A massive new 54-floor skyscraper could be coming to the City of London

London’s skyline is constantly evolving. Last year it was announced that the City could have 11 new skyscrapers by 2030. Meanwhile, plans for building the The Slab, a controversial new colossus on the South Bank, are well underway. Now, another extremely tall building has been announced for London’s Square Mile. 

Plans for a new landmark 54-storey tower at 99 Bishopsgate have been revealed. The 104 metre tower, which already has 25 floors of offices, will almost double in size, growing to 54 storeys. It’s not been approved just yet, but if it is the tower will replace a 1976-built office block that was damaged by an IRA bomb in 1993.

As well as offices for city workers, the enlarged 99 Bishopsgate will have a fancy new arcade taking over the ground floor, plus an adjacent six-storey standalone cultural building for public use. 

Currently, the ground level of the building isn’t accessible to the public. The developers Brookfield Properties and RSHP architects want to change this by adding new pedestrian routes to nearby developments and transport hubs, like Liverpool Street station.

The architects hope to keep at least half of the building’s original structure, as well as create a ‘visibly green building, which enhances biodiversity, and provides extensive green space for commuters and visitors’.

A consultation for the building will run from March 21 to April 15, and a planning permission application is expected to be submitted by the middle of this year. 

Here’s what the new 99 Bishopsgate could look like. 

Listen to Time Out’s brilliant podcast ‘Love Thy Neighbourhood’: the newest episode with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen in Greenwich is out now.