING TYPOLOGY

DESIGN THESIS

l

XENIA JOSEFIN POHL

towers in construction towers with granted planning permission selected project site regeneration areas Business Improvement Districts (BID) rings of steel

DISMANTLING THE URBAN PANOPTICON

RETHINKING THE INTERRELATION OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC WITHIN THE OFFICE BUILDING TYPOLOGY

DESIGN THESIS

l

XENIA JOSEFIN POHL

MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design l University of Cambridge Hughes Hall l 14,773 words l 03.06.2016

A Design Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MPhil Examination in Architecture & Urban Design (2014-2016).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express gratitude to my family, to my mother and father in particular, who made it possible for me to follow my aspirations in life and gave me love and support throughout the way.

This Design Thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated in the text.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER

PAGE NUMBER

ABSTRACT

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INTRODUCTION

14-17

METHODOLOGY

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CHAPTER 1: OFFICE BUILDING TYPOLOGY Preface ‘Purpose-built machismo‘: Examining the evolution of the office > 1900: London‘s Palladian monuments of finance 1900-1930: London‘s omitted Americanization 1955-1985: London‘s Bürolandschaft 1985-2015: London‘s ‘BIG BANG‘ ‘A universal phenomenon‘: Implications of globalisation and digitalisation on the office

21-60 27 28-60 28-32 38-44 46 50-54 59-60

CHAPTER 2: THE GLOBAL CITY CORE Urbanised economy Corporate space

61-68 63 64

CHAPTER 3: THE URBAN PANOPTICON Rigorous forms of urban resilience Security in space: Safeguarding tactics and corporate premises ‘Virtual ring of steel‘: Alleviating spatial boundaries of security

69-86 76-77 78-82 83-85

CHAPTER 4: REINVENTING OFFICE BUILDING TYPOLOGY Selecting project site and project client Office alternative ‘An informal network of trade‘: The shared space Rethinking the interrelation of private and public within the office building typology

87-99 90-92 93 94 95

CONCLUSION

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

103-107

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

109-111

APPENDIX

112-115

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ABSTRACT The hype of globalisation and commerce generates an environment in constant change, promoting a strong competition between the planet‘s most influential metropolises. Whilst maintaining its status as world leading financial centre, London is in perpetual competition with other Global Cities; engendering a widely globalised and capitalist urban centre. The agglomeration of economic activity housed in prestigious megastructures declares a spatial manifesto of economic wealth and power; deeply rooted in London's heart: The City of London.

The constant progress of business practice, reacting to technological advance, induces London's inner core to both restructure persistently and develop comparable digital strategies for office structures.

The city's urban landscape is increasingly adjusting to the changing demands of a corporate client.

The co-occurrence of a 'virtual ring of steel' and the digitalisation of business processes insinuates a further restructuring of Central London, in particular, a further restructuring of the office block. The intention of this project is to exploit the emerging opportunities originating from both movements, proposing an alternative solution to exclusive urban design by readdressing the office typology.

The augmented clustering of elite-businesses in London's most valuable locations demanded ample territorial protection; establishing a sophisticated network of digital and physical surveillance, seamlessly integrated within the built fabric. A virtual equivalent to existing safeguarding measures was launched in 2014, establishing a 'virtual ring of steel' to protect corporate capital across the Square Mile. The 'ring of steel' ceded the City of London from its urban context; strengthening corporate supremacy and business practice through a well-resourced shelter.

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INTRODUCTION ‘This Is Not A Gateway‘, a wonderfully trenchant name advertising a guided tour through London‘s ‘ring of steel‘. In October 2010, I was one of 50 rubbernecks nosing around London‘s most secretive area. Mapmaker George Gingell and photographer Henrietta Williams, who both researched the area in considerable depth, lead our walking group. George made an enthusiastic tour guide; there wasn‘t a date, location or strategic realignment he didn‘t know, so it seemed as he bounced off through the streets with 50 of us following. While we were stopping right before a set of bollards running along Brushfield Street, George handed out a map resembling a maze complete with one-way exit points and umpteen dead ends. 46 streets have been sealed off around the border of the ‘ring of steel‘, leaving fewer than 20 accessible entrances. And it‘s not only bollards that are closing off the roads; flowers are a favourite too, with big chunky planters strung out across the road as scenic barriers. To everyday eyes, it looks like an endearing attempt at pedestrianisation, but in reality it‘s part of a grand scheme to lock Central London down (Blogspot, 2010).

The most intensely surveyed place in Great Britain, doubtlessly London's 'ring of steel', is drawing its borders through the City of London. Characterised by a seemingly placeless architecture and community, the 'ring of steel' exhibits an environment that is different from its neighbouring boroughs. Turnpikes and armed forces gave way to a highly modernised urban landscape. The former urban fortress is gradually discarding its harsh exterior. A sophisticated set of security measures allowed the 'ring of steel' to become almost invisible; only the countless cameras installed on every detectable urban niche are the last vestige of the once isolated fortress.

Corporate supremacy has invariably been monopolising the City of London; substituting the turmoil of ancient trade in the alleys alongside the Royal Exchange for paperless trade in vitreous superstructures towering over the city. The office block gradually became emblematic for the Square Mile; spawning a preeminent building typology overcrowding Central London.

Owing to the economically oriented local planning policy, open public space is perceptibly diminishing within London's centre. The often-desolate grey-paved open zones are ostensibly hidden in the shadow of the sprawling office block. Safeguarding measures within and around private-public space furthermore eliminate undesirable clientele.

The 'ring of steel' successfully compartmentalised the agglomerated finance and business sector within the heart of the metropolis; cordoning off the City of London from residuary London. The security cordon strengthened economic activity within London's centre, cultivating fertile ground for businesses to flourish in. The once centralised finance and business services gradually waded into occupying almost three quarters of existing built fabric within the Square Mile.

The demands of the corporate clientele hold sway over urban design, assiduously attuning the office block to alteration in business practice. Properties within the City of London jurisdiction metamorphose every quarter of a century, owing to the paltry lifespan of a commercial building rating 25 to 30 years (Pearman, 2011). In virtue of the fast-paced City environment, the City of London momentarily stands on the verge of a novel shift; aligning London's centre to cutting edge technology.

A virtual counterpart of the 'ring of steel' came into operation in 2014, guaranteeing the provision of secure data through a "cloud type network" within the City of London (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013).

The continual growth of office stock within the City of London, promoted by the City of London Corporation, has engendered a highly exclusive urban condition. The ever-growing densification of London's centre will inevitably support the proliferation of a building typology that has been previously anomalous for the Square Mile; the high-rise. The propagation of the high-rise, the spatial manifest of corporate power, will further strengthen the exclusivity of Central London's urban landscape; inescapably deepen the invisible trench along the borough boundary.

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The digitalisation of security and the digitalisation of business processes now connote a more flexible form of work organisation and precipitate a modified office design. The impact of both movements on office space will be substantive; conceding a move forward from designing office buildings as a 'shell', using spatial boundaries to secure corporate capital, to designing office buildings as a 'tree', distributing secure information.

The research underpins three idiosyncratic phases of study pertaining to office space, private-public space and securitization of space; exploring how the ascendant corporate supremacy within London's Square Mile has shaped the urban landscape.

An analysis of the evolution of the office building typology within the City of London describes how London's urban landscape was tailored to the accruing corporate clientele. The analysis focuses on the character of the high-rise, ascertaining extant peculiarities and patterns through an architectural study of the floor plan; detailing antecedent office design and future office design.

The provision of a secure data network affords the opportunity to alleviate harsh spatial boundaries within the office block, providing that access to corporate capital is now secured through virtual means rather than spatial means alone; allowing to intersect office floors with alternative spatial programmes. The assimilation of safeguarding tactics to technological advance has hence implications for both the office block and its urban context.

The implications of a progressively urbanised economy on public space are then examined; delineating how the privatised urban landscape has been alienated as a tool to bulk up security across the Square Mile. A careful investigation of the implementation of security in space is employed to unmask the intricate web of safeguarding measures around the office block within the City of London.

This investigation aims to determine the boundaries within and around the proposed office tower and to establish which barriers would be kept and which removed in a climate of increased digital surveillance.

This thesis reconsiders the interrelation of the private and public realm within the office building; interweaving office space and shared space. The present reform in policy will be seen as an opportunity to exploit conducive to a renewal of the public sphere within London's centre; creating pockets of public space within the urban fabric to counterbalance the incessant corporatization of Central London's urban landscape.

The proposed office tower lastly acts as a focus of this study, demonstrating the interrelation of public and private throughout the office building through the medium of the floor plan; presenting a renewed office design reacting to recent technological evolution.

A more inclusive approach to office design could hence be developed; operating against the secession of a globalised city core from the remaining cityscape. The extensive demand for office space within London's prime location will inevitably condense Central London; requiring the office block to rise even further. This thesis thereupon elucidates a proposal for a future office tower, transposing the prevalent alternation of open and enclosed space, public and private space, into verticality; making a sensible use of available space and strengthening a vibrant city life tied together through a shared experience.

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‘Ring of steel‘, mappe

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ed by George Gingell

entry point CCTV and Sentry Box exit point CCTV road block one way road

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METHODOLOGY The research has been grounded in two interrelated areas of study, firstly, the ramifications of London's status within the world economy on the urban landscape of the centre; and secondly, the evolution of the purpose-built office and the proximate decay of open public space.

The research conducted as a Part ll Architectural Assistant in a London-based office was vital supplement to the theoretical background; providing me with a rare insight into the design and planning of private-public space. Employed at a company that merged architecture and art, I witnessed a collaborative architectural approach that transformed private-public space surrounded by office blocks into a spatial experience; utilising participatory design interventions and community enhancing art workshops to breathe life into drab sites.

The effects of a progressively urbanised economy on the City of London are investigated in three chapters; focussing on office space, private-public space and securitization of space.

Archive research, conducted in the first part of 2016, revealed the distribution and peculiarities of office buildings in the heart of London throughout five momentous eras. The study was concentrated on the investigation of office floor plans within London's financial district throughout the last 150 years; supported by documents exclusively held by the London Metropolitan Archives and the RIBA Archives.

Within the six months in professional practice, I studied the implementation of security in space. A close collaboration with security consultancies and urban planners provided me with prime information on the process of assessing the safety of open and enclosed space.

Additional conversations with urban planners on the evolution of the office building typology within the City of London gave further insight into pivotal forces shaping office design. A conversation with Peter Rees, who administrated planning within the City of London for three decades, affirmed a potential revolution of office design correlating with the arrival of a new City client. The proposal therefore ponders on emerging trends, envisioning the future office building typology tailored to a novel sector.

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‘Ring of steel‘ entry point at Bishopsgate, showing parts of the Broadgate Estate in the background

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Security measures shielding an entrance to Paternoster Square

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Exchange House, view from Primerose Street

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Private-public space within the Broadgate Estate: View on the Finsbury Avenue Square

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C H A P T E R 1

OFFICE BUILDING TYPOLOGY

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‘Purpose-built machismo‘: EXAMINING Preface The office building typology chapter examines the evolution of the purpose-built office throughout the centuries; specialising on Central London. The chapter outlines significant stages in the evolution of a building typology and further specifies on the progression of the high-rise in the City of London.

The investigation refers to the typical lifespan of a commercial building within the City of London, delineating how London's urban landscape has been alternated in 30 year intervals. This five-part chapter, leading towards the description of the proposed new office tower, thereupon evaluates selected precedents and elucidates the evolution of a typology based on a thorough analysis of the floor plan.

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NG THE EVOLUTION OF THE OFFICE >1900: London‘s Palladian monuments of finance “Situated as thou art, in the very heart of stirring and living commerce - amid the fret and fever of speculation - with the Bank, and the ‘Change, and the India House about thee, in the hey-day of present prosperity, with their important faces, [...], insulting thee, their poor neighbour out of business - to the idle and merely contemplative - to such as me [...]! There is a charm in thy quiet: - A cessation - a coolness from business - an indolence almost cloistral - which is delightful! With what reverence have I paced thy great bare rooms and courts at eventide! They spoke of the past: - The shade of some dead accountant, with visionary pen in ear, would flit by me, stiff as in life. [...]

