Heron Tower

Coordinates: 51°30′58″N 0°4′51″W / 51.51611°N 0.08083°W / 51.51611; -0.08083

The Heron Tower (officially 110 Bishopsgate) is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands 230 metres (755 ft) tall including its 28-metre (92 ft) mast (202 metres (663 ft) excluding the mast) making it the tallest building in the City of London financial district and the third tallest in Greater London and the United Kingdom, after the Shard in Southwark and One Canada Square at Canary Wharf. The Heron Tower is located on Bishopsgate and is bordered by Camomile Street, Outwich Street and Houndsditch.

Construction of the building started in 2007 and was completed in 2011. It is owned by Heron International and is generally known as the Heron Tower, though following a naming dispute in 2014 involving the tenant Salesforce.com the City of London ruled in favour of the property being officially named 110 Bishopsgate. The tower initially struggled to attract tenants in the depths of the Great Recession, but is now fully let.

City of London

The City of London is a city and county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the agglomeration has since grown far beyond the City's borders. The City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. It is one of two districts of London to hold city status; the other is the adjacent City of Westminster.

The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City (often written as just City and differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising City) and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (2.90 km²) in area. Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City.

The name London is now ordinarily used for a far wider area than just the City. London often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 London boroughs, in addition to the City of London itself. This wider usage of London is documented as far back as the 16th century.

Tower

A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.

Towers are specifically distinguished from "buildings" in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions. The principal function is the use of their height to enable various functions to be achieved including: visibility of other features attached to the tower such clock towers; as part of a larger structure or device to increase the visibility of the surroundings as in a fortified building such as a castle; or as a structural feature as an integral part of a bridge.

Towers can be stand alone structures or be supported by adjacent buildings or can be a feature on top of a large structure or building.

History

Towers have been used by mankind since prehistoric times. The oldest known may be the circular stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho (8000 BC). Some of the earliest towers were ziggurats, which existed in Sumerian architecture since the 4th millennium BC. The most famous ziggurats include the Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur, built the 3rd millennium BC, and the Etemenanki, one of the most famous examples of Babylonian architecture. The latter was built in Babylon during the 2nd millennium BC and was considered the tallest tower of the ancient world.

London

London ⁱ/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km²) medieval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms Greater London, a region of England governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The conurbation also covers two English counties: the small district of the City of London and the county of Greater London. The latter constitutes the vast majority of London, though historically it was split between Middlesex (a now abolished county), Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.

The Heron

The Heron, also known as Milton Court, is a 36-storey 112 m (367 ft) tall residential skyscraper in London. The building was developed by Heron International.

Construction on the building began in 2010 and was completed in September 2013. It is located near the Barbican residential estate within the City of London area, close to Barbican and Moorgate tube stations.

Designed by David Walker Architects, the building was originally planned to be 140 m (460 ft) tall with 44 floors, but after criticism the height was scaled down to 112 m (367 ft) and 36 floors. Structural engineering on the project was completed by WSP Group.

The building's £89 million price tag was funded by Heron International and the City of London Corporation contributing a combined £75.5 million towards the development; the remaining £13.5 million was financed by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The building is part of a wider redevelopment of Milton Court, to include a new teaching and performance centre for the Guildhall School. In the centre of the Heron there is an eight-storey high atrium. The building includes a 225-seat training theatre, a 625-seat concert hall and 284 apartments.