Tower 42
Encyclopedia
Tower 42 is the second tallest skyscraper
in the City of London
and the fifth tallest in London overall. The original name was the National Westminster Tower, having been built to house the National Westminster Bank
's International Division. Seen from above, the tower closely resembles the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement).
The building today is multi-tenanted and comprises Grade A office space and restaurant facilities.
The tower, designed by Richard Seifert
and engineered by Pell Frischmann
, is located at 25 Old Broad Street. It was built by John Mowlem & Co
between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in 1980, and formally opened on 11 June 1981 by HM Queen Elizabeth II
.
The construction cost was £72 million (approximately £ today).. It is 183 metres (600 ft) high, which made it the tallest building in the UK until the topping out
of One Canada Square
in the Docklands in 1990. It held the status of tallest building in the City of London for 30 years, until it was surpassed by the Heron Tower
in December 2009.
, with offices in Old Broad Street backing onto its flagship branch at 15 Bishopsgate.
Early designs envisaged a tower of 137 m (450 ft); this developed into a design with a 197 m (647 ft) tower as its centrepiece, proposed in 1964 by architect Colonel Richard Seifert
. The plan attracted opposition, partly because of the unprecedented height of the design and partly because of the proposed demolition of the 19th century bank building at 15 Bishopsgate, which dated from 1865 and was designed by architect John Gibson
. Seifert, who had developed a reputation for overcoming planning objections, organised an exhibition in which he presented two alternative visions: his preferred design, and a second design featuring a 500 ft tower with an unattractive squat second tower alongside. Visitors were invited to vote and overwhelmingly chose the single tower design. The final design preserved the Gibson banking hall and the tower's height was reduced to 183 m (600 ft).
ed, giving it great strength but significantly limiting the amount of office space available.
In total, there are 47 levels above ground, of which 42 are cantilevered. The lowest cantilevered floor is designated Level 1, but is in fact the fourth level above ground. The cantilevered floors are designed as three segments, or leaves, which approximately correspond to the three chevrons of the NatWest logo when viewed in plan. The two lowest cantilevered levels (1 and 2) are formed of a single "leaf"; and the next two (3 and 4) are formed of two leaves. This pattern is repeated at the top, so that only levels 5 to 38 extend around the whole of the building.
The limitations of the design were immediately apparent - even though the building opened six years before the Big Bang
, when there was a lesser requirement for large trading floors, the bank decided not to locate its foreign exchange and money market trading operation ("World Money Centre") into the tower. This unit remained in its existing location at 53 Threadneedle Street. Other international banking units, such as International Westminster Bank's London Branch and the Nostro Reconciliations Department remained at their locations (at 41 Threadneedle Street and Park House, Finsbury Square, respectively) due to insufficient space in the tower.
Innovative features in the design included double-decked elevators, which provide an express service between the ground/mezzanine levels and the sky lobbies at levels 23 and 24. Both the concept of double decked elevators and sky lobbies were new to the UK at the time. Other innovative features included an internal automated "mail train" used for mail deliveries and document distribution; an automated external window washing system; and computer controlled air conditioning. The tower also had its own telephone exchange installed in one of the basement levels – this area was fitted with panoramic photographs of the London skyline, creating the illusion of being above ground.
Fire suppression design features included pressurised stairwells, smoke venting and fire retardant floor barriers. However, at the time of design, fire sprinkler systems were not mandatory in the UK and so were not installed. It was this omission, coupled with an onsite fire at the tower during the 1996 refurbishment, that prompted the Greater London Council to amend its fire regulations and require sprinkler installations at all buildings.
The cantilever is constructed to take advantage of the air rights granted to it and the neighbouring site whilst respecting the banking hall on that adjacent site, as only one building was allowed to be developed. For a time it was the tallest cantilever in the world.
The full floor configuration was as follows:
The adjacent annexe building at 27 Old Broad Street was occupied by NatWest's Overseas Branch cashiers and foreign notes and coin dealing operation.
, a Provisional Irish Republican Army
truck bombing in the Bishopsgate
area of the City of London. The bomb killed one person and extensively damaged the tower and many other buildings in the vicinity, causing over £1 billion worth of damage. The tower suffered severe damage and had to be entirely reclad and internally refurbished. (Demolition was considered, but would have been too difficult and expensive.) The external re-clad was carried out by Alternative Access Logistics with the use of a multi-deck space frame system to access three floors at once with the ability to move up and down the whole building. On 17 January 1996, during the repairs and possibly from the welding being undertaken, a fire started at the top of the building. 500 workmen were evacuated and smoke was clearly seen coming out of the top of the building. A helicopter using thermal imaging equipment pinpointed the source of the fire, which was on the 45th floor in a glass fibre cooling tower.. After refurbishment, NatWest decided not to re-occupy and renamed the building the International Financial Centre, then sold it.