The very clerks which I remember in the South-Sea House - I speak of forty years back - had an air very different from those in the public offices that I have had to do with since. [...] They were mostly [...] bachelors. Generally, for they had not much to do, persons of a curious and speculative turn of mind. [...]. Humorists, for they were of all descriptions; and, [...], for the most part, placed in this house in ripe or middle age, they necessarily carried into it their separate habits and oddities, unqualified, [...], as into a common stock“ (Lamb, 1823).

In virtue of the riveting tales of South-Sea House and East India House, incorporated within Charles Lamb's 'Essays of Elia', rigorous work ethic and peculiarities of London's venerable financial district were preserved for posterity. The South-Sea House, a monument of Palladian grace, stood prodigiously along the edge of London's Bishopsgate before the 20th century. The imposing facade adorned with Roman ornament; betoken the hegemony of the South Sea Company, embellished one of the first purpose-built offices worldwide.

Private banks then exploited the statute that warranted a more "stable capital base due to their ability to issue shares"; rapidly expanding in magnitude (Newton, 2007, p.1). The once domestic character of private banks, denoted by "well-appointed living rooms upstairs" and the "shop [...] where bank business was done" downstairs, continually dissolved; urging the resettlement of private banks into large-scale office blocks (Keene, The Royal Exchange, p.263).

The elevated monuments of finance subsequently accumulated around the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England; the most significant institutions of finance and trade in prehistory. Both, the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, served as paradigm for office design; defining the conceptualisation of the office.

The edification of such monumental structures housing prosperous corporations insinuated London's latterly obtained prominence as global centre of finance and trade in the early 19th century. The imposing masterpieces, revealing the increasing superiority of corporate institutions, resembled "palatial buildings [...] striking in contrast to the small-scale domestic structures which adjoined them" (Keene, The Royal Exchange, p.262).

Beneath a sumptuous portico, obscured by colossal Corinthian columns, lay the grand entrance of Central London's linchpin: The Royal Exchange.

A swift glimpse through the opulent colonnade, ostensibly equalling the Roman Pantheon, revealed a stately ornamented courtyard; the epicentre of commerce "resembling the cortile of Italian palaces" (Thornbury, 1878, p. 494-513). A delicately adorned ambulatory, dedicated for merchants bargaining for commodities, framed the palatial courtyard which remained open to the sky; unveiling a clear spatial sequence of portico ambulatory - courtyard

The Bank of England (abbr. BoE), the utmost capitalist institution within London's historic financial district, settled into noble headquarters opposite to the 'Change in 1734. The BoE, a masterstroke of Palladian architecture, was considered "distinctly traditional in scale and layout" (Keene, The Royal Exchange, p.261).

The Bank's ponderous iron gate at Threadneedle Street lead into a vaulted hall with a daedal window front, permitting a view through onto the grand court of the Bank of England. The plan of the BoE was organised around a series of courtyards; utilising the desired spatial sequence of portico - ambulatory - courtyard. The courtyards were the core spaces of the building; all further rooms were therefore grouped around the patios.

This palace of trade adhered to the Palladian formulas which postulated axial symmetry in the plan; an aspect apparent within the inner court moulded in vertical and horizontal symmetry. The court was place of vivid commerce and midpoint of the 'Change; office space for clerks and merchants was hence grouped around the patio.

This organisation of the central space was derived from Greco-Roman precedents as it had been interpreted and rationalised through Palladianism; supporting a distinct sequential structure oriented on a core space. The succession of portico - ambulatory - core space, evident in classical Greco-Roman temple construction, became typical of the organisation of office space of the pre-industrial era. Thus, the venerable marvels that were once at the heart of the ancient city were translated to signify the ever-growing importance of capitalism into space.

Emphasis was put on the need to accommodate the expanding business of the BoE; a business that was augmented in power and size over the centuries with attendant growth of British sovereignty. The magnification of the Bank of England epitomised the growing importance of finance and trade before the 20th century; constructing a monument of incommensurable grandness.

Business, however, was not restricted to the purpose-built office; coffee houses, streets and alleys were promptly alienated for trading purposes whenever viable. The urban landscape resembled a market place; "there was no attempt to restrict business to the Exchange, [...] taverns and coffee houses [...] came to be centres for speculation, and traders set up deals before going on 'Change" [Keene, The Royal Exchange, p.260].

An architectural study of the floor plan reveals the evolution of the purpose-built office from past to present; commencing with the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England.

The stately built landscape of London's financial district was further augmented in 1826; hallmarked by a widespread rebuilding of corporate headquarters. The Banking Co-Partnership Act permitted the establishment of joint-stock banks, wresting the monopoly on joint-stock banking from the Bank of England, empowering private banking partnerships. Newton notes that the "[...] banks moved from being private firms, often run by families, to becoming organised as more modern corporations in which ownership and control were separated" (Newton, 2007, p.2).

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The secession of working and living space, manifested in the decline of the 'domestic bank building', paired with the rapid expansion of commercial companies, lead to the formation of a modern prototype for office design that laid the foundation for the first skyscraper to be erected across the pond. This initiated the gradual homogenisation of the business districts in both the Unites States and Britain through the twentieth century.

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Bank of England

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portico (1) - ambulatory (2) - courtyard (3)

Royal Exchange

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Parthenon

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Royal Exchange, 1844

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Bank of England, 1734 illustration 9 1

South-Sea House, 1720 illustration 10

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Auction Mart, 1809

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Bank of England

Excise Office, 1775 illustration 12

Royal Exchange East India House, 1720 illustration 13

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Parthenon -30-

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Palladian monuments of finance within London‘s financial district Royal Exchange - Bank of England - South-Sea House - Auction Mart - Excise Office - East India House

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open plan office in the Larkin Administration Building 1906

open plan office in the Johnson Wax Building 1936

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“An office building‘s prime and only object is to earn the greatest possible return for its owners, which means that it must present the maximum of rentable space possible on the lot, with every portion of it fully lit“ (Real Estate Developer George Hill on office building construction in 1893 (Willis, 1995, p.19)).

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1900-1930: London‘s omitted Americanization Office design evolved very differently in late modern Britain and the United States. The Palladian maxim continued to serve as paradigm for office design within London, whilst the skyscraper, housing commercial businesses, were sprouting in American metropolises like grass blades out of nutritious soil.

The birth of the high-rise set a benchmark; innovating office construction and design for modernity.

The following evolution of the skyscraper then progressed in three idiosyncratic phases from the Palladian maxim to the ubiquitous 'Typical Plan', a term for the standardised office floor plan coined by Rem Koolhaas.

The structure of early skyscrapers did not differ radically from their predecessors. Offices were oriented on a central space encased in a profoundly ornate facade. The prevailing floor plan of late modern office towers was distinguished by the spatial sequence of corridor - office module - private office; arranged compactly in plan, yet, multiplied multitudinously towards the sky.

Business practice began to dictate a template for office design that was later internationally standardized, "modified only by local conditions such as the city's historic grid, municipal regulations, and zoning" (Willis, 1995). Disparities in the legislative framework of both, the United Kingdom and the United States, widened and constrained the possibilities of office building construction.

The Monadnock Building, erected in 1881 in Chicago, aptly demonstrated the standard floor plan of the early skyscraper. The imposing building block, composed of two divergent parts, stood out from the surrounding city; combining the ornate facade with the functional facade. The monumental form flaunted the sway of client over office design, abandoning the architect's vision to suit the client's request for "the effect of solidity and strength [...] rather than ornament for a notable appearance" (Hoffman, 1973, p.156).

British building regulations stipulated a specific building height limitation of 25 metres; prohibiting the high-rise to colonise London (City of London, 2010, p.14). American building regulations were, however, in the early stages of development.

Harscher explains, "[...] there were neither height restrictions nor regulations on the depth of the rooms [... ]"; raising the "[...] desire to achieve maximum profit determined by the form and the ground plan of office buildings" (Hascher et al., 2002, p.16).

Internally the Monadock Building was relatively typical of the new plan. The internal organisation of rooms within the standard floor plan of such late modern office towers was increasingly flexible; offices being grouped around a central corridor in a modular system, enabling the easy expansion of the office module size through the adjustment of subdivisions to cater to the client's needs. The Monadnock Building exhibited the "typical American floor plan module consisting of two offices with an anteroom"; yet, the building block was pioneering a modern office design, guaranteeing flexibility in the floor plan and abolishing the crested facade (Hascher et al., 2002, p.16).

The paucity of building regulations was exploited by real estate developers; deluging American cities with tall buildings in the late modern era. Early skyscrapers resembled acquainted Palladian formulas; offices were grouped around a central space whilst the facade was revetted with ornament; promising greater commercial value due to enhanced design features. Willis further expounds, "this insistence of the linkage between profit and program is fundamental to commercial architecture [...]" (Willis, 1995, p.19). Accordingly, Cass Gilbert, the acclaimed architect and proponent of the high-rise, defined the skyscraper as "a machine that makes the land pay"; exposing the alternate motive that began to lead office building construction (Willis, 1995, p.19). Awe-inspiring commercial monuments, embellished with a tantalising veneer, were reinstated as a modernist modular that attested profit.

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Frank Lloyd Wright further honed the office floor plan in the Larkin Administration Building in 1906.

This notable building, impressed with a delicate red sheen focussed in the red brick veneer, was dissimilar to the classic office building. In this respect, Wright originated a modern office design and organisation; founding the open-plan office. In the Larkin Administration Building, Wright emulated the "[...] optimisation process that resulted from a systematic analysis [...] of work processes and the corporate structure"; spatializing the enhancement of office work conducted in the early 20th century (Hascher et al., 2002, p.17). This reflected an eagerness for increased efficiency in the work environment which was ascending; culminating in the espousal of Frederick Winslow Taylor's doctrine of 'Taylorism'. The Larkin Administration Building was symbolic of 'Taylorism', aligning office design to the dogmata of "[...] speed, efficiency and economy [...]" that were classified as "[...]architectural visions of the American industrial utopia" (McLeod, 1983, p.133).

The company's offices were accommodated in a central space, lit by a crystalline atrium from above, whilst executives were accommodated in separate offices contiguous to the open-plan office. The horizontal office floors, contained a triple-height volume, were woven around the central space; creating augmented visibility and connectivity for employees within the building. The spatial sequence of lobby - open-plan office - central space was clearly discernible here and established a spatially and socially less fragmented work environment.

The central hall was interlinked with the lobby and partitioned through an array of ample piers framing the atrium. "These then rise up toward their rich capitals in a [...] spatial expansion, lighted from above as in Roman buildings and creating, [...], an idealized interior space cut off from the world outside"; a trenchant description of Vincent Scully, architectural historian, comparing Wright's office block to ancient Roman paradigm (OpenBuildings, 2016).

The lobby of the Larkin Administration Building rejuvenated the Greco-Roman portico; stripping the imposing entrance hall from all adornment. The 'office lobby', however, was fated to become a fundamental space within the office building, blatantly exhibiting economic ascendancy through opulent design features.

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“Business makes no demands. The architects of the Typical Plan understood the secret of business: The office building represents the first totally abstract program - It does not demand a particular architecture, its only function is to let occupants extist“ (Architect Rem Koolhaas on the ‚Typical Plan‘ (Koolhaas, 1995, p.337)).

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The modernist movement of the early 20th century spawned a widespread omission of ornament; propagating a functionalistic and evermore simplistic architecture. The standardisation of the office floor plan, pressing for utmost efficiency in building design and organisation, was inevitable supplement of the modernist movement. The 'Typical Plan', delineated by Koolhaas, manifested efficiency within architecture; yet, Koolhaas unsparingly construed the 'Typical Plan' as "[...] zero-degree architecture, architecture stripped of all traces of uniqueness and specificity" (Koolhaas, 1995, p.335).

The architectural development of the built environment in the United Kingdom, in particular London, was precisely divergent. The legislative framework, prohibiting the high-rise, prevented London's urban landscape from being vastly altered.

