黑洞社区

Multinational investor Axa IM Alts has unveiled its designs for a 40-storey tower at 63 St Mary Axe in the City of London.

The firm has hired Fletcher Priest to draw up plans for the latest addition to the growing cluster of skyscrapers near Bishopsgate, with DP9 acting as planning consultant and Kanda working on communications.

The tower would replace two 1980s buildings on an island site bordering Camomile Street, sitting between KPF鈥檚 46 storey Heron Tower and Peter Foggo鈥檚 21-storey 70 St Mary Axe, also known as the Can of Ham.

Axa鈥檚 intentions for the site, first revealed by 黑洞社区 last month, have now been given a public airing as part of an initial consultation round.

New images show a tower elevated on columns above a recessed podium block covered in extensive planting and surrounded by trees.

The planting would extend up the sides of the tower and across an upper half which slants diagonally on one side, culminating in three double height levels at its crown.

Axa said the lower levels will contain a publicly accessible 鈥榩ark鈥� with extensive landscaping and a new cultural and educational experience supporting the Square Mile鈥檚 plan to become 鈥榙estination city鈥�.

The podium would 鈥渨elcome people from all directions into a vibrant, accessible and open base with flexible public and private uses maintaining activity and engagement鈥�, the firm added.

It said the site鈥檚 existing buildings had 鈥渟ubstandard sustainability credentials鈥� which no longer meet the needs or expectations on modern workplace occupiers, with low ceiling heights and services which are reaching the end of their design life.

It also described the buildings as having a 鈥渄ated鈥� design with a street level frontage which is a 鈥渉ostile place for pedestrians鈥� due to its narrow pavements, blank frontages and sparse greenery.

鈥淭he proposals bring forward a scheme of exemplary architectural design, seeking to differentiate itself from typical architectural styles within the City,鈥� Axa said.

鈥淭hrough the building design we will also introduce nature and greenery to this area of the Square Mile, which is currently lacking.鈥�

Fletcher Priest is also working on two other tower proposals in the cluster, the 24-storey 55 Old Broad Street for Landsec and the 32-storey 55 Gracechurch Street for Tenacity.

Axa IM Alts is a subsidiary of investment management firm Axa IM, which is itself a subsidiary of French multinational insurance firm Axa.

Another division, Axa IM Real Assets, developed PLP鈥檚 22 Bishopsgate in partnership with Lipton Rogers.