London’s skyline is set to be transformed after a "jewel like” skyscraper was approved for construction in the Square Mile.
A vacant office block at 130 Fenchurch Street, known as Fountain House, will be demolished to make way for two new high-rise towers.
Designed by architectural practice WilkinsonEyre, the 150-meter buildings will include 58,000 square meters of office space, a cultural space and garden terrace.
The £300 million development, which was given the greenlight last week by the City of London Corporation, will also include new hospitality spots, as well as a pedestrian footpath connecting Cullum Street to Fen Court.
Tom Sleigh, chairman of the Corporation's planning and transportation committee, said the project would deliver on "jobs, public space, and best-in-class offices".
He said: “This is about more than one building — it's part of a pattern of proactive planning decisions that are helping to shape a future-ready Square Mile: greener, denser, more dynamic, and firmly aligned with the UK's growth mission.”
The plateglass buildings will neighbour the polarising Walkie Talkie, Scalpel and Cheese Grater constructions in the capital’s financial district.
Ben Littman, head of development at asset managers Aviva Investors, said it was a "bold and thoughtful scheme that will bring a long-vacant site back into positive use”.
"It reflects the best of what the City can offer; ambition, culture, sustainability and inclusivity,” Mr Littman added.
Fountain House was built in the 1950s and was one of the first tall buildings built in the City after the Second World War.
It was home to insurance firms such as Talisman Underwriting but is set to be destroyed next year, with the new scheme scheduled to be finished by 2030.
A temporary environmental exhibition called Seed130 showcasing work by poets, writers and scientists is running the site while the plans progress.
Recent data from estate agents Knight Frank suggested that demand for office spaces in the City is rising, with vacancy rates in newly-constructed buildings dropping to 0.5 per cent.
But critics argue that building are damaging the City's historic character and skyline, with Historic England claiming that they inflict “serious harm” by swamping their surroundings.