In April 2010 the current owners, Hermes Real Estate and BlackRock's UK property fund, were seeking buyers for the tower at an expected price of £300 million. This would potentially be the largest single commercial property sale in the City of London in 2010. In July 2010 it was reported that Chinese Estates Group
had entered exclusive discussions to buy Tower 42.
, a transmission tower located at 60 Cleveland Street in Fitzrovia
, London.
Tower 42 is now the second tallest tower in the City of London
, having been overtaken in 2009 by the 230m Heron Tower
and the fifth tallest in London overall. The 288m Bishopsgate Tower
and the 225m Leadenhall Building are both under construction nearby.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and the fifth tallest in London overall. The original name was the National Westminster Tower, having been built to house the National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...
's International Division. Seen from above, the tower closely resembles the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement).
The building today is multi-tenanted and comprises Grade A office space and restaurant facilities.
The tower, designed by Richard Seifert
Richard Seifert
Reubin Seifert - normally known as Richard Seifert was a British architect, best known for designing the Centrepoint tower and Tower 42 , once the tallest building in the City of London...
and engineered by Pell Frischmann
Pell Frischmann
Pell Frischmann is a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy with an annual turnover approaching £50 million. Pell Frischmann employs over 1,150 staff worldwide with its head office located in London, 16 offices across the UK and international offices in India, the Middle East, Turkey and...
, is located at 25 Old Broad Street. It was built by John Mowlem & Co
Mowlem
Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006.-History:Founded by John Mowlem in 1822, the company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1924. It acquired SGB Group in...
between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in 1980, and formally opened on 11 June 1981 by HM Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
.
The construction cost was £72 million (approximately £ today).. It is 183 metres (600 ft) high, which made it the tallest building in the UK until the topping out
Topping out
In building construction, topping out is a ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. The term may also refer to the overall completion of the building's structure, or an intermediate point, such as when the roof is dried in...
of One Canada Square
One Canada Square
One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is the tallest completed building in the United Kingdom since 1991, standing at above ground level and containing 50 storeys...
in the Docklands in 1990. It held the status of tallest building in the City of London for 30 years, until it was surpassed by the Heron Tower
Heron Tower
Heron Tower, also referred to as 110 Bishopsgate, is a skyscraper owned by Heron International in the City of London. It was completed in 2011...
in December 2009.
Design and Development
The National Westminster Tower's status as the first skyscraper in the City was a coup for NatWest, but was extremely controversial at the time, as it was a major departure from the previous restrictions on tall buildings in London. The original concept dates back to the early 1960s, predating the formation of the National Westminster Bank. The site was then the headquarters of the National Provincial BankNational Provincial Bank
National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970; it remains a registered company but is dormant...
, with offices in Old Broad Street backing onto its flagship branch at 15 Bishopsgate.
Early designs envisaged a tower of 137 m (450 ft); this developed into a design with a 197 m (647 ft) tower as its centrepiece, proposed in 1964 by architect Colonel Richard Seifert
Richard Seifert
Reubin Seifert - normally known as Richard Seifert was a British architect, best known for designing the Centrepoint tower and Tower 42 , once the tallest building in the City of London...
. The plan attracted opposition, partly because of the unprecedented height of the design and partly because of the proposed demolition of the 19th century bank building at 15 Bishopsgate, which dated from 1865 and was designed by architect John Gibson
John Gibson
John Gibson may refer to:*John Gibson , British architect*John Gibson , English cartographer and engraver*John Gibson , English cricketer...
. Seifert, who had developed a reputation for overcoming planning objections, organised an exhibition in which he presented two alternative visions: his preferred design, and a second design featuring a 500 ft tower with an unattractive squat second tower alongside. Visitors were invited to vote and overwhelmingly chose the single tower design. The final design preserved the Gibson banking hall and the tower's height was reduced to 183 m (600 ft).
Construction
Demolition of the site commenced in 1970 and the tower was completed in 1980. The building is constructed around a huge concrete core from which the floors are cantileverCantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed, giving it great strength but significantly limiting the amount of office space available.
In total, there are 47 levels above ground, of which 42 are cantilevered. The lowest cantilevered floor is designated Level 1, but is in fact the fourth level above ground. The cantilevered floors are designed as three segments, or leaves, which approximately correspond to the three chevrons of the NatWest logo when viewed in plan. The two lowest cantilevered levels (1 and 2) are formed of a single "leaf"; and the next two (3 and 4) are formed of two leaves. This pattern is repeated at the top, so that only levels 5 to 38 extend around the whole of the building.
