Renzo Piano calls for world class architecture to revitalise capital’s suburbs

The architect behind the Shard has called for a plethora of architectural landmarks to be built in all of London’s boroughs.

Renzo Piano, whose original plans for a 72-storey tower at Paddington have been replaced by a 14-storey office block called the Cube after locals and heritage campaigners voiced opposition to its height, called for higher density developments and world-class architecture in London’s outer boroughs saying the capital’s future depended on the “fertilisation” of areas outside zone two.

The Italian architect also said new suburbs were not the answer to the capital’s housing issue, calling for the “black holes” within the capital to be filled in with new development.

“It is no longer sustainable to make new suburbs, the only way we can make a city like London grow is to intensify it from the inside. I call it implosion, not explosion,” Piano told the Evening Standard.

“We need to transform the peripheries and fertilise them with great public buildings such as universities, concert halls and libraries. I don’t like to use the word ‘suburb’ – it sounds boring – I prefer to use ‘periphery’.

“London is not that dense, there are lots of railway areas, old industrial sites, all sorts of black holes that are not being used properly, they are functionally dead.”

 

Paddington Cube

A decision on the Cube is due in December

 

Planning for the Cube went in to Westminster planners last month with a decision due by the end of the year.

The 33,500sq m building will sit 12m above 0.5ha of new public realm which will include a new public plaza created through the pedestrianisation of London Street.

The £775 million scheme will also include 8,000sq m of retail and restaurant space over five levels including a rooftop restaurant. The work on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office will also include a new station for the Bakerloo underground line.

Developer Irvine Sellar, the man behind the Shard, has said he wants the west London project to do for the Paddington area what Argent’s regeneration of King’s Cross had done for that part of north London.

 

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