Tower of London declares war on 1,000ft ‘Tulip’
A CONTROVERSIAL plan for a City skyscraper dubbed the ‘Tulip’ is under threat after the Tower of London objected to the building, saying it would be ‘extremely damaging’ to views of the world heritage site.
The 1,000ft high Tulip would be a visitor attraction next to the Gherkin in the City of London’s so-called ‘Eastern Cluster’ of skyscrapers.
But the plans from architects Foster + Partners have outraged the Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that looks after the Tower of London. Responding to the City of London’s planning consultation, the charity said the ‘great height, exotic and consciously eye-catching form’ of the Tulip would damage views of the Tower.
‘The height, proximity and self-consciously dramatic design of the proposed development would diminish the Tower world heritage site, reducing it to the appearance of a toy castle, set down between the ever-growing Eastern Cluster... and Tower Bridge,’ the Historic Royal Palaces said.
Historic England, a body that guards listed buildings, said the design would ‘reduce the visual dominance’ of the London landmark.
Some members of the public have criticised the proposal, saying it is a ‘phallic-shaped attraction with little aesthetic merit’ and ‘tasteless in the extreme’.
One London resident said: ‘I strongly object on the grounds of public decency. Whereas past towers have always had a certain phallic quality, this erection crosses a clear societal boundary of unconsensual public exposure.’
A spokesperson for Foster + Partners said: ‘We recognise the position of the Historic Royal Palaces as an important stakeholder with whom we engaged with prior to the submission of this planning application.
‘We will continue to work to address these comments as part of the planning process.’