Tall buildings were badly received since the general public considered buildings of a certain height as obstacles that "[...] blocked cherished views of St Paul’s and gave rise to public concern" (City of London, 2010, p.14). The financial district therefore remained compact and the neo-Palladian monuments erected decades earlier continued to dominate Central London's skyline.

Koolhaas equated the 'Typical Plan' with the "End of Architectural History"; denoting the standardisation of the office floor plan as the imposition of the obliteration of a distinct architecture tailored to a peculiar time, place and occupier (Koolhaas, 1995, p.336). The 'Typical Plan' has been adopted as "ideal accommodation for business"; a "formless" room program housed in a mass produced space (Koolhaas, 1995, p.337). The standardised floor plan has been simple to reproduce; the building core ingrained in the midst of a vast space merely populated by columns and ultimately framed by a generic steel-glass facade.

Koolhaas clearly articulates this difference, further expounding that "[...] the American office assembles critical mass, the European office dismantles it [...]" (Koolhaas, 1995, p.349). The 'Typical Plan', however, was a crucial fabrication of modernity, which later populated the rest of the world. Within the modernist era, office design was revolutionised in America's test-bed; engendering a standardised office floor plan applicable to a universal scenario.

The 'Typical Plan' became precept for office design, epitomising the architecture of the 1950s and 1960s and laying the foundation for a modern, increasingly efficient, yet, anonymous and placeless architecture.

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Monadnock Building

corridor (1) - office module (2) - private office (3)

Larkin Administration Building lobby (1) - open plan office (2) - central space (3)

‘Typical Plan‘

building core in the midst of a vast space

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Broadway Chambers Building, 1900 illustration 21

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Larkin Administration Building, 1904 illustration 22 3 3

Monadnock Building, 1893 illustration 23

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Unilever House, 1933

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Monadnock Building

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‘Typical Plan‘

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London‘s omitted Americanization: The high-rise

Broadway Chambers Building - Larkin Administration Building - Monadnock Building - Unilever House

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1955-1985: London‘s Bürolandschaft The 'Typical Plan' dominated London development in the post-war era. The antipodal construction tenet was popularised in the British metropolis to re-establish economic growth and to redeem a flourishing economy. London's damaged core withstood extensive reconstruction within the 1950s and 1960s; a rehabilitation that gradually "[...] began to shift from post-war reconstruction to [...] modernising Britain and keeping up to date with America" (Bullock, 2002, p.245).

The office became a mass produced space and the 'Typical Plan' soon inundated the Square Mile. The office typology was not changed vastly after the 'Typical Plan' rose to prominence; however, the internal organisation of office space was changed momentously. This change was largely effected by office developments on the continent.

The 'Bürolandschaft', a movement originated in Germany, elaborated upon the open-plan structure.

The amendment made "[...] human relations the focus of attention"; correlating office furniture to the workflow of employees (Hascher et al., 2002, p.19). The ingenious office design of the 1950s and 1960s subsequently yielded a sustained enhancement of the atmosphere within the workplace.

Groundscrapers, occupying the city's ancient core with 15 upper stories, were hastily erected within Central London; exploiting the alleviated height limitation propagated in London's post-war reconstruction plan. The plan included a "height and cover" policy that "limited the height of buildings according to the width of adjoining streets, plot ratio controls and daylighting standards" (City of London, 2010, p.14).

London's urban landscape was then condemned to adjust to the demands emanating from a growing white-collar clientele. The compact financial district that once concentrated commercial activity in the epicentre of the Square Mile rapidly expanded within the 1950s and 1960s; simultaneously transforming London's public realm. The City of London, an area characteristic for "gossip at the centre of community", accustomed the private and public sphere to the enlarged workplace population; tailoring London's urban environment white-collar occupation (Rees, 2016).

Office towers subsequently began to colonise Central London, provisionally "confined to the north and east of the City", but proliferating in the British capital at last (City of London, 2010, p.15). The edge of London's compact venerable financial district became breeding ground for the British adaptation of the American 'Typical Plan'. Groundscrapers, demonstrating the infamous open-plan office structure, were promptly constructed along London Wall. This growth is explained by former Chief Planning Officer of the City of London, Peter Rees, who delineated office work in the post-war era as "paper economy"; a business practice founded on "verbal communication and group work" (Rees, 2016). The open-plan office, defined by its increased visibility and connectivity of employees, was therefore seen to be suitable to accommodate thriving British businesses.

The emergence of information technology and the deregulation of Britain's financial market later contributed to a highly exclusionary Square Mile.

The 'Bürolandschaft', however, heavily augmented the compact cluster of businesses within London's financial district and laid the foundation for London's urban landscape to be unanimously aligned with business and commerce.

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STOCK EXCHANGE TOWER, LONDON, 1986

illustration 25

28.10.1986: Journalist Larry Thorson waddles into foreign waters as he makes his first precarious steps through the crowds inside the dealing floor of London‘s Stock Exchange. A final look at his watch, 7:59, Thorson was punctual, one minute left until the show begins - Doomed to report how the traders in the Stock Exchange entered the computer age as deregulatory measures known as the “Big Bang“ took effect, Thorson knew, punctuality was essential to fully enjoy the spectacle about to take place at any second. Stockbrokers from all around the world were eagerly awaiting the moment when the black letters on the big white scoreboard turned to 8:00. Finally! A sudden wave of bellowing underlined by boisterous typing emerged: Trading had begun. On the first day of employing the new computerized share-price system, business was running far from smoothly - 8:29, first fault in the system, all brand new video screens turned completely black. 8:45, second fault in the system, “It‘s a complete balls-up“, Thorson overheard a snide remark rising out of the homogenous swarm of white-collar workers; branding another blackout lasting for almost an hour.

10:30, third and final fault in the system. The failures infuriated some dealers, who stopped pummelling keyboards and instead hammered the hardware with their fists. In the meantime, changes in share prices needed to be fetched by the old system, or by telephone inquiries to ‘friendly‘ stockbrokers. The new technology of the London Stock Exchange “Big Bang“ barked and whimpered into a new era, becoming seed in the soil of London‘s breeding ground for the financial giants that will dominate the world in the next century (The Gazette, The Canberra Times, 1986).

illustration 26

“I remember every bank coming to see us as planners insisting their dealing floor had to be 50,000 square feet, and the existence of their buildings had to be 1,000,000 square feet, it was like a machismo, there was no scientific calculation behind this“ (former Chief Planning Officer of the City of London Peter Rees on the challenge of meeting the needs of a corporate client)

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1985-2015: London‘s ‘BIG BANG‘ The deregulation of Britain's financial market in 1986 initiated an abrupt change. Thatcher's inured legislation "enabled 100 per cent outside ownership of member firms", encouraging foreign firms to settle within the City of London (Kynaston, 2011).

The implications of the 'Big Bang' on London's urban landscape was deemed to be significant, internationalising business practice and escalating the demand for office stock to unforeseen heights.

The arrival of a foreign client then inundated Central London's urban landscape with commercial real estate. The once close-knit network of domestic banks, reliant on proximity to the Bank of England for correspondence, widened by virtue of the settlement of foreign-owned investment banks; "[...] which trade shares, bonds, currencies and derivatives on a scale that would have made an old-school City gent choke on his lunch" (The Economist, 2011). As a result of this influx, financial transactions were no longer carried out on a shared dealing floor within the Stock Exchange, rather, the Stock Exchange became a regulatory body, controlling the dealing of individual banks through the new computerized share-price system. The sudden change in business practice was manifested in space through monumental architecture. Banks were demanding their own dealing floor, ramping up the extent of their buildings to unprecedented proportions.

The dissemination of the financial sector "[...] fuelled the demand for deep-plan office buildings [...]"; augmenting the open-plan structure to accommodate the "ever increasing spread of connected personal computers and servers (Ross, 2012). The pressing need for office space coming from an international clientele therefore proved to be difficult to satisfy; London was already densely developed and existing office buildings, built in the 1960s, did not comply with the demands of foreign firms.

The strong urge to subdue direct competition engendered a level of 'machismo' which heavily impacted London's urban character. The Square Mile was soon flooded with colossal groundscrapers flaunting enormous dealing floors of little practical use. The disdainfully large dealing floors, not allowing to establish a visual connection between employees, were promptly alienated to creatively enhance ordinary work days with casual games of "cricket over the tops of the computer screens" (Rees, 2016).

A negotiation with private parties allowed Rees to agree upon the provision of 10,000,000 square feet of office stock within the decade between 1986 and 1996; laying the groundwork for London's economy to grow and prosper steadily. .

Owing to the ceaseless private-sector demand for office space, scarce plots of unused land within the Square Mile were sold and developed at speed. The City of London and Canary Wharf however, both ran out of lettable space by the end of the millennium; inducing the formation of a high-rise financial district within Central London.

The notion of the lobby was reformed when the newly born corporate 'machismo' was nurtured on magnified spatial requirements to overpower direct competition; an aggrandised space counting as a 'showroom', "[...] a space intended to grab our attention, to make us stop, linger, look - and, in all probability, spend money" (Goldberger, 1984).

The tight cluster of office towers that emerged, which were built in an area considered to have the least impact on precious historic environments and important views, were later commissioned by Rees.

The proliferation of the high-rise, casting a shadow across venerable Palladian monuments of finance outlasting the centuries, abruptly transformed Central London.

The lobby of the Broadgate Tower impresses with an engineered structure; heavy steel beams partitioning the interior and the exterior whilst glass playfully reflects the surrounding landscape.

Chromatically lit escalators, framed by an abstract glass sculpture, connect the ground floor to the third floor; the lobby space to the office space, imprisoned within an imposing crystalline maze.

Central London's skyline is now renowned for copious skyscrapers; yet, the high-rise is still proliferating with over 260 towers planned across Central London and a "tortured heap of towers" planned within London's financial district (Wainwright, 2015). The Broadgate Tower, a rather recent addition to this collection, epitomises the office typology of the selected epoch.

The contemporary office is characterised by efficient and flexible office space that is enclosed within a sumptuously designed shell. Here the office exhibits three core spaces; the lobby - the office floor - the top floor; encasing the office floor within publicly accessible, yet highly secure, spaces.

The superabundance of businesses within Central London has inundated an evermore-exclusive urban environment. Corporate needs have utterly transformed private and public space across the Square Mile; severing the heart of the capital from the remaining cityscape. The City of London grew into being spatially, programmatically and socially unilateral; usurping the vibrantly diverse market place that characterised London's inner core centuries before.

The floor plan of the Broadgate Tower reifies the deep-plan office. The deep plan offers an increased room depth that profoundly supersedes the floor to ceiling height; promising a more efficient use of total site area. Within the deep plan, an amendment of the 'Typical Plan', the building core has been embedded in the sidewall of a vast volume; proffering the highest amount of flexibility for potential occupiers.

The standardisation of the office floor plan supported by an ever-growing finance and business sector fomented a transnational urban landscape accustomed to corporate demands. The impact of information technology on business practice, however, induced a prospering sector; the technology sector. The emergence of a new client in combination with recent legislative changes may afford an opportunity to rethink the interrelation of private and public within the office building typology; laying the foundation for a more inclusive approach to office design.

The Broadgate Tower additionally attracts through a delicate exterior; a vitreous fortress glistening over London's rooftops. The centrepiece of the skyscraper is, however, not the office, but the lobby; a space which gained importance to the office building typology in the mid 1980s.

Goldberger explains that within the "[...] typical 1950's or 1960's building, a lobby wasn't [...] a place in itself - it was something to be gotten through as quickly as possible, an exaggerated corridor connecting the elevators and the outdoors" (Goldberger, 1984).

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Broadgate Tower

lobby - office floors - top floor

Deep Plan

building core at a sidewall of a vast space

scale 1:750

Natwest Tower, 1981 illustration 28

St. Helen‘s, 1969 illustration 29

One Angel Court, 1979 illustration 30

Broadgate Tower office floor

30 St. Mary Axe, 2004 illustration 31

Broadgate Tower, 2009 illustration 32

Leadenhall Building, 2014 illustration 33

Broadgate Tower ground floor

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illustration 27

London‘s high-rise financial district

Natwest Tower - St. Helen‘s - One Angel Court - 30 St. Mary Axe - Broadgate Tower - Leadenhall Building

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illustration 34

illustration 35

‘A universal phenomenon‘: Implications of globalisation and digitalisation on the office Office design came to be eminently exclusive. The propagation of the high-rise became hallmark for economic excellence; shrouded in a transnational design. Throughout the centuries, the office floor plan has been standardised to suit a global clientele.

