Government Office for London Annual Review 2001-2002 | Download the Complete Review in PDF Format here
London's Pride
"I love it", says Minister for London Nick Raynsford, "not least because it dares to be different, combining stunning radical design with advanced environmental features and full access for Londoners."
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(Inside City Hall) |
Speaking about the new City Hall, our Minister joins the many enthusiastic supporters of this phenomenal new home for the GLA. From controversial beginnings, the finished building has had the architectural community standing in ovation to one the most enticing and revolutionary structures the capital has ever seen, and its creator, Norman Foster. However, behind the glistening scenes lies a small but dedicated team from GOL, who carried the enormous administrative burden of the project to completion - on budget, and on time. GOL's director Liz Meek, then leading our GLA Division, helped gather the dynamism and talent needed to bring the scheme to its successful conclusion. Since the beginning of 1999, when Anne Griffiths and Mark Bramley were brought in as project managers, the initiative gained momentum. In arranging all requirements for City Hall, Anne and Mark have examined contracts for everything from a soap dispenser to glass partitions. After getting the best deal for the development and seeing it through to the end, GOL has helped bring a new landmark to London - one that deserves every scintilla of the acclaim it is receiving |
City Hall will accommodate 560 GLA staff, but it won't be closed to the public's admiring gaze. As well as access to the Mayor's Question time and other events, the top floor - tagged 'London's Living Room' - will offer citizens a panorama of the capital in comfortable surroundings.
The Minister added, "City Hall is an immensely exciting symbol of a confident forward-looking city. In its historic setting, next to Tower Bridge and opposite the Tower of London, City Hall is a building of which London and Londoners can feel justly proud."
And not just for the visual impact. Cooling is not provided by tons of energy-sapping metal air-conditioning fans, but rather by water, neatly sucked up from two bore holes sunk deep into the saturated earth (which then travels to the toilet cisterns - waste not, want not). Furthermore, the highly-glazed City Hall gets an insignificant amount of direct southern light - it is self-shading, that's why it appears to tilt towards the south - and as much direct northern light as possible in the height of the summer, so that it can remain cool naturally. As a result, energy consumption for its environmental systems is less than half the levels asked for in the DETR good practice office guide, and has already earned the building a BREEAM certificate rating of "excellent" - the highest possible.
Soon, Londoners will be watching the Mayor being grilled downstairs before
escalating the elegantly computed pattern of ramps up to the breathtaking
summit, then relaxing with a cappuccino and soaking up the vista of our
buzzing home town. Sitting there with great historical buildings in front
of us, and a great example of the future of building beneath us, we probably
won't care about how much the building cost to build or to run, or how
much effort went into it. But that is why the solid, enchanting accomplishment
of City Hall is something for GOL and all Londoners to be truly proud
of.
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The anticipated energy use of the building is 47% of DETR Best Practice standard and about 25% of a current typical office. City Hall is expected to use 112 kilowatt hours per metre, per annum. A good practice office uses 237. (Regional Director, Liz Meek with Permanent Secretary ODPM, Mavis McDonald) |
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