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If you’ve ever strolled down Queen’s Walk, the Thames-side promenade that stretches from London City Pier to Tower Bridge, you’ll be familiar with the big bulbous, armadillo-style building, 110 Queen’s Walk, which looks out across the river next to Potter’s Field.
Once called a ‘glass gonad’ by former PM Boris Johnson, up until 2021 it was London’s City Hall, and you’d have found the 10-story building buzzing with busy Greater London Authority staff. For the last five years, it’s sat empty, and its famous glass windows have been removed, leaving behind a metal shell.
Originally built in 2002, new plans for the site’s next iteration have been in the works since 2023, and it’s been confirmed that the building will be turned into a new ‘destination for both Londoners and visitors to London Bridge City’, according to the project’s official website. Gensler architects, one of the groups behind the project, has released conceptual drawings of what the building is due to look like, with the old glass shell removed and replaced with rounded terraces and balconies covered in green plants.
Update on 110 The Queen’s Walk. With the façade removal nearly complete, preparations are underway for the structural modifications to the building frame. The project aims to preserve the iconic architectural elements while adapting the existing floor plates. pic.twitter.com/a2JzOdOiB1
— ORSA (@ORSA_UK) November 7, 2025
Under plans from its landlord, St Martins Property Investment, the building is set to be converted into a new retail and dining hub, with five spaces available for new cafes, shops and restaurants, and the creation of a new food hall. The plans will also see the sunken amphitheatre beside it – The Scoop – turned into an events and commercial space.
‘Gensler has developed plans to sensitively refurbish and revitalise the vacant building located at 110 The Queen’s Walk, formerly known as City Hall, and its surrounding public realm,’ the firm says on its website. ‘The proposed changes aim to create a forward-looking, mixed-use destination that contributes to the vibrancy of London Bridge City, with ground-floor cafes, shops, and restaurants to generate employment opportunities and increase tourism footfall’.
Gensler also hopes to integrate sustainability into the project by retaining the original core of the structure as much as possible and putting in measures to reduce ‘operational carbon’.
Construction began in August 2025, after Southwark Council gave the go-ahead for the project. And from this year, the works will move onto the full refurbishment of all floors, the new green terraces and the fit-out of the office, retail and restaurant spaces.
In more development news, west London is getting a brand-new park next to the River Thames.
Plus, plans have been revealed for a bonkers rooftop pool at London’s iconic BT Tower.
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