The alliance of technological advance and office design has promoted a more flexible interior layout; facilitating the establishment of a shared environment fostering collaborative work. The incorporation of a network infrastructure into the design of the office building through a "[...] shared common infrastructure that is provided like any other utility in the building [...]" moreover capacitates "[...] connectivity in a number of realms [...]" throughout the office building (Wagener, 2008, p. 141). The office space was once bound to spatial boundaries, however, business communication can now proceed in a wealth of means and media; allowing office space to innovate and abandon the standardised interior layout.

The 'Typical Plan' disseminated a standardised office design based upon pure efficiency. In a conversation, a developer further affirmed, "the building efficiency is of first and foremost importance" for office design (Smith, 2016). The enhancement of profit appears to be thriving force in office building construction; mass manufacturing a generic space appealing to innumerable business sectors.

The assimilation of office design to technological advance furthermore ensures high profit; shaping a reformed work environment. Technological advance, however, has affected both office design and business practice and necessarily has amended building infrastructure and use, and will continue to do so.

The ever-growing impact of telecommunications on the work environment furthermore has spawned a novel sector: The technology sector. The City of London further advocates the expansion of the Technology, Media and Telecom sector (abbr. TMT), stating in the Local Plan that "[...]"future office developments across the City will [...] accommodate growing sectors such as the TMT sector and [...] strengthen the overall ‘critical mass’ of the City as a hub of financial and business services" (City of London, 2015, p.31).

The integration of a computerized system within the office building, a repercussion of the 'Big Bang', prompted a confined interior layout and a greater floor to ceiling height to accommodate extensive cabling from the new technical equipment (Rees, 2016). The now ubiquitous wireless technology depletes restrictions from excessive cabling; creating "[...] a new user mobility inside and outside [...]" the office building (Wagener, 2008, p. 140).

Wagener further expounds that "from a technology infrastructure point of view, it is no longer necessary to go to the office for individual work.

However, it is today even more important because work is about people, it is about face-to-face communication, it is about getting together to collaborate" (Wagener, 2008, p. 140).

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It is anticipated that the City will see prospering technology companies move from the City Fringe into the Square Mile, blurring current boundaries.

Numerous technology companies can now afford to lease property in the City, yet, existing office buildings in the City of London do not fully correspond to the demands of the previously unacquainted customer. Rees summarised the business practice of technology companies as follows: "They were employers who wanted flexible working patterns, they were employers who were just as likely doing work on their laptop or their tablet in a coffee bar nearby or sunbathing on the roof, or playing football in a piece of empty ground nearby" (Rees, 2016).

The combination of private and public space, office space and shared space, is visualised in two vertical systems; a traditional core interconnecting office floor plates throughout the building and a split level public centre woven around an exposed stairwell.

The centre of the building is designed to be publicly accessible, re-instating public space as centrepiece of the office building.

In this proposal, a variety of work environments are tested through the establishment of a shared office space maintaining disparate spatial settings; ranging from the private, cellular office, to a modification of the open-plan office. The intersection of office space and public space through a split level is then introduced as means to initiate alternating connections of private and public, secluded and populated, office space and shared space. The proposed office tower uses these devices to showcase a modified interior layout deviating from standardised office design; reacting on emerging trends.

The combination of a 'shared common infrastructure' built into the office building and the more flexible forms of work organisation of technology companies induce an innovated office design. Office space to accommodate these new corporate behaviours could be intersected with secondary spatial programmes without explicitly disturbing business practice or loosing profit. The combination of office space and public space is cultivated within the proposed design tests that have informed this research project; cherishing the creative work ethic of technology companies whilst cultivating a more inclusive approach to office design. Rees further disclosed the contribution of public space to a vibrant urban life by stating: "The solution to building success, is not necessarily in the typology of an office, it is much more to do with the physiology of a place, it is to do with the way a place works, the way a place is animated, the way a place attracts people for the experience of being there - Without the right place, the best office won't work" (Rees, 2016).

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C H A P T E R 2

THE GLOBAL CITY CORE

THE GLOBAL CITY CORE Urbanised economy With an increasingly global economy and a rapid urbanisation, metropolises around the world are forced to restructure their urban fabric. The networks of the city are expanding beyond national borders. Urban space is recreated to conform to the needs of the “outsider, the investor, the developer, the businesswoman or -man“ (Moulaert, 2002, p. 551).

Central London's urban environment has been dimensioned to benefit the economic sector; aiming at maintaining a high market liquidity. As Ash Amin observes, the metropolis finally "[... ] became a site linked to and constituted by a wider capitalist spatiality" (Amin et al., 2002, p.54). The heightened concentration of financial and business services has further developed a new economic localism which "sees local proximity as a source of tacit knowledge"; benefiting business communication by eliminating secondary spatial programmes (Amin et al. 2002, p.60).

Offices now occupy over 70 percent of the built fabric within the City of London, exposing the influence of a corporate clientele on Central London's urban landscape (City of London, 2015, p.13). The demand for office space in inner London is still rising, showcasing a planned 60 percent growth of office space within the Eastern Cluster alone (City of London, 2015, p.31).

Additional growth in population and employment is expected within the coming decade, prompting the immediate concerns over density. Gaps in the urban grain are being in-filled rapidly whilst the urban fabric becomes increasingly vertical.

The architecture of the City is now largely monofuntional, oriented to suit corporate requirements, wilfully losing the bond to its very own spatial setting, ensuing a progressive weakening of the identity of places. Economic and financial clustering inevitably have fostered a spatial and social dissociation of urban centres from their peripheries. Graham furthermore explains that "[...] the combined processes of [...] globalisation, technological change and the application of new urban design techniques are [...] working carefully to secure the highly valued segments of global cities from their surrounding cityscape" (Graham et al., 2001, p. 313).

The urban landscape of the centre has been assimilated to the overarching influence of a rising global policy. The erection of "superblocks" which are "[...] providing all the uses business executives need within a single, bundled complexes [...]" moulded a highly monofunctional landscape that is detached from its closest environment (Graham et al., 2001, p. 321).

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Corporate space Rather precarious, Carla Motola was heading to the City of London, musing on a tough challenge ahead. Carla, a witty CSM student, was committed to perform a series of experiments in space; testing the boundaries of liberty and tolerance within a privatised open place. In a profound hunt for the perfect setting, she breezed in to Paternoster Square; a vast grey-paved open space imprisoned within crystalline office blocks. Carla was keen to open with an offhand act - She swiftly fetched a sheet of cardboard from her backpack and steeled with a black sharpie, she hastily tinkled on the sheet to let the self-made sign droop from her petite shoulders. The simply tinkled cardboard sign soon prompted a dispute with a uniformed guard rebuking her and Carla was doomed to be escorted into a secluded room full of cameras. While the guard capriciously pointed at the screen which replayed her movements in space precisely, baffled Carla was forced to watch a CCTV recording of herself, zoomed in and out, persistently chased by an invisible persecutor. Carla planned a copious series of experiments progressing in dauntlessness of intervention, yet, the most miniscule sign of protest became reason enough for her permanent dismissal from Paternoster Square (Carla Motola, 2016).

The sterile landscape of the urban centre is central to a progressively privatised and highly controlled public sphere. The ongoing privatisation of land in the City of London is facilitated by myriad policies carried into effect by the Corporation of London (abbr. CoL), a "uniquely diverse organisation" fulfilling a "special role [...] that goes beyond that of an ordinary local authority" (City of London, 2015).

Private-public spaces are indeed designed with economic principles in mind; as Anna Minton argues, "the trading environment is the public realm and the public realm is the trading environment" (Minton, 2012, p.26). Open squares within the City of London are therefore dominated by commercial activity on the ground; bracing the stacks of offices above.

The Corporation of London undoubtedly functions different to any other metropolitan borough; exercising both public and private functions. As George Monbiot explains in his article 'The medieval, unaccountable Corporation of London is ripe for protest', "the City of London is the only part of Britain over which parliament has no authority" (Monbiot, 2011). London's centre is therefore cut off from remaining London both architecturally and politically.

Boris Johnson, former Mayor of London stated in his manifesto for public space that "there is a growing trend towards the private management of publicly accessible space where this type of 'corporatisation' occurs , especially in the larger commercial developments, Londoners can feel themselves excluded from parts of their own city�; trenchantly enunciating a rising concern regarding the increasing private ownership and management of public space (Greater London Authority, 2011).

The Corporation of London stipulates a planning policy that benefits the economic sector, seeking to "support and promote London as the world’s leading international financial and business centre [...]" (City of London, 2015). The square mile is hence geared up to attract prestigious businesses to London's centre for the purpose of increasing capital.

The urban planning sector is hence undergoing a shift of priorities; the focus being on moving from policies once dominated by social concerns to those serving the interests of economically powerful private corporations. Public space has become a small supplement for grand real estate developments; devoting a mere 10 percent of the total budget to hard and soft landscaping (Smith, 2016).

The retreat of public authorities enabled the private sector to play a greater role in society. The "[...] contemporary development rests [...] on the emergence of private-public space. Privately owned, but largely accessible, it is managed and maintained as a consumer product and characterised by high levels of control over the environment" (Minton, 2012, p.12).

The privately owned public sphere is then ostensibly treated as an extension of the office block; vigorously controlled and safeguarded through spatial and digital media. As Coaffee describes, "over the last decade London has been enveloped by an ever-expanding surveillance web, in no small part as a response to the fear of terrorism, which has threatened to blur the boundaries between public and private space" (Coaffee, 2004, p.209).

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commercial activity within the ‘ring of steel‘ commercial skyscrapers

commercial retail/ offices

office development completions 1990-2011 +50 000 sqm

25 000- 49 999 sqm

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10 000- 24 999 sqm

0- 9 999 sqm

figure-ground diagramme

financial cluster within the ‘ring of steel‘ 1l 30 St. Mary Axe (Gherkin) 2l 1 Undershaft (St. Helen‘s) 3l 99-101 Bishopsgate (99 Bishopsgate) 4l 69 Old Broad Street (Dashwood House) 5l 25 Old Broad Street (Tower 42) 6l 6-8 Bishopsgate (Deutsche Bank) 7l 72 Fenchurch Street (Lloyd‘s of London) 8l 20 Fenchurch Street (Walkie Talkie) 9l 54 Lombard Street (Barclay‘s Bank) 10l 125 Old Broad Street (Stock Exchange) 11l 30 Throgmorton Street (One Angel Court) 12l 12 Throgmorton Avenue (Draper‘s Garden)

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illustration 36

PATERNOSTER SQUARE

BROADGATE CIRCLE

FINSBURY AVENUE SQUARE

EXCHANGE SQUARE

illustration 37

C H A P T E R 3

THE URBAN PANOPTICON

The edge of the City of London

illustration 38

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Sentry box and CCTV in the City of London

illustration 39

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‘traffic management & environmental improvement strategy‘

BALTIC EXCHANGE BOMBING 1992

BISHOPSGATE BOMBING 1993

SOUTH QUAY BOMBING 1996

03/07/1993 RING OF STEEL IMPLEMENTED

WORLD TRADE MIKE‘S PLACE CENTRE ATTACK SUICIDE BOMBING 2001 2003

UNDERGROUND BOMBINGS 7/7/2005

2003 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

2013 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

2014 VIRTUAL RING OF STEEL

10l 1l

9l 8l 7l

6l 5l

EXPLOSION SITE 1 l Bishopsgate car bomb 1993 (HSBC Headquarters) 2 l Baltic Exchange car bomb 1992 (Baltic Exchange)

2l 4l

3l 0l

NEARBY COMMERCIAL SKYSCRAPERS 3 l Commercial Union Headquarters 4 l P&O 5 l Deutsche Bank 6 l NatWest Tower 7 l Stock Exchange 8 l One Angel Court 9 l Draper‘s Gardens 10 l Dashwood House 0 l assumed border of the ‘ring of steel‘ in 1993

