Broadgate Tower - Leed Building - London, Great Britain.
N 51° 31.295 W 000° 04.764
30U E 702611 N 5711873
The Broadgate Tower, Had its Silver Leed Certification granted in 2009. The 540 feet Tower building redefines the plaza at its base & the Skyline of the City of London, Great Britain.
Waymark Code: WMRJBK
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/27/2016
Views: 5
The building is the headquarters of Reed Smith.
Broadgate stands to the North of Liverpool Street Station, & built on a concrete raft over the approach railway tracks to the station.
As you stroll around the plaza at the base of the building, you wonder why there are such massive & expensive girders holding up a lightweight glass roof.
With research I discovered the building only has foundations on one side, & the other side is held up by the five story tall steel frame acting as a flying buttress.
"Soaring 540 ft above you, The Broadgate Tower is one of a small number of new buildings redefining the City skyline. This iconic building offers stunning views of London through floor to ceiling glazing, so all offices are suffused with natural light. If you have time, stay awhile to watch the changing interplay of reflections, light and shadows on the glass facades.
The Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects was so impressed with the contribution 201 Bishopsgate and The Broadgate Tower make to the City’s streetscape and skyline, it recognised the development with the New City Architecture Award. The Broadgate Tower was also named the Best Tall Building in Europe by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats." Text Source: (
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The Emporis website (
visit link) Facts on The Broadgate Tower:
"• The tower has a central core with visible steel cross bracing to the exterior.
• The tower's lifts are the world's first to be both double-decker and equipped with destination control.
• There is a level difference of approximately 3 metres between the northern end of the site and Worship Street, so that the columns of the northern facade begin at a height of +14.4m AOD whereas the remainder of the building is grounded at a level of +17.15m AOD.
• The Broadgate tower has 877 steps.
• The tower is clad in around 40,000 square metres of glass, roughly equal to the surface area of 154 tennis courts.
• The tower is supported by a 6,000 tonne concrete and steel raft which straddles a railway tunnel. The west side's foundations descend to ground level whilst to the east, the tower is supported by a 5-storey A-frame which performs the task of a flying buttress.
• The building is 50% more energy efficient than a comparable building of similar dimensions.
• The tower employed around 14,000 tonnes of steel in its construction."