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The Willis Building
51 Lime Street West Building
Building
Completed
2007
Office
Concrete-Steel Composite
124.8 m / 409 ft
28
2
50,107 m² / 539,347 ft²
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Construction Start
Completed
Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
You must be a CTBUH Member to view this resource.
Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.
Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
2008 CTBUH Awards
29 January 2015 - Event
13 June 2013 - Event
11 June 2013 | London
From the 1970’s seminal Willis Faber Dumas Ipswich building, through 51 Lime Street London (winner of the CTBUH 2008 Best Tall Building Europe award), to...
51 Lime Street acknowledges that the way in which an office building responds to the context and spirit of the city in which it stands is as fundamental to its success as the acknowledged benefits of natural ventilation, light, open space and a view. As a result, the architects continue their built explorations into new strategies for flexible, column-free office space, but have also created the idea of the “urban room”, where genuine connections to the public realm are established, and the way in which the building “touches” the ground is paramount.
51 Lime Street, also called the Willis Building (after its primary tenant), sits in the heart of the City of London. It lies to the east of Richard Rogers’ 1986 Lloyds Building and responds to this unique location with an elegant concave form. The project is significant in both urban and environmental terms—51 Lime Street is among a number of projects in the City of London that have struck a delicate balance between commercial requirements, the need for flexibility, and respect for the area’s world-famous architectural heritage. The original building for Willis Faber Dumas by Foster + Partners in 1976 was a seminal project for the practice, an open office building characterized by its sense of community —this spirit has been kept alive in the new UK headquarters in London, with expansive roof terraces that offer broad views over the city.
The development comprises two separate buildings which step down to a new public plaza. The building at 1 Fenchurch Street responds to the smaller scale of Billiter Street and Fenchurch Avenue, while the Willis headquarters building rises to the west of the site. The smaller building’s concave façade encircles the plaza and its curved corners maintain important view corridors, and also restore a pedestrian route through the site, reinforcing the medieval street pattern. The landscaping also features sculpture reclaimed from the previous building, linear benches and a living wall to replace the existing ‘party wall’ between the Willis Building and its neighbors, improving the view from the building and encouraging biodiversity. With a fringe of cafes, restaurants, shops and bars at the tower’s base, 51 Lime Street extends the vibrancy of the nearby Leadenhall Market, a particularly lively shopping area in the City with a strong architectural character.
As towers grow ever taller, the strategies to achieve stability are increasingly central to the design approach. On plan, the Willis headquarters has been developed as a series of overlapping curved shells, while its section is arranged in three steps. The roof terraces overlooking the plaza on the lower two steps are directly accessible from the office spaces. Both buildings have a central core to provide open floor plates and maximum flexibility in use, so they are able to accommodate a number of different configurations for one or more tenants.
The entire development is visually unified by its highly reflective façade. The pressed form of the panels and their mica finish give them depth and texture. A strong language is established through the interplay of solid and glazed panels arranged in a saw-tooth pattern. The fins also increase insulation while reducing glare and solar gain—just one of the strategies that have contributed to the building’s BREEAM “excellent” rating. Together with highly efficient services equipment and systems and extensive bicycle parking, the building’s progressive environmental strategy surpasses statutory carbon reduction targets by more than 20%.
2008 CTBUH Awards
11 June 2013 | London
From the 1970’s seminal Willis Faber Dumas Ipswich building, through 51 Lime Street London (winner of the CTBUH 2008 Best Tall Building Europe award), to...
11 June 2013 | London
Carmine Bilardello of Willis Group is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2013 CTBUH London Conference at The Brewery, London. Carmine talks about emerging corporate...
29 January 2015
The new CTBUH Urban Habitat / Urban Design Committee organized a highly successful Winter Spaces Walking Tour in seven cities around the world.
13 June 2013
The tour of 51 Lime Street, known as the Willis Building, started with a trip straight to the top floor and was quick to impress the delegates with a first stop at the 23rd floor’s expansive balcony.
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