‘traffic management & environmental improvement strategy‘

BALTIC EXCHANGE BOMBING 1992

BISHOPSGATE BOMBING 1993

03/07/1993 RING OF STEEL IMPLEMENTED

SOUTH QUAY BOMBING 1996

WORLD TRADE MIKE‘S PLACE CENTRE ATTACK SUICIDE BOMBING 2001 2003

2003 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

UNDERGROUND BOMBINGS 7/7/2005

2013 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

2014 VIRTUAL RING OF STEEL

‘crime reduction & safety strategy‘

BALTIC EXCHANGE BOMBING 1992

BISHOPSGATE BOMBING 1993

SOUTH QUAY BOMBING 1996

03/07/1993 RING OF STEEL IMPLEMENTED

WORLD TRADE MIKE‘S PLACE CENTRE ATTACK SUICIDE BOMBING 2001 2003

UNDERGROUND BOMBINGS 7/7/2005

2003 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

2013 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

2014 VIRTUAL RING OF STEEL

2013 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

2014 VIRTUAL RING OF STEEL

‘crime reduction & safety strategy‘

BALTIC EXCHANGE BOMBING 1992

BISHOPSGATE BOMBING 1993

03/07/1993 RING OF STEEL IMPLEMENTED

SOUTH QUAY BOMBING 1996

WORLD TRADE MIKE‘S PLACE CENTRE ATTACK SUICIDE BOMBING 2001 2003

2003 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

UNDERGROUND BOMBINGS 7/7/2005

“In 2003 the Western & Northern Extensions were developed for both ANPR and CCTV coverage alongside new digital recording facilities, this provided wider coverage of the protective ring of steel as it was known, which reassured businesses based more widely across the City“ (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013).

illustration 40

“A building circular [...] The prisoners in their cells, occupying the circumference - The officers in the centre. By blinds and other contrivances, the Inspectors concealed [...] from the observation of the prisoners: hence the sentiment of a sort of omnipresence The whole circuit reviewable with little, or [...] without any, change of place. One station in the inspection part affording the most perfect view of every cell“ (Bentham, 1798).

‘Environmental enhancement strategy‘, City of London, Barbican enhancement strategy & Fleet Street courts and lanes

illustration 41

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THE URBAN PANOPTICON Rigorous forms of urban resilience The privatisation of the urban public sphere, in consequence, has become handy tool by which to inundate the Square Mile with security measures.

Safety was, and still is, a major concern within Central London; as the Local Plan outlines: "Ensuring the City remains safe and secure is paramount to promoting confidence in the City as a place to do business. As the world’s leading international financial and business centre, addressing potential risks from economic crime and terrorism is of critical importance" (City of London, 2015, p. 47).

The terror attacks in the heart of Britain left large parts of London's financial district in devastating condition. The 'ring of steel', installed to deter and eliminate potential terror threats immediately, defines a security cordon consisting of numerous CCTV cameras, checkpoints, road barriers and closures.

Referring to the 'ring of steel', superintendent of the City of London Police (abbr. CoLP) explains in a report: "By design, and in terms of the economic wellbeing of the UK, the City must ensure this site is protected both physically and in terms of reputation, to encourage business development, reduce levels of crime and improve safety on our roads" (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013).

Since the Baltic Exchange and Bishopsgate Bombings in 1992 and 1993, the Corporation of London has embedded security measures into local planning policy. The provision of enhanced security measures across the Square Mile caters to corporate interests; demanding an environment of utmost safety. Rees explicitly stated, the 'ring of steel' originated as a 'traffic calming strategy' years prior to its actual implementation in 1993; yet, the agenda then lacked interest from authorities (Rees, 2016). Only the pressure coming from the corporate entity for enhanced security measures after the 1992/93 bombings prompted authorities to react.

BALTIC EXCHANGE BOMBING 1992

The City of London has been momentously restructured since the implementation of the infamous security cordon in 1993; collateralising the urban landscape of the centre. A plethora of policies was published over time, disguising an increasing securitisation of the urban landscape.

BISHOPSGATE BOMBING 1993

03/07/1993 RING OF STEEL IMPLEMENTED

2003 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

2013 RING OF STEEL RESTRUCTURED

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2014 VIRTUAL RING OF STEEL

Inner London was sealed off from the remaining cityscape during the early 1990s when the ‘ring of steel‘ essentially premiered on July 3, 1993.

Roadblocks were installed and parking was largely prohibited in proximity to London‘s financial district; essentially turning a core neighbourhood into a fortress (Polman, 1993). Yellow traffic cones became characteristic for the initially provisional cordon, vindicated under the pretext of ‘traffic management and environmental improvements‘.

The number of entrances to London‘s inner core was reduced from over 30 to 8; making it evermore easier to control vehicular traffic. Each entry gate was additionally delegated through a sentry box monitored by armed police men.

As the urge of the threat of terror faded away in time, the ‘ring of steel‘ became more invisible. The authorities of the City of London, in dialogue with British Intelligence, created a hidden and equally inventive network of security. The ‘environmental enhancement strategy‘ thereupon made creative use of landscaping features; culminating in diverting flower tubs and fountains as protective features.

A new agenda was introduced by the superintendent of the CoLP in late 2013; outlining new tactics, new tools and new technologies.

Since the numerous CCTV and ANPR cameras are long outdated; the CoLP is continually developing new ways of monitoring the streets and squares of London‘s financial district. In a statement it was expressed that “the nature of the threat from terrorism and the means by which these group deploy, has changed beyond the capability of the current infrastructure“; justifying a further restructuring of the Square Mile (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013). CCTV cameras are to be upgraded to high-resolution whilst further advanced techniques, such as facial recognition and behavioural analysis cameras, are to be added onto the stack of existing digital surveillance within the cordon.

After the South Quay bombings destroyed large parts of Canary Wharf in 1996, the City of London Police decreed an extension of the ‘ring of steel‘ in order to protect more resident businesses from potential terror threats. The techniques became more sophisticated and technologically advanced; surveillance was then largely carried out by CCTV cameras placed at strategic points around the Square Mile. Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras (abbr. ANPR), directly linked to the police database, were installed at all entry gates to the cordoned off district. Whilst armed police men still patrolled the open streets of the city centre, private developers were encouraged to install CCTV on their properties.

A trend to digitalise security emerged at the beginning of the new century. The ‘crime reduction and safety strategy‘ disguised traffic management as an excuse to bulk up security within the Square Mile. 1500 CCTV cameras were operating within the cordon ad interim; ANPR was additionally rolled out across Central London camouflaged as ‘traffic congestion charging‘ (Coaffee , 2004, p.207). The number of ANPR cameras, placed around and within the cordon in 230 different positions, increased to 430. Coaffee adds, “such visible and brutal securitization against certain sites has led to the inevitable dislocation of London into zones of differential risk and security“ (Coaffee, 2004, p.207).

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CCTV & ANPR surveillance reducing speed level reducing entry points

A digital network, similar to the Internet Protocol, was subsequently implemented; enabling the CoLP to access private and third party cameras. A ‘virtual ring of steel‘ was furthermore launched in 2014; shielding businesses across the Square Mile. The superintendent of the City of London Police consequently concluded in his report that the “ongoing consultation with the business community will be a key element of any change programme“ (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013).

bollards on sidewalk

The newly published strategy, which went into effect in early 2014, propagates extensive digital surveillance. The ‘Pan London CCTV strategy‘ exploits the technological advance of recent years; equipping the infamous security cordon with the latest machinery.

bollards on site

The amelioration of security measures across the City of London was promoted within 'The Vison'; assuring that the Square Mile remains a safe environment. The CoLP report further reinforces the agenda advocated within the Local Plan, stating that the 'ring of steel' "[...] is a physical, technological and environmental structure that is an enabler to the policing of the City of London and is supported by our stakeholders" (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013).

personal security

The partnership between the Corporation of London and the City of London Police was recently further strengthened to 'explore options for the future' (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013). 'The Vision', a plan set out by both parties, was introduced by the CoLP in 2013, providing objectives and policies for the City of London until 2026.

perimeter of security around privatised estates

Security in space: Safeguarding tactics and corporate premises

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The Corporation of London thereupon assists the dissemination of the economic sector, propagating office development within the Local Plan; stating: “The City of London [...] is identified as a strategically important globally-orientated financial and business services centre where the emphasis should be the provision of new and refurbished office floor space“ (City of London, 2015, p.33). The economically oriented policy of the Square Mile‘s local authority profoundly affects the urban landscape of the centre; cultivating a highly controlled design and use of space.

A monofunctional land use is furthermore nurtured; divulging that “the quantity and quality of new development, particularly offices, will keep pace with growing business needs, allowing the continued clustering of businesses that is vital to the City’s operation“ (City of London, 2015, p.19).

A spatial disengagement of corporate premises to their environs is further strengthened through augmented safeguarding requirements. Since “security and safety are important to the quality of life [...] in the City“, developers are encouraged to “engage the Police as advisers on counterterrorism measures for public projects, including open spaces“ (City of London, 2015, p.4950).

London's inner core is thus carefully designed; characterised by a high quality environment, which ostensibly entails excessive safeguarding.

Counter-terrorist measures are ubiquitous but cleverly disguised.

The quantity of safeguarding measures implemented in space is entirely reliant on risk assessments drafted by the CoLP and security consultancies, advising the corporate client throughout the design and construction process.

The approach to security on site follows the maxim to "integrate as much as possible"; however, as a security consultancy assured, the rules on the implementation of security in space are "flexible" (Chapman, 2016). Whilst the 'Secured by design' principles, a template for urban design, edict a specific set of safety precautions, the risk assessment of CoLP and security consultancies is tailored to the immediate needs of the corporate client.

Traffic exclusions, restrictions and calming are used to cut off properties from the remaining cityscape.

Pedestrianized roads serve the same purpose but furthermore contribute to environmental agendas, as the 'Secured by Design' leaflet highlights (SBD, 2015). Additional vehicle security barriers (abbr.

VSB) are usually found in close proximity to the respective site. Bollards, planters and even 'structural street furniture' are diverted to safeguard valuable properties. VSB features are deployed in a 'stand-off distance' to the building skin; preventing unscreened people and vehicles from approaching within a certain distance.

Digital surveillance and personal security is installed in order to deter and identify hostile reconnaissance; constructing a sophisticated net of security measures within and around the built substance of the Square Mile (SBD, 2015).

The spatialization of such safeguarding tactics will be further explicated within the following paragraphs on the precedent of the Broadgate Tower located at the northern border of the 'ring of steel'.

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The Broadgate Tower is arguably supremely secured. The 164 metre high-rise structure surmounts the miniscule open public space on the ground that is embedded in a series of safeguarding measures.

The site is surrounded by three arterial roads; Primrose Street on the south side is traffic-calmed, Worship Street on the north side is diverted into a one-way leading out of the ‘ring of steel‘ whilst Bishopsgate imposes a major speed restriction. Two roadblocks are additionally installed in proximity to the site, furthermore hindering vehicles from somewhat approaching the skyscraper.

The main access to the site and its respective components is located at the traffic-calmed Primrose Street. Protected by a sequence of bollards and further ‘environmental enhancement‘ features, the entrance to the lobby of the Broadgate Tower is unreachable for any vehicles. An assemblage of three types of bollards is disconnecting the public space from the adjacent sidewalk. All bollards are verified by the PAS 68 classification system, the UK standard for Hostile Vehicle Mitigation equipment. Benches and flower beds placed nearby the entrances are massively built to provide further shelter.

The building entrance of the skyscraper is monitored by two, out of a total of 144, D1 surveillance cameras fitted with high-resolution technology. Security gates within the lobby are furthermore permitting unwanted clientele to access private office space. Service entrances on the ground floor are ancillary secured by a personal guard.

The selected precedent aptly unmasks the magnitude of safeguarding measures implemented within and around corporate premises. The trend to the digitalisation of security in combination with the establishment of a ‘virtual ring of steel‘, nonetheless, induces a restructuring of the current hierarchy of security in space, potentially diminishing selected physical boundaries.

