KPF’s Scalpel Skyscraper in the City of London

 

Laurence Grigorov, who is director of a leading residential development company, enjoys keeping track for new developments around the South Africa and the globe. Such developments provide an insight to Laurence Grigorov on forthcoming trends and market changes which better allow the company to adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs and requirements.

Architecture studio Kohn Pedersen Fox has completed the 190-metre-tall Scalpel skyscraper alongside the Lloyd’s building at 52 Lime Street in the City of London.The Scalpel is the latest skyscraper to be built in the City of London cluster, which also includes RSH+P’s Leadenhall Building, Foster + Partners’ Stirling Prize-winning 30 St Mary Axe and the Foggo Associates-designed 70 St Mary Axe.

Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) created the 38-storey skyscraper’s angular shape, which gave it the name the Scalpel, to allow it to be built along Leadenhall Street without interfering with any of London’s protected views.

“At the outset of the project the city cluster was in its infancy. Working with the planning authorities, KPF demonstrated the potential for a tall building on the site that would maintain the street edge, preserve protected views and enhance the public realm through the provision of new public space between 52 Lime Street, the Willis Building and the Lloyd’s building.” William Pedersen, co-founder of KPF, told Dezeen.

The building’s facade leans back from Leadenhall Street. This means it is hidden behind St Paul’s Cathedral when viewed from Fleet Street.

“The kinetic views along Fleet Street played an important role [in the building’s form],” said Pedersen. “To protect the view of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the building needed either to be stepped or inclined behind the dome. The inclined facade and taut sculptural form offered a calm silhouette as well as providing a wider variety of floor plate types and greater efficiencies,” he continued.

According to the architect the building was designed to add to the drama of the City of London’s skyscraper cluster, and mirror the form of the Leadenhall Building.

“At KPF, our aspiration from the earliest days was to find a way for tall buildings to create a more ‘social’ interaction with the cities they inhabit – they need to be able to respond and gesture to their context. In the City of London what has been created, in effect, is a type of urban drama. 52 Lime Street responds by leaning back to respect the view corridor, creating a paired but mirrored gesture to the Leadenhall Building, which makes for an exceptional urban conversation, one which is theatrical in its nature.” continued Pedersen.

As with other nearby skyscrapers that have been given nicknames based on their shape – the Leadenhall Building is known as the Cheesegrater, 30 St Mary Axe as the Gherkin and 70 St Mary Axe as the Can of Ham – KPF’s skyscraper at 52 Lime Street was given the name the Scalpel.

However, unlike the other towers that have maintained their official names, this skyscraper has adopted its nickname officially, something that Pedersen approves of.

“As for the nickname, which came from an article in the FT in 2012, I love it,” he said. “Cutting-edge… who wouldn’t want that?”

KPF’s Scalpel skyscraper is a global architecture studio founded by Pedersen alongside Eugene Kohn and Sheldon Fox in 1976, which is responsible for numerous skyscrapers in many of the world’s major cities.

Words and image courtesy of www.dezeen.com

2 Pybus in the Sandton CBD

Laurence Grigorov is director and founder of a Johannesburg based residential property development company. The company is constantly evolving in the architectural products it provides to its customers. Laurence Grigorov has noted the significant and constant change to the Sandton CBD over the years and decades with ever-increasing notable and exciting buildings and developments.

Laurence Grigorov recently noted in the Architect & Builder Magazine, 2 Pybus, a new commercial development located in rapidly developing CBD of Sandton.

Through its architectural redevelopment, the site now has significant presence along Rivonia Road close to the Sandton Drive intersection, within a stretch of redeveloping real estate home to a range of blue-chip tenants, inducing many attorneys’ practices, engendering a natural symbiosis with advocates’ chambers. The site is well positioned in terms of visibility as well as vehicular and pedestrian access within the neighbourhood, ensuring that wayfinding is clear and logical, and that building users can easily reach the excellent surrounding amenities.

2 Pybus seeks to represent the pursuit of business and legal practice with transparency, equity, and humanity, giving the advocates chambers an identifiable and distinctive home from which they can more easily integrate with their city context. Individual chambers with their own identities are gathered within a collective whole where strength stems from unity with diversity. The architectural expression is contemporary yet sleek and timeless, and both internationally referential and locally grounded.

The scheme responds to the site specifics of orientation and topography, knitting the new building into the supporting environment including the adjacent 90 Rivonia Road development by the same architects, and creating a generous and welcoming architectural form which contributes to and engages positively with its surrounds.

Construction of 2 Pybus commenced in early 2017 with the demolition of the existing small-scale building awkwardly positioned on the site. The new building, which boldly capitalises on the property shape, was largely completed at the end of 2018, with some elements of tenant fit-outs continuing into 2019. Rentable office area of approximately 11,000m² is arranged over nine floors, along with support amenities including ground floor meeting suites, a coffee shop, entertainment areas and a beautiful north facing elevated garden and terrace, all above six floors of parking. In total the development is some 34,000m² of construction.

Words and image form Architect & Builder magazine.

Buenos Aires – Sensual Satisfaction

As director of a property development company that specialises in modern, luxury apartments, cluster units and bespoke homes, Laurence Grigorov has a busy and stressful work schedule. In order to relax, Laurence Grigorov enjoys traveling in his leisure time and often uses the opportunity to broaden his scope on international architectural trends and influences. 

Buenos Aires combines faded European grandeur with Latin passion. Sexy and alive, this beautiful city gets under your skin. 

BA’s food scene is increasingly dynamic, but for many travellers it’s the city’s carnivorous pleasures that shine. Satisfying a craving for juicy steaks isn’t hard to do in the land that has perfected grilling wonderfully flavorful sides of beef, washed down with a generous glass of Malbec or bonarda. Parrillas (steakhouses) sit on practically every corner and will offer up myriad cuts, from bife de chorizo (sirloin) to vacio (flank steak) to ojo de bife (rib eye). But leave room for ice cream, if you can – a late-night cone of dulce de leche (caramel) helado can’t be topped. 

Look closely: this city is beautiful. Sure, it might look like a concrete jungle from certain angles, but stroll through the streets, paying attention to the magnificent architecture around you, and you’ll soon be won over. Grand French- and Italian-style palaces grab the limelight, but you’ll see interesting architectural details in the buildings of even low-key, local barrios. These days the beauty of these traditional neighbourhoods is further enhanced by colorful murals painted by artists involved in the city’s vibrant street-art scene. For these talented individuals, the city is their canvas. 

Take a disco nap, down some coffee and be prepared to stay up all night – this city doesn’t sleep. Restaurants get going at 9pm, bars at midnight and clubs at 2am at the earliest; serious clubbers don’t show up until 4am. And it’s not just the young folk who head out on the town in this city; BA’s diverse range of bars, clubs and live-music venues offers something for everyone, from DJs spinning electronica to live jazz sets. Just remember you’ll be doing it all very late. 

BA’s famous dance is possibly the city’s greatest contribution to the outside world, a steamy strut that’s been described as ‘making love in the vertical position’. Folklore says it began in the bordellos of long-ago Buenos Aires, when men waiting for their ‘ladies’ passed time by dancing among themselves. Today, glamorized tango shows are supremely entertaining with their grand feats of athleticism. You’ll also find endless venues for perfecting your moves, from milongas (dance salons) to dance schools. Be aware that some people become addicted – and can spend a lifetime perfecting this sensual dance. 

Words courtesy of http://www.lonelyplanet.com