KPF redraws Pinnacle with public viewing area

Once complete, the Pinnacle tower, located in Bishopsgate and dubbed the Helter Skelter, will allow visitors to start at the top of the 288m-high building and descend a spiral stairway connecting the three storeys.

The museum is advising KPF on adding a series of "how London used to look" images and maps projected on to the glass allowing visitors to compare present-day London with what it looked like centuries ago.

A public restaurant for the upper levels will also be included in the revised application, which KPF will send to planners at the City of London by the summer.

KPF principal John Bushell said: “People always want to make the tops and bottoms of buildings more interesting.”

Bushell added that visitors would be contained within the building when queuing to access lifts to the gallery – rather than spilling out into nearby streets.

The ground floor area will be redesigned to achieve this, and security scanners will be installed at the foot of the tower.

The site has already had fraught relations with its neighbour, insurance company Hiscox, which became embroiled in a series of disputes two years ago with Pinnacle developer Arab Investments over the impact of demolition work at the site.

At the time Hiscox claimed the level of noise and vibration was making its employees ill and had damaged its offices and sucessfully argued in court that the developer should ensure its contractors kept vibrations within set limits.

Responding to the viewing platform, a Hiscox spokeswoman said it had no objections to the proposal in principle.

City Planning Officer Peter Rees said the revised application was a sign that commercial schemes in the Square Mile were coming back – Land Securities has already said it wants to start building work on its stalled "walkie-talkie" building by Rafael Vinoly.

“I’m more positive about the City than last year. The market has turned sooner than anticipated,” he added.