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‘Virtual ring of steel‘: Alleviating spatial boundaries of security The ‘ring of steel‘ became excuse to deluge the Square Mile with security measures over time. With safeguarding techniques becoming increasingly sophisticated, security measures became increasingly invisible; culminating in the current trend of distributing digitalised security across the Square Mile.

The establishment of a 'virtual ring of steel' and the network's effect on the built fabric within the City of London will thereupon be further emphasised within the following paragraphs.

The 'virtual ring of steel', operating through a network similar to the cloud, provides data resilience for businesses spread across the Square Mile. The Commissioner of Police Report furthermore affirms both police and corporate entity will benefit from the secure data network that assures to "deliver connectivity for a secure mobile platform" (Commissioner of Police Report, 2013).

The provision of a secure data network through a shared infrastructure, exclusively accessible within the City of London, has the potential to modify existing boundaries of security within the office building typology. The prevalent network of security around the office building is vast, an intricate combination of physical and digital safeguarding measures; which ,after a security consultant, “will always be the preferred option“ (Chapman, 2016).

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Certain boundaries of security must therefore be kept within and around corporate premises, however, certain boundaries of security can be alleviated with a 'virtual ring of steel'. The provision of two different circulation systems within the office building, dividing private space and public space, could allow a variety of work environments that exhibit divergent security ratings.

The proposed new office building typology ponders the progressing flexibility of office design attained through the 'shared common infrastructure', integrated in the design of the office building, and the 'virtual ring of steel', a mobile network across the Square Mile; imagining a work environment where corporate activity and public activity can coalesce.

The proposed office tower could then be equipped with private office floors and semi-public office floors interrelated to the building's public centre.

The building core, accessible for employees, could connect all office floors vertically however, the core will need to be enclosed within a series of safeguarding interventions; preventing unauthorised clientele to access private spaces. The exposed stairwell, accessible for both employees and members of the public, can, on the contrary, be freed of safeguarding measures.

The proposal then explores a tower that is less exclusive than currently prevalent within the City of London, creating a new office building that unifies private space and public space through two distinct circulation and security systems. The implementation of security in space within and around the proposed office tower will be further elucidated in the following chapter; outlining opportunities and constraints of safeguarding measures in two selected spaces, the lobby and the semi-public office floor.

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C H A P T E R 4

REINVENTING OFFICE BUILDING TYPOLOGY

130 Fenchurch Street, building scheduled for demolition

illustration 46

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REINVENTING OFFICE BUILDING TYPOLOGY Selecting project site and project client

Site plan showing the selected project premises 130 Fenchurch Street with its closest context, in the midst of London‘s financial district.

Building in the City of London means building within a highly restricted environment. The urban landscape of the Square Mile is confined by protected view corridors and conservation areas - leaving merely a handful of available properties with redevelopment potential. The selected site acts as a substitute for one of 10 existing redevelopment projects, one of 8 tall buildings thereof, located in walking distance of the Eastern Cluster of towers.

1l 130 Fenchurch Street 2l Fen Court 3l 10 Fenchurch Avenue: Planning permission granted 4l 40 Leadenhall Street: Planning permission granted 5l 52 Lime Street: Under construction

130 Fenchurch Street, currently housing an eminently out-dated office building scheduled for demolition, serves as proposed project site.

Fen Court, small garden and former churchyard, is adjacent to the site. The serene green space, bordering a quiet passageway, interconnects the busy Fenchurch Street in the south and the trafficcalmed Fenchurch Avenue in the north. Fen Court, a recreational space hidden from the fast-paced City environment, is envisaged as tied to the proposed office building; linking the existing public sphere within the urban grain to the proposed public sphere within the urban fabric. The office tower can thereupon showcase a variety of green spaces, translating the placid ambience of Fen Court vertically.

The scheme is sensitive to on-site conditions, strengthening the existing public space on the ground by establishing a forecourt elongating Fen Court. The eastern side of 130 Fenchurch Street therefore remains undeveloped, reserved for public space in form of a grand plaza, whilst the western side will be occupied by the office tower that is adhered to the built fabric at the north-western end of the site.

The centrepiece of the proposed scheme, the shared space, will be contiguous to this forecourt.

The centre of the building conjoins office space and private space; yet, the centre of the building furthermore forms a visual connection to both Fen court, the existing public space, and grand plaza, the proposed public space.

illustration 47

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5

4

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Office design is, nonetheless, very much contingent on the needs of the client and respective approach to business practice. The sway of client over building design, as indicated in previous chapters, is intended to be moderated by selecting a client benefitting from an inclusive work environment; favouring Tech Companies with flexible forms of work organisation and sufficient funds to lease expensive City space.

The shared centre of the proposed office building will, nevertheless, be a pivotal space; stimulating cross company communication and exchange. The shared space intersects the office space in its midst, shaping two either autonomous or interrelated work environments. The flexible internal arrangement of rooms within the office building complements a more informal work ethic, typical of new digital working methods and environments. The proposed office tower could therefore offer a plethora of interior layouts, showcasing disparate spatial settings established to support collaborative work. Three categories of office space are then tested within the interior layout: Firstly, the private office, without public space; secondly, the semi-private office, intersected by the shared centre and thirdly, the fully public office with a shared space fostering informal work.

London based companies such as 'YPlan', 'Blippar' and 'Transfer Wise' would be suitable sample occupiers and financiers for a new office building in a prime City location. All of these technology companies, located in the City Fringe, operate prospering businesses and are soon being forced to react to their firm's expansion by relocating into offices big enough to provide for a fast growing workforce.

The shared centre, a threshold between private and public is intended as means to revive London's ancient urban landscape resembling a vibrant market place; reinstating what Rees trenchantly dubbed as "gossip at the centre of community" (Rees, 2016). The proposed office tower translates the hub of 'gossip' into vertically; shaping a space of cross communication serving both professionals and members of the public.

'Blippar' and 'Transfer Wise' both employ 200 to 500 people, whilst 'YPlan' has a workforce between 50 to 200 people (LinkedIn, 2016). Companies with a medium sized workforce, identical to the mentioned businesses, constitute sought-after clients for the proposed office tower, endeavouring to accommodate a variety of Tech Companies under one roof.

The establishment of selected room programmes for the public space within the office building could then include members of the public; merging corporate activity and public activity alike.

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Office alternative The proposal of an alternative office structure enables the trend towards an increasingly homogenous City district to be challenged and to experiment with deviations from standard office design. The high-rise could do more to exploit the increased labour mobility, owing to the 'shared common infrastructure', and the increased labour certitude, owing to the 'virtual ring of steel', to open up the office building to the wider public. The public space within such an office building could establish a shared centre interwoven into copious vertical levels of the high-rise.

Three categories of office space are brought together in the proposed tower, the private office, the semi-public office and the fully public office.

The three structures are then alternated throughout the building.

The varied office space can, notwithstanding, be subordinate to two distinct circulation systems that serve the private space and the public space within the office building. The office space is connected through a building core; located at a sidewall whilst the shared centre is woven around the exposed stairwell. The split level shared space is present in irregular intervals throughout the building, intersecting or interconnecting the office space on either side; fundamentally blurring the boundaries between private and public. The amendment of the floor to ceiling height of the public centre, ranging from 2,750 mm to twice or triple the height, can moreover break with the standardised office design; shaping a plethora of spatial experiences within the office building and bringing a diversity to the standard extrusion.

The guiding principle of office design in this project therefore thematises the integration of publicly accessible space within a highly exclusive building typology. The shared space, rehabilitating the public epicentre of the early purpose-built office, is tested as the core space of the building; the space that either intersects or interconnects the office space.

The shared centre of the office building can thereupon be accentuated through a facade that is different from the remaining tower shell; creating a building envelope that is breaking with the existing monotony in office building design.

The propositional office tower, tested here at 66 metres in height, epitomises the duality of the main building uses, private and public, office space and shared space, in elevation. This high-rise is articulated in two parts, a traditional, rather rigid tower, and a non-traditional tower, revolving around the rigid part.

The determination of the building height takes land value and office space value within the City of London into consideration; ensuring that despite its radical inclusion of the public realm, the highrise could be economically sustainable. Here the lobby is designed to occupy two floors whilst 20 upper floors of office space are be stacked upon the entrance hall.

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‘An informal network of trade‘: The shared space The proposed office type innovates in the interrelation of private and public within the highrise. The formation of a shared centre in the office building typology, fostering "gossip at the centre of community", can invigorate the once vibrant market place situated at the heart of the City of London.

The office tower will thereafter be populated with spatial programmes that benefit cross communication. A commercial scheme can then be paired with a green topography winding through the vertical levels of the high-rise; blurring the boundaries between private and public.

The commercial scheme can be framed by public space composed out of a variety of green spaces; creating a vertical landscape intermingling with commercial activity. The green topography, interconnecting private and public, will in essence fuse the two spatial entities together.

The cultivation of such a subsidiary informal network of trade through interrelated commercial and green spaces can furthermore strengthen communication throughout the building.

The green topography can exhibit assorted spatial themes that relate to the commercial counterpart. A symbiotic relationship can then be formed through themes such as the 'allotment garden' which would grow herbs and spices for restaurants and cafés to harvest from.

Rees’ identified the future office as a thriving social pivot, stating: "The office becomes the centre of people's social life" (Rees, 2016). The proposed office tower can thereupon present a renewed office design freed from the prevalent obstacles provoking a standardised interior layout; essentially cultivating a more inclusive approach to office life and design.

The interplay of commercial space and green space, social hub and recreation, could shape a diverse environment mitigating a sterile office landscape and strengthening social life within the fast-paced City of London. As Rees furthermore explains: "For me, it is that social aspect that sums up London, it is not the business aspect, the business aspect simply draws on its social success" (Rees, 2016).

The inspiration for the shared space arises from the existing urban grain; the alternations of enclosed and open, of private and public, of seclusion and communication. The project endeavours to extract Central London's hubs of communication and commerce, placing them into a disparate, more inclusive, social and architectural context. The proposed high-rise can then incorporate a number of commercial room programmes on selected levels of the shared space. Restaurants, cafés and coffee shops will thus be present within the building. The rich history of the coffee shop within the City of London, manifested as informal centre of trade and commerce, can be nurtured in the proposed tower; alienating the coffee shop as subordinate work environment.

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protected view corridor in the City of London

Rethinking the interrelation of private and public within the office building typology The analysis of the evolution of the office building typology within this thesis has been pertinent to the medium of the floor plan. The study of the floor plan throughout selected epochs traced the evolution of office design in respect to guiding principles determining the interior layout. The last constituent of this thesis juxtaposes antecedent office design in opposition to future office design.

The semi-public office floor, inarguable the most complex of the three categories of office space present within the proposed high-rise, can be divided into two office parts located on either side of the shared space. The alternation of small and large rooms within both office parts will furthermore continue the theme of division; fragmenting the open-plan office to create a variety of work environments. The shared centre will be placed on a split level, connecting the office parts through the exposed stairwell. A glass elevator, complementing the exposed stairwell, will further interconnect the split-level public spaces throughout the office building.

The following paragraphs offer, firstly a counterpoint to the lobby, paradigmatic for the 'showroom' of the office building, and secondly the semi-public office floor, paradigmatic for the alteration of a standardised office floor within the office building.

The safeguarding strategy in the lobby is carried through to the upper floors of the proposed highrise; securing office space whilst public space is freed of security measures. An additional series of 'access control speed gates' will thereafter be placed in front of the elevator hall while all enclosed office spaces are protected by 'swipe card door entry systems'.

The lobby in the proposed new prototype, reaching six metres in height, exhibits a spatial environment disparate to most office lobbies. The two distinct circulation systems within the high-rise, the traditional building core and the exposed stairwell, are open to this lobby. A noble elevator hall, secured by a series of 'access control speed gates' that filter employees from members of the public, frame the ample multi-storeyed office lobby. The vast lobby space further intersects with a mezzanine floor, bordered by a glazed screen, that will divulge distorted spatial fragments of the upper floors through the transparent barrier. A steel-glass skin, encompassing the public centre of the office building, is established to blur the boundary of interior and exterior; essentially interlinking the grand plaza to the mezzanine floor that transmogrifies into the public centre.