The limitations of the design were immediately apparent - even though the building opened six years before the Big Bang
Big Bang (financial markets)
The phrase Big Bang, used in reference to the sudden deregulation of financial markets, was coined to describe measures, including abolition of fixed commission charges and of the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers on the London Stock Exchange and change from open-outcry to...
, when there was a lesser requirement for large trading floors, the bank decided not to locate its foreign exchange and money market trading operation ("World Money Centre") into the tower. This unit remained in its existing location at 53 Threadneedle Street. Other international banking units, such as International Westminster Bank's London Branch and the Nostro Reconciliations Department remained at their locations (at 41 Threadneedle Street and Park House, Finsbury Square, respectively) due to insufficient space in the tower.
Innovative features in the design included double-decked elevators, which provide an express service between the ground/mezzanine levels and the sky lobbies at levels 23 and 24. Both the concept of double decked elevators and sky lobbies were new to the UK at the time. Other innovative features included an internal automated "mail train" used for mail deliveries and document distribution; an automated external window washing system; and computer controlled air conditioning. The tower also had its own telephone exchange installed in one of the basement levels – this area was fitted with panoramic photographs of the London skyline, creating the illusion of being above ground.
Fire suppression design features included pressurised stairwells, smoke venting and fire retardant floor barriers. However, at the time of design, fire sprinkler systems were not mandatory in the UK and so were not installed. It was this omission, coupled with an onsite fire at the tower during the 1996 refurbishment, that prompted the Greater London Council to amend its fire regulations and require sprinkler installations at all buildings.
The cantilever is constructed to take advantage of the air rights granted to it and the neighbouring site whilst respecting the banking hall on that adjacent site, as only one building was allowed to be developed. For a time it was the tallest cantilever in the world.
NatWest occupation
Upon completion, the tower was occupied by a large part of NatWest's International Division. The upper floors were occupied by the division's executive management, marketing, and regional offices, moving from various locations in the City of London; The lower floors were occupied by NatWest's Overseas Branch, moving from its previous location at 52/53 Threadneedle Street.The full floor configuration was as follows:
| Floors | Configuration | Occupants |
|---|---|---|
| [unnamed] | Core only | Plant floor |
| [unnamed | Core only | Plant floor |
| 42 | Core and cantilever (1 leaf) | Viewing Gallery |
| 41 | Core and cantilever (1 leaf) | Corporate hospitality suite |
| 39 - 40 | Core and cantilever (2 leaves) | Corporate hospitality rooms and kitchens |
| 37 - 38 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Executive Management |
| 36 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Planning & Projects; Subsidiaries & Affiliates; Administration |
| 35 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Advances; Marketing & Co-ordination |
| 34 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | United Kingdom Region |
| 33 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Corporate Financial Services; staff restaurant |
| 32 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Corporate Financial Services |
| 31 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Plant floor |
| 29 - 30 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Corporate Financial Services |
| 28 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Asia & Australasia Region |
| 27 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Latin America Region; staff restaurant |
| 26 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Africa & Middle East Region; Eastern Europe & Scandinavia Region |
| 25 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Northern Europe Region; Southern Europe Region |
| 24 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Treasurer's Department; Correspondent Bank Relationships |
| 23 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Financial Control Department |
| 22 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Plant floor |
| 21 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | North America Representative Office |
| 20 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Personnel Department |
| 19 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Overseas Branch - Management |
| 14 - 18 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Overseas Branch - International Trade & Banking Services |
| 13 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Plant floor |
| 12 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Mail & Translations |
| 9 - 11 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Overseas Branch - Accounting |
| 8 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Overseas Branch - Payments Abroad |
| 5 - 7 | Core and cantilever (3 leaves) | Overseas Branch - Inland Payments |
| 4 | Core and cantilever (2 leaves) | Staff restaurant |
| 3 | Core and cantilever (2 leaves) | Maintenance, services |
| 1 - 2 | Core and cantilever (1 leaf) | Maintenance, telephony, services |
| Podium | Core and entrance structure | Building control centre |
| Mezzanine | Core and entrance structure | Upper entrance lobby & lifts |
| Ground | Core and entrance structure | Lower entrance lobby & lifts |
The adjacent annexe building at 27 Old Broad Street was occupied by NatWest's Overseas Branch cashiers and foreign notes and coin dealing operation.
1993 bombing and refurbishment
In 1993, NatWest had planned a major premises relocation that would have seen the International Banking Division move from the tower and be replaced with its Domestic Banking Division, enabling the bank to terminate its lease of the Drapers Gardens tower. These plans had to be abandoned after the tower was damaged in the April 1993 Bishopsgate bombing1993 Bishopsgate bombing
The Bishopsgate bombing occurred on 24 April 1993, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in London's financial district in Bishopsgate, City of London, England. One person was killed in the explosion and 44 injured, and damage initially estimated at £1 billion was caused...
