London Buildings Tall Buildings in LondonLondon's Tallest Buildings
There was a time when writing about London's tallest buildings would have resulted in one of the 
world's shortest articles; alongside 'Simon Cowell's wardrobe tips', or 'people still not sure which footballer took out the super-injunction'. The Shard is close to 'topping out', but there are many further skyscrapers still under construction and yet to break the surface (those foundations are deep). Back in the Seventies and Eighties, The Nat West Tower was it (re-badged as Tower 42 some time ago, but the old name is still popular) - not just in London, but the UK as a whole. Back in the 1980s, it symbolised the centre of the financial district in the City of London, but we're in a period of great change, at present. Here's a summary of some of the buildings in London which will dominate the skyline - if not in height, then certainly through their distinctive looks.
Tower 42 - AKA "Nat West Tower", City of London.
Was built as the headquarters for the National Westminster Bank (Nat West to everyone else) and if you look top-down, it's built in the shape of their logo. It took 10 years to construct and cost £230m in today's money.
Height: 183m - 600ft
Current UK tallness position: 5th
Comments: So much a part of the skyline, it's practically invisible. Has a champagne bar on the top level. I tried to wander in one day, but they turned me away.
Heron Tower - AKA "110 *yawn* Bishopsgate", Bishopsgate.
Took over from Tower 42 as the City of London's tallest building in 2010. Cost £242m and has a huge aquarium, built to house 1,300 fish and a shark (it's understood Dr. Evil did NOT commission the aquarium, nor laser beams attached to any heads).
Height: 230m - 755ft
Current UK tallness position: 3rd
Comments: Often appears in dramatic helicopter shots on the BBC's Apprentice. However, the offices the apprentices get fired from - are low-rise in Brentwood, Essex and the boardroom is a studio. Cuh! - The magic of TV.
One Canada Square - AKA "Canary Wharf Tower", Isle of Dogs.
It became the UK's tallest building in 1990, wresting the mantle from Tower 42's iron grip. Actually for a long time after, there were only two tall buildings in London. One Canada Square cost about £350m in today's money.
Height: 296m - 970ft (including mast)
Current UK tallness position: 2nd
Comments: Was the first building to rise from the derelict docklands of Canary Wharf. It vents condensation through its pyramid roof, which caused the fire brigade to receive continual alarm calls that it was on fire, once it was occupied. The developers went into administration shortly after opening and the whole docklands redevelopment was seen as a costly, White Elephant. Today Canary Wharf is on a par (address-wise) with the City and enjoys some of the best transport links in London: Jubilee extension, Riverbus, Overground extension, Docklands Light Railway and City Airport.
The Shard - AKA "Shard of Glass", London Bridge.
The United Kingdom and EU's tallest building has been inching its way skyward for the last couple of years. There probably isn't a person who's waited on one of London Bridge's many platforms, and not stared up at it. It cost somewhere in the region of £450m, but has changed hands several ![The Shard [of Glass] is London's tallest building. Pictured in May 2011 - it's due to open in a year, just prior to the 2012 Olympics](/images/stories/2_MainMenu/HistoricalBuildings/TallestBuildings/theshardmay2011.jpg "The Shard [of Glass] is London's tallest building. Pictured in May 2011 - it's due to open in a year, just prior to the 2012 Olympics")
times, so who knows what deals have been struck? It's only slightly taller than One Canada Square but tapers into a tall-looking spire. Unlike most of the other buildings, the public will be able to visit the top of this one.
Height: 310m 1,017ft
Current UK tallness position: 1st
Comments: The tallest, will also be the most accessible and brings some va-va-voom to an area of London which has needed attention for some time. Unlike the City, or Canary Wharf where there are a sprinkling of tall buildings - The Shard will sit alone. It has a hotel in it, the fanciest gym in town, plenty of apartments, some restaurants and huge amounts of office space.
Bishopsgate Tower - AKA The Pinnacle or "The Helter Skelter", Bishopsgate.
Another of the many City-based skyscraper projects, this is another like The Shard which will have spaces accessible to the public, such as viewing platforms and restaurants. The Pinnacle is beginning to rise above nearby [low] buildings after a later-than-planned start. It's a bit of a looker, with distinctive curves at the top.
Height: (still under construction) 288m, 945ft
Current UK tallness position: n/a (will be 2nd - as they don't count One Canada Square's mast)
Comments: The 'Crossrail' project, London's most ambitious transport plan since the Victorian era (probably) is running directly below this building. As a result they had to sink the piles deeper than ever before. Something of an engineering feat to build so high in such restricted space, with such a complex project running simultaneously below it. Well done engineers, I expect few will sing your praises, but I'm impressed.
20 Fenchurch Street - AKA "The Walkie Talkie", City of London.
Not necessarily the tallest new buildings are on this list, just the most distinctive and this one certainly qualifies. It's got dimensions only a mother could love and resembles a house-brick dropped on one end. Or, a juice carton, squeezed at the base.
Height: 160m, 525ft
Current UK tallness position: n/a (even when built, it's modest height-wise)
Comments: Perhaps the most controversial of the new slew of buildings, you won't miss it on the skyline. Along with the Helter Skelter and Cheese-grater it'll lend the City skyline a funfair-like quality. Which is just what the comedians working in the City of London have been asking for.
30 St. Mary Axe - AKA "The Gherkin" or "The Crystal Phallus", City of London
Has been around for 7 years now and everyone's grown used to its highly distinctive silhouette. The Gherkin replaced the former Baltic Exchange which was destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1992 (I was nearby in Bethnal Green at the time 
and all the windows curved inwards from the blast). The building has two "skins" which insulate it to reduce heating costs.
Height: 180m, 595ft
Current UK tallness position: 8th
Comments: Was recently sold in 2007 for £650m, making it the most expensive building in the UK by some margin.
122 Leadenhall Street - AKA "The Cheese Grater", City of London
Richard Rogers designed this one and like many on this list, experienced stop-start progress during the recent financial crisis. It's back on - the contractors returned to lay pilings on site in January 2011. It resembles a right-angle triangle and will be vying for attention with numerous other towers in a crowded space near Liverpool Street Station. Like buses, no tall buildings for ages, then a whole bunch together.
Height: 225m, 737ft
Current UK tallness position: n/a (but should nestle into about 5th or 6th, hard to say as there are so many and they're all changing their completion dates)
Comments: You can't see this one yet but it is continuing after a break. Though that was always likely, since substantial and costly demolition work had to be carried out to prepare the site. Will sit opposite the other Richard Rogers landmark - The Lloyds Building.
Slideshow of various skyscraper renderings, some stated "as was" when planning consent was approved. So have since changed or vanished (the vid choice was pretty poor, if truth be told).
London and the UK's tallest building: The Shard of Glass, 32 London Bridge Street, SE1
Nearest Tube: London Bridge
