Tower 42
Tower 42, commonly known as the NatWest Tower, is a 183-metre-tall (600 ft) skyscraper in the City of London. It is the fifth-tallest tower in the City of London, having been overtaken as the tallest in 2010 by the 230-metre (750 ft) Heron Tower. It is the fifteenth-tallest in London overall. Its original name was the National Westminster Tower, having been built to house NatWest's international headquarters. Seen from above, the shape of the tower resembles that of the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement).
| Tower 42 | |
|---|---|
Tower 42 looking north from Bishopsgate in May 2011 | |
| Former names | NatWest Tower; International Financial Centre |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1991[I] | |
| Preceded by | BT Tower |
| Surpassed by | One Canada Square |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial |
| Location | 25 Old Broad Street, London |
| Coordinates | 51°30′55″N 0°05′02″W |
| Construction started | 1971 |
| Completed | 1980 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 183 metres (600 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 47 |
| Floor area | 30,100 m2 (324,000 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 21 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | R Seifert & Partners |
| Structural engineer | Pell Frischmann |
| Main contractor | John Mowlem & Co |
| Website | |
| http://www.tower42.com/ | |
The tower, designed by Richard Seifert and engineered by Pell Frischmann, is located at 25 Old Broad Street in the ward of Cornhill. It was built by John Mowlem & Co between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in 1980, and formally opened on 11 June 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II.
At 183 metres (600 ft) high, it was the tallest building in the United Kingdom until superseded by One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in 1990. It was the tallest building to have been built in London in the 1980s. It held the status of tallest building in the City of London for 30 years, until it was surpassed by the Heron Tower in December 2009.
The building today is multi-tenanted and comprises Grade A office space and restaurant facilities, with restaurants on the 24th and 42nd floors. In 2011, it was bought by the South African businessman Nathan Kirsh.