The proposed office tower exposes an innovated office design, shifting the boundaries of private and public within a building typology. Office space is intermittently intersected by public space, unveiling a distinct horizontal sequence of office space - public space - office space and a diversified vertical sequence that alternates between private office space - semi-public office space - fully public space.

building constraints within the City of London

The proposal employs safeguarding measures that are classified as imperative, aiming at alleviating the superabundance of safety precautions deployed in and around corporate premises within the City of London. Richard Chapman, senior consultant for a security engineering consultancy, has confirmed that the early involvement of a security consultant within the design process guarantees invisibility of safeguarding measures and allowing shaping a highquality environment that is of no degree dominated by excessive security and corporate control.

A small number of safeguarding measures, serving vehicle mitigation, are to be deployed around the lobby. The language of bollards and 'structural street furniture' is fully exploited to create a playful network of physical barriers that then liberate the interior of the block while articulating the public external space available outside the block. The grand plaza, open to the busy Fenchurch Street, will therefore be protected through a carefully designed public realm which treats street furniture as a sequence of obstacles hindering unauthorised vehicles to enter the site. The network of security within and around the proposed high-rise will, however, remain at a minimum, utilising solely indispensable safeguarding measures.

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conservation area

illustration 48

grade listed buildings

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existing high-rise

Schematic proposal drawings office space - public space - office space

2.1

scale 1:750 2.1

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2.3 2.2 2.5

2.3 2.1

Schematic floor plans showing the initial proposal and main circulation routes throughout the building 1l The lobby 1.1l building core 1.2l access control speed gates 1.3l exposed stairwell & glass elevator 1.4l shared centre 1.5l commercial room programme 1.6l potential reception desk position 1.7l series of trees and benches to shield the grand plaza from the busy Fenchurch Street 2l The semi-public office floor 2.1l separated office space 2.2l shared centre 2.3l voids revealing public centre from lower levels 2.4l glass partition 2.5l potential outdoor space

1.1 1.2 1.6 1.3

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Schematic transverse section cutting through the public space 1l split level shared centre 2l exposed stairwell & glass elevator 3l private office floor Economic sustainability: Office tower floor plan gross internal floor area: 11,000 sqft (1000 sqm), 20 upper storeys + 2 ground storeys (66 m)

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Office space land value in the City of London: 480 pounds per square foot (psf), standard land value in the City of London: 100,250,000 pounds: 480 x 110,00 sqft = 5,280000 pounds return per floor and 105,600,000 pounds return per building

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Expected workforce: Calculating10 sqm of workplace for 1 person: 200-500 ppl company = 20005000 sqm workplace; one company to occupy 2-5 office floors; 4-10 potential companies to occupy the building (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2015)(Gerald Eve, 2015)

schematic floor plan

schematic transverse section

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illustration 49

Isometry showing schematic proposal in its context existing high-rise adjacent to site: 1) Willis Building 2) Lloyd‘s of London

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CONCLUSION The motivation of this project has been to redress the ceaseless corporatization of Central London's urban landscape, which perceptibly deepens the invisible trench separating the City of London from remaining London. The urban fabric of the centre has been aligned to the demands of a corporate clientele; a penchant which will continue to sustain London as the "world’s leading international financial and business centre" (City of London, 2015, p.20). The Corporation of London continually prioritises the increase of office stock within the Square Mile; substantially overcrowding the dense centre with office buildings and appurtenant safeguarding measures. The implications of such tendencies on the built environment are severe; generating a monofunctional and an exclusive urban environment governed by the wealthy.

The digitalisation of business processes and the digitalisation of security, foresee a more flexible form of work organisation and afford the opportunity to re-think the interrelation of private and public within the office building typology. The thesis delineated how strict barriers within and around the office building can be alleviated by both trends that aid the imagining of a future office building where the harsh boundary between private and public is blurred unrecognisable. The project thereafter utilises the alteration of the office building typology as impetus to renew the public sphere within the Square Mile; fundamentally shaping a more inclusive office block.

The innovated office design thereupon implements public space at its midst in pursuance of fostering cross communication. The advancement of business practice and safeguarding techniques is exploited to found a future office building which will tear down the wall separating public and private; a future office building which will offer a variety of work environments; a future office building which will nurture a more flexible form of work organisation.

The office building, the preeminent building typology within the Square Mile, is thus emblematic of economic supremacy. The forces shaping office design are, nonetheless, driven by unilateral motifs; essentially spawning sterile, highly controlled, spaces intended to shield corporate capital.

The inclusion of assorted interdependent room programmes within the office building can go far towards opening up one of the most exclusive building typologies existing to a wider clientele; potentially benefitting the prevalent urban environment through the creation of a public sphere within the urban fabric completing the public sphere within the urban grain. The reinvention of the office tower, the in future most sustainable building typology, could shape a Central London that impresses with inclusiveness.

The hunger for pure efficiency qualifies as the stimulus for modern office design; mass manufacturing standardised, yet highly flexible, office spaces suitable for a profusion of businesses.

The emergence of new technology, in conjunction with the impact of technological advance on business practice, have been regarded as pivotal to attenuate the maxim shaping modern office design.

The incentive for treating the office building as a 'provider of secure information', as opposed to a 'vitreous fortress', unveils a more sensible approach to office design; moving further away from the current scenario and allowing the client to commission colossal monuments that serve the sole purpose of demonstrating supremacy. The impact of a tall building on its environs can then be abated by ensuring both, private sector and public sector, draw benefits from the office building.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1l Pohl, X. (2015). The Broadgate Tower and 201 Bishopsgate, facade reflections [image].

11l Pohl, X. (2016). Digitalised office plans >1900 [plan].

2l (left) Pohl, X. (2015). 5 Broadgate [image].

2l (right) Pohl, X. (2015). Broadgate Tower and 201 Bishopsgate, steel framework [image].

12l Unknown (1890). Royal Exchange [online image]. Available at: http://www.collectorsprints.com/_images/londonchromo/royal-exchange.jpg [Accessed 08 March 2016]

3l (left) Pohl, X. (2015). Finsbury Avenue Square [image].

3l (right) Pohl, X. (2015). 1 and 2 Broadgate, lobby [image].

13l Unknown (1890). Bank of England [online image]. Available at: http://www.collectorsprints.com/_images/londonchromo/bank-of-england.jpg [Accessed 08 March 2016]

4l Pohl, X. (2015). 'Ring of steel' [image]. Retrieved from: http://www.mascontext.com/wpcontent/ uploads/2014/06/22_ring_of_steel_01.jpg

14l Shepherd, T. H. (1829). South Sea House, Threadneedle Street [online image]. Available at: http://www.antique-prints.de/shop/Media/ Shop/4435.jpg [Accessed 08 March 2016]

5l (left bottom) Pohl, X. (2015). 'Ring of steel' entry point at Bishopsgate [image].

6l (right bottom) Pohl, X. (2015). Paternoster Square [image].

15l Shepherd, T. H. (1829). Auction Mart, St. Bartholomew's Lane [online image]. Available at: http://www.antique-prints.de/shop/Media/ Shop/9256.jpg [Accessed 08 March 2016]

7l (left top) Pohl, X. (2015). Exchange House [image].

8l (right top) Pohl, X. (2015). Private-public space within the Broadgate Estate [image].

16l Shepherd, T. H. (1829). Excise Office, Broad Street [online image]. Available at: http://www.antique-prints.de/shop/Media/ Shop/1113.jpg [Accessed 08 March 2016]

9l (left) Pohl, X. (2015). Royal Exchange, courtyard [image].

9l (right) Bishop, I. (2013). The Royal Exchange, London [online image]. Available at: https://londonunveiled.files.wordpress. com/2013/11/2013_10_ldn_royalxchg-7.jpg [Accessed 26 May 2016]

17l Shepherd, T. H. (1817). The expanded East India House, Leadenhall Street [online image].

Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/East_India_House_THS_1817_ edited.jpg [Accessed 08 March 2016]

10l (left) Levene, D. (2015). Inside the Bank of England [online image]. Available at: https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/18fad411b7e5e3c 3c96cf68ea9acd127d9670d86/47_35_3775_5666/ master/3775.jpg?w=1010&q=55&auto=format&us m=12&fit=max&s=896173bca66cc6fc10ea1a926a 7a9431 [Accessed 26 May 2016] 10l (right) Levene, D. (2015). Inside the Bank of England [online image]. Available at: https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/77e9bc89bb14ab a9c833e1d2eb34bf880e5ff65f/0_0_3840_4754/ master/3840.jpg?w=1010&q=55&auto=format&us m=12&fit=max&s=b87046eb92a755313bc34952d4 1f80b3 [Accessed 26 May 2016]

18l (left) Smith, A. (2011). Chicago's Cloud Scrapers Rise [online image]. Available at: https://amyfrankiesmith.files.wordpress.com/2011/ 08/dscf2327.jpg [Accessed 08 May 2016] 18l (right) Minor, S. (2009). Monadnock Block [online image]. Available at: https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6031/6284316584_ d08f22103b_b.jpg [Accessed 08 May 2016] 19l (left) Kuo, J. (2013). Scientific management of the workspace (Taylorism) in the Larkin Building [image within book]: Kuo, J. (2013). A-TYPICAL PLAN. Projects and essays on identity, flexibility, and atmosphere in the office building. ZĂźrich: Park Books

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19l (right) Kuo, J. (2013). Johnson Wax Building, Frank Lloyd Wright 1936-1939 [image within book]: Kuo, J. (2013). A-TYPICAL PLAN. Projects and essays on identity, flexibility, and atmosphere in the office building. ZĂźrich: Park Books

28l Unknown (2009). Tower 42 in London [online image]. Available at: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/523180403_ b36c8b3ce2_o.jpg [Accessed 25 May 2016] 29l Stagg, A. (2010). St. Helen's [online image].

Available at: http://www.viewpictures.co.uk/ImageThumbs/ GMW-AVT-0002/3/GMW-AVT-0002_St_Helens_previously_known_as_the_Aviva_Tower_or_the_Commercial_Union_building_Hero_shot_GMW_Archite. jpg [Accessed 25 May 2016]

20l Pohl, X. (2016). Digitalised office plans 19001930 [plan].

21l nyc-architecture (unknown). Broadway Chambers Building [online image]. Available at: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/SOH/SOH028. htm [Accessed 18 May 2016]

30l Newman, J. (unknown). One Angel Court [online image]. Available at: http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/ pics/235OneAngelCourt_pic1.jpg [Accessed 25 May 2016]

22l The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (unknown). The Archives [online image].

Available at: http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/photograph/ photographs/flw-larkin.jpg [Accessed 18 May 2016]

31l Newman, J. (unknown). 30 St. Mary Axe [online image]. Available at: http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/ pics/5830StMarysAxe_pic33.jpg [Accessed 25 May 2016]

23l Chuckman, J. (unknown). Chicago nostalgia and memorabilia [online image]. Available at: https://chuckmanchicagonostalgia.files.wordpress. com/2012/03/postcard-chicago-monadnock-building-aerial-nice-version-1912.jpg [Accessed 20 May 2016]

32l City Property Association (unknown).

Broadgate Tower [online image]. Available at: http://citypropertyassociation.com/wp-content/ uploads/2014/05/BroadgateTower21.jpg [Accessed 25 May 2016]

24l Elgar Collection (2012). Unilever House, Blackfriars Bridge, London [online image].

Available at: http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/lookandlearnpreview/XD/XD136/XD136822.jpg [Accessed 20 May 2016]

33l Unknown (2014). The Cheesegrater [online image]. Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/f/fc/Cheesegrater_and_Gherkin.jpg [Accessed 25 May 2016]

25l Unknown (unknown). London Stock Exchange Tower. [online image]. Available at: https://megalopolisnow.files.wordpress. com/2013/06/7-1.jpg [Accessed 01 April 2016]

34l (left) Pohl, X. (2015). Broadgate Tower, lobby [image].

