This is the 'Skinny Shard' skyscraper that architects want to build in West London
Renzo Piano - the man behind the Shard, and buildings like the New York Times Tower and Centre Pompidou in Paris - yesterday unveiled images of a huge building project in the Paddington area of London.
Sellar Property, the developers of the Shard are behind the project. Chairman and founder Irvine Sellar says he wants to use the project to transform Paddington in the same way that the Shard transformed the London Bridge area.
"It is a fantastic location but it is stuck in a Fifties time-warp. We intend to create a place for people to go, where they will want to live, work, eat and shop" he said, according to the Evening Standard
"We believe this exciting proposal will tap into the potential of Paddington and will prove to be a major catalyst for the continuing enhancement of the area, especially Praed Street - in much the same way that The Shard did for London Bridge.
"This site shares much of the same DNA with its proximity to a major transport hub with tube, railway lines and bus routes, a neighbouring leading teaching hospital and the potential to provide much-needed quality public realm."
The centrepiece of the proposed Paddington project will be a 224 metre tall, 65 storey skyscraper, already being dubbed as the "Skinny Shard."
The tower would be the same height as buildings like the Cheesegrater in the City, and only the Shard, One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, and the Salesforce Tower on Bishopsgate would be taller.
Amongst the features of the striking new tower will be three high level restaurants, and a rooftop garden the developers say is inspired by "London garden squares".
In addition to the "Skinny Shard", the Paddington development - known officially as 31 London Street - will include 200 homes, and in excess of 150,000ft of offices.
There will also be a huge new concourse, designed to help make it easier for passengers to get to the Bakerloo line. Renzo Piano said that the "creation of urban public realm has been at the forefront of our design. The current public realm in Paddington is poor, with congestion in and around the entrance to the Bakerloo line leading to frequent closures. This scheme looks to remedy those issues, while creating a wonderful sense of place which Paddington greatly needs."
Along with Sellar's backing, the scheme has support from Singapore Hotel Properties.
A planning application is expected to be made later on in the year, and if approved, the project is slated for completion in 2020.
Whether or not the development ends up being built, we still think it looks pretty awesome.
