Everyone has the occasional bad day, or perhaps even year, in the office. The problem for architects is that getting things wrong doesn’t just lead to an annoyed boss or aggrieved clients. When we do our jobs poorly, the results are there for everyone to see, usually for years to come. This is particularly the case with tall buildings, where the architect is putting their head above the parapet in the most literal way. A poorly executed high-rise can leave the designer very exposed to a public shaming.

Central London’s skyline is currently going through a period of unprecedented change. The character of the city is being irrevocably altered. The sense of a mid-rise European city with a uniformity of height and density is giving way to one where towers are increasingly dominant. Once uncluttered skies are now interrupted. And quiet streets are increasingly overshadowed and overlooked. We have also noticeably failed to develop a high-rise vernacular that is particular to England’s capital. Familiar London streetscapes have begun to blur into Dallas or Dubai when your gaze rises above the roofline.

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