34l (right) Pohl, X. (2015). Broadgate Tower [image].

26l (top) Unknown (unknown). London Stock Exchange, dealing floor. [online image]. Available at: https://ads9rca.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/ london-stock-exchange-floor_09lse25.jpg [Accessed 01 April 2016] 26l (bottom) Rexscanpix (unknown). Trading Places: The old days of the London Stock Exchange trading floor have long gone. [online image].

Available at: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/diyinvesting/ article-2792867/how-stock-exchange-works-happens-buy-sell-shares.html [Accessed 01 April 2016]

35l (left) Pohl, X. (2015). access control speed gates & security personnel, Broadgate Tower [image].

35l (right) Pohl, X. (2015). vast interior space, Broadgate Tower [image].

36l Pohl, X. (2015). Spatial patterns within the City of London [maps].

37l Pohl, X. (2015). Paternoster Square [image].

37l Pohl, X. (2015). Broadgate Circle [image].

27l Pohl, X. (2016). Digitalised office plans 19852015 [plan].

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37l Pohl, X. (2015). Finsbury Avenue Square [image].

37l Pohl, X. (2015). Exchange Square [image].

42l Pohl, X. (2015). Security in space: Urban context [image].

43l Pohl, X. (2015). Broadgate Tower, site plan [image].

38l Williams, H. (2010). The edge of the City of London, to the left is the beginning of the borough of Hackney [online image]. Available at: http://www.mascontext.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/06/22_ring_of_steel_10.jpg [Accessed 25 May 2016]

44l Pohl, X. (2015). Security perimeter around the Broadgate Tower [image].

45l Pohl, X. (2015). Broadgate Tower, facade collage [image].

39l Williams, H. (2010). Sentry box and CCTV cameras for number plate recognition [online image]. Available at: http://www.mascontext.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/22_ring_of_steel_cover.jpg [Accessed 27 May 2016]

46l Pohl, X. (2015). 130 Fenchurch Street [image].

47l Pohl, X. (2015). 130 Fenchurch Street, site plan [image].

48l (top) Pohl, X. (2016). Protected view corridor in the City of London. [map].

48l (bottom) Pohl, X. (2016). Building constraints within the City of London. [map].

40l Pohl, X. (2014). 'Ring of steel' development [maps].

41l (left) City of London. Barbican Enhancement Strategy [online image]. Available at: http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environment-and-planning/environmental-enhancement/ strategies/Documents/barbican-area-strategypart-6.pdf [Accessed 15 March 2015] 41l (left middle) City of London. Barbican Enhancement Strategy [online image]. Available at: http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environment-and-planning/environmental-enhancement/ strategies/Documents/barbican-area-strategypart-6.pdf [Accessed 15 March 2015] 41l (right middle) City of London. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS. Fleet Street Courts and Lanes [online image]. Available at: http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environment-and-planning/environmental-enhancement/ strategies/Documents/fleet-street-courts-andlanes-3.pdf [Accessed 15 March 2015] 41l (right) City of London. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS. Fleet Street Courts and Lanes [online image].

Available at: http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environment-and-planning/environmental-enhancement/ strategies/Documents/fleet-street-courts-andlanes-3.pdf [Accessed 15 March 2015]

49l Pohl, X. (2016). Schematic proposal drawings [image].

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APPENDIX Transcript of the recorded interview with Peter Rees, former Chief Planning Officer of the City of London: City of London data: 80, almost 90 million sq feet office floorspace stock 300,000 - 400,000 worker population 10,000 resident population, 5000 >1985 1985, Peter Rees appointed Chief Planning Officer City of London: cellular offices built in the 1960s superseded; quickly, cheaply built to re-establish economic growth; built on low podium, low plot ratio, ensure wider roads Barbican Estate was built in the 1960s; repopulate the City of London after the war, mixed use, residential combined with culture/ leisure space along London Wall, low-rise offices settled; 14-15 stories, paper economy, open span office, people in higher position in separate office, yet, business was relying on verbal communication and group work DEREGULATION OF FINANCIAL SERVICES: international banks settled in the City of London, different work methods, computerisation of tasks as opposed to paper economy; no urgent proximity to Bank of England <1985, messenger carrying contracts for signature from surrounding Banks to the Bank of England, <1985, open financial market to international competition change in planning system carried out to adjust to new legislation, British planning system described by Rees as 'reactive' as opposed to 'proactive'; "do what you can do" proposed increase in office floorspace stock 0-20 million sq feet from 1985-1995; settled to 10 million sq feet which "turned out to be the perfect amount", natural growth rate sustainable economic services in the centre of London, "area that has grown in business mode", 'gossip' in centre of community mid 1980s, fairly rapid transformation in the building types, demand for office accommodation in the City; heavily influenced by the arrival of American architects Most influential development during mid 1980s: Broadgate Development, built on empty railway land, gave opportunity to expand the city floorspace rapidly; "in order to attend tenants, they had to change the character of the area" Broadgate at unusual location (10 min walk from Bank of England); banks seeked proximity to Bank of England, "[...] in fact, they had to be physically close, because under the old working methods, contracts had to be taken to the Bank of England in order to be signed, literally, by a messenger on foot."

Groundscapers, large floorplate buildings + space for dealing floors - "Financial transactions were no longer carried out on a shared dealing floor in the Stock Exchange, were the people from all the firms came together." instead of having open highground trading, where people hanging on the phone and shouting at each other, the banks were going to have their own dealing, linked together by computers controlled by the Stock Exchange; "The Stock Exchange simply became a regulatory body, rather than a place to do deals" each bank wanted to have their own dealing floor, large floorplate, uninterrupted view between the different activities, high ceiling height (to accommodate cabling running underneath floors) existing 60s buildings couldn't be adapted, built tightly to specification, low ground to ceiling height, narrow design for cellular offices running around a central corridor (10,000 sq feet on a floorplate or less)

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New buildings, needing office floors around 20,000 sq feet & dealing floors around 50,000 sq feet, "I remember every bank coming to see us as planners insisting their dealing floor had to be 50,000 sq feet, and the existence of their buildings had to be 1,000,000 sq feet, it was like a machismo, there was no scientific calculation behind this."

"These huge dealing floors were of little practical use, because if you were working in one corner of the dealing floor, you could see there was activity in the other corner, but you had no idea what that activity was. In fact, a lot of the time, the dealers used to play cricket over the tops of the computer screens in the quiet patches of the dealing floor - It was a very laddish culture, it probably still is."

Huge dealing floors, of little practical use, no visual connection between traders, dealers used to play cricket over the computer screen in the quiet patches of the dealing floor office accommodation was just as open plan as the dealing floor was, people work in groups around their computer screens, working collaboratively, working electronically rather than with paper and telephone "Those activities still benefited from the proximity of the medieval city, the pubs and restaurants; because those were the places of gossip, those were the places where highly paid people came across other highly paid people and found jobs with other companies, where they overheard the gossip from other companies and as a result made money out of that gossip. That was the fertiliser in the soil that made the City so productive."

Within weeks, Broadgate Circus most successful public space within the City of London; became part of the City's society, City's gossip network - "Lipton understood the need to create this kind of working environment"; huge potential in London to deliver an American star product (BID Broadgate) Canary Wharf; pure American Form - million sq foot 'tires'(?), large floorplate, high-rise, dark space in the middle; "You only got daylight when you became successful and moved to the outside of the office floor."

"They always say in an American Company, you start work near the photocopiers and lavatories in the middle of the floor, near the elevators, as you progress, you move towards the light, as you progress further, you move towards the corner office with windows on two sides, if you are really successful, you move up the building" British weren't used to American model; for American banks moving to London, Canary Wharf was ideal, "it was what they understood", "They didn't realise they were in Britain, they could have been anywhere in the world with an American model" City & rival Canary Wharf both necessary, by end of 1980s both of them were full; City continued building groundscapers (10 stories tall); City ran out of let space by the end of the millennium; "Around the turn of the century, it was necessary to consider a cluster of tall buildings" "Towers are our last resort, they are not a good solution to most things, it is a sign of desperation or a sign there is only one solution left."

"London was a place they (foreign companies) wanted to be, because they were coming for the party and not for the work" "The solution to building success, is not necessarily in the typology of an office, it is much more to do with the physiology of a place, it is to do with the way a place works, the way a place is animated, the way a place attracts people for the experience of being there.", "Without the right place, the best office won't work."

"We knew we were an important business destination, a globally connected city, all that was important in London was to have the right accommodation."

Eastern cluster of towers to accommodate business and people, no other way left than to go vertically, that concept spread across London

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How were towers (Eastern Cluster) made architecturally distinctive?

Londoner's anti tall buildings, "the buildings of the 1960s were so boring" Tower 42: only tall building millennium at that height; reasonably distinguished architecturally, most of the lower building quite unattractive Gherkin: in-between high-rise and low rise; wasn't built to be iconic, "You cannot design an iconic building, only the public decide on an icon, the public create them", early buildings went up for practical reasons Cheesegrater: sloping, set back to allow view to St. Pauls, "nicknames as sign of affection" (nicknames as indicator people wanted buildings that were distinctive architecturally) All buildings have distinctive forms, grouped close together to form a tight cluster of tower, located in part of the City with least impact on environment, important views; "We were minimising the inevitable damage of having high-rise buildings" Residential revolution - The big problem: Eastern Cluster of towers, because buildings were used as offices only, they could be grouped tightly together; building tall in British planning system creates a precedent - In City, tight planning policies existing that constraint the area where tall buildings could be built; other parts of London, no controlling policies = Livingston and Johnson liked the idea of tall buildings going up, looked as a demonstration of wealth, "it made them feel as if they were achieving something" Tower design coincided with a time when residential property became more profitable, money influx from Russia, Middle East and China - moving money to a secure place "They were looking for capital security, not profit", all money was focussed on London & New York and residential property (hiding money, securing money - money laundering through London) = Residential high-rise about 6 times more profitable than offices (current) "Now it is very difficult to get developers to build office buildings in London, because if they can get a site, they would prefer to build residential"; only a few places like the City of London have planning policies that prevent the above development from happening (enhancing office high-rise as opposed to enhancing residential highrise) Arrival of new working environments, Shoreditch, City Fringe: creative companies could not afford office space in City or West End, Canary Wharf, "close to the buzz", settling in Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Farringdon; developed a very different way of working "They were employers who wanted flexible working patterns, they were employers who were just as likely doing work on their laptop or their tablet in a coffee bar nearby or sunbathing on the roof, or playing football in a piece of empty ground nearby."; flexible work patterns, imported from Silicon Valley "As some of these firms are growing, they are now moving into the City of London, and being able to afford office space; so the City and Shoreditch are morphing together."; "Work and practice are becoming more flexible, they are becoming more socially oriented, and the distinction between being in the office or being in the gossip channels of the pubs and restaurants [...] is blurred together in Shoreditch." blurring together of boundaries has effect on the City; City is reacting with more shopping, better public spaces, more range of uses, more pleasant place to be, more of a place rather than just workplace

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Predictions for the future: more informal working, still office working (as opposed to people working from home), "The office becomes the centre of people's social life" City centres are becoming even more vital and important to the world economy; "For me, it is that social aspect that sums up London, it is not the business aspect, the business aspect simply draws on its social success."

Places are made out of spaces, buildings are simply the things that surround spaces; "It is not architects or planners that make places, it is people who make places, by adopting the spaces we create" Broadgate, most important - get the spaces right; adaptability and distinction, flexible design that promises sustainability; Alex Gordon, sustainable building - long life, loose fit, long energy Ring of Steel/ Security in the City of London: "City thrives on catastrophe", ring of steel established as 'security cordon' yet, Peter insures, the plan of carrying out environmental improvements through traffic calming was well established before the 1992/93 bombings took place; Public paranoia & fear brought the City of London Police to authorise several road closures as part of the same environmental improvement plan that was proposed by Peter and the planning team several years earlier (but hadn't been signed off) - effect: rather than more, it became less isolated; "the law adapts" try to remove constraints, allow the City to grow, being REACTIVE is the advance of the British planning system, real to development demand, ingenuity & initiative

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