Lee Polisano is standing in the middle of PLP’s studious open-plan offices, which take up a floor of a listed art deco building near the Tower of London. It’s a slightly forgotten corner of the City, a long way from Clerkenwell for an architect. But for a commercial practice like PLP it makes perfect sense. When clients visit, the directors need only wave an arm towards the window to draw attention to some of their highest‑profile projects.

The sixth-floor reception has a captivating view of the City of London’s eastern cluster, where some of the capital’s most iconic skyscrapers are being eclipsed by PLP’s 22 Bishopsgate, soon to be the tallest building in the UK after the Shard.

The core has already reached its highest point – its top crane just scraping the Civil Aviation Authority’s flight path ceiling, necessitating some complicated construction methods. Its completion next year will neatly coincide with PLP’s 10th anniversary.

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