Tall building delivery reaches its apex in London
The construction of tall buildings in the capital is at its highest point in history, according to the latest figures from New London Architecture and GL Hearn.
A record number of 76 tall buildings are set to be completed in 2019, a three-fold increase on 2018.
The current pipeline now stands at 541 buildings for the year 2018, up from 510 in 2017, with 22 out of the 33 London boroughs now with tall buildings under construction.
The construction of tall buildings in the capital is at its highest point in history, according to the latest figures from New London Architecture and GL Hearn.
A record number of 76 tall buildings are set to be completed in 2019, a three-fold increase on 2018.
The current pipeline now stands at 541 buildings for the year 2018, up from 510 in 2017, with 22 out of the 33 London boroughs now with tall buildings under construction.
Some 90% of all tall buildings proposed are for substantially residential use, estimated to deliver in excess of 110,000 new homes for London, equivalent to almost two years’ of total housing supply needed, based on the Mayor of London’s target for 60,000 additional homes per year.
Peter Murray, chairman of New London Architecture, said: “Tall buildings are becoming increasingly accepted as a necessary form of urban development, not just in commercial centres like the City or Canary Wharf, but to provide much-needed new homes right across the capital. This year’s research confirms that tall buildings are now an established component of London’s development programme; in spite of the current political uncertainty, the pipeline remains steady.
“While there is increased acceptance of tall buildings to meet this need, for us the importance has to be on the design quality of tall buildings – both in their impact on the skyline and how they interact with the environment at street level.
Stuart Baillie, head of planning (London and South East) at GL Hearn, added: “Politicians and planning policies appear to be facilitating this growth with a fairly consistent number of applications over the last two years but notably an increase in planning permissions and only eight refusals in 2018. The projected completion of 76 tall buildings during 2019 is quite staggering compared with previous years’ completions of less than 30 pa.”
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