, a Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
truck bombing in the Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
area of the City of London. The bomb killed one person and extensively damaged the tower and many other buildings in the vicinity, causing over £1 billion worth of damage. The tower suffered severe damage and had to be entirely reclad and internally refurbished. (Demolition was considered, but would have been too difficult and expensive.) The external re-clad was carried out by Alternative Access Logistics with the use of a multi-deck space frame system to access three floors at once with the ability to move up and down the whole building. On 17 January 1996, during the repairs and possibly from the welding being undertaken, a fire started at the top of the building. 500 workmen were evacuated and smoke was clearly seen coming out of the top of the building. A helicopter using thermal imaging equipment pinpointed the source of the fire, which was on the 45th floor in a glass fibre cooling tower.. After refurbishment, NatWest decided not to re-occupy and renamed the building the International Financial Centre, then sold it.
Current occupation
The new owners, UK property company Greycoat, renamed it Tower 42, in reference to its 42 cantilevered floors. It is now a general-purpose office building occupied by a variety of companies, including:- Boston Technologies, Inc.
- CEBS Secretariat
- City Osteopath Clinics
- Corporate Communications (Europe)
- Coriolis
- Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves, Pereira (Lawyers)
- Daewoo Securities (Europe)
- Davis & Co, Solicitors
- EUKOR Car Carriers Inc
- Front Capital Systems
- GPQS
- Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner, Solicitors
- So Deli
- Majedie Investments
- Meditor Capital Management
- Momenta Consulting
- Natexis Banques Populaires
- Netpremacy Ltd
- Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Legal Services
- Pictet Asset Management (UK)
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
- Piraeus Bank
- Private Dining 24
- Project Brokers
- R G A (UK)
- Rhodes Twenty FourRhodes Twenty FourRhodes Twenty Four is a quality restaurant located in the City of London. , the restaurant holds one star in the Michelin Guide. Run by celebrity chef Gary Rhodes, the restaurant is on the 24th floor of Tower 42, formerly known as the Natwest Tower....
(restaurant) - Samsung
- System Access (Europe)
- Tower 42 Property & Estate Management
- Telemetry
- Vertigo 42
- ViewSonic
In April 2010 the current owners, Hermes Real Estate and BlackRock's UK property fund, were seeking buyers for the tower at an expected price of £300 million. This would potentially be the largest single commercial property sale in the City of London in 2010. In July 2010 it was reported that Chinese Estates Group
Chinese Estates Group
Chinese Estates Group is a real estate development group based in Hong Kong. The group comprises three Hong Kong publicly listed companies : Chinese Estates Holdings Limited , Chi Cheung Investment Company, Limited and G-Prop Limited .Historically, Chinese Estates Group has been focused on the...
had entered exclusive discussions to buy Tower 42.
Ranking among London high rise buildings
Tower 42 was the tallest building in London and the United Kingdom for 10 years. At its completion in 1980, it claimed this title from the 175 m (574 ft) BT TowerBT Tower
The BT Tower is a tall cylindrical building in London, United Kingdom, located at 60 Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia W1T 4JZ, London Borough of Camden. It has been previously known as the Post Office Tower, the London Telecom Tower and the British Telecom Tower. The main structure is tall, with a...
, a transmission tower located at 60 Cleveland Street in Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia is a neighbourhood in central London, near London's West End lying partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the City of Westminster ; and situated between Marylebone and Bloomsbury and north of Soho. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail,...
, London.
Tower 42 is now the second tallest tower in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, having been overtaken in 2009 by the 230m Heron Tower
Heron Tower
Heron Tower, also referred to as 110 Bishopsgate, is a skyscraper owned by Heron International in the City of London. It was completed in 2011...
and the fifth tallest in London overall. The 288m Bishopsgate Tower
Bishopsgate Tower
The Pinnacle, also known as The Bishopsgate Tower and The Helter-Skelter, is a , 63-storey skyscraper under construction in the centre of London's main financial district, the City of London. It is one of four major towers under construction in London, others being Shard London Bridge, 122...
and the 225m Leadenhall Building are both under construction nearby.
Previous buildings on the site
- Gresham House, built in 1563 by Sir Thomas Gresham. Gresham was a businessman who helped set up the Royal ExchangeRoyal Exchange (London)The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of commerce for the city. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and is trapezoidal, flanked by the converging streets of Cornhill and...
. Upon the death of his wife in 1596, Gresham House became the 'Institute for Physic, Civil Law, Music, Astronomy, Geometry and Rhetoric', as directed by Gresham's will (Sir Thomas died 17 years earlier). Students at Gresham CollegeGresham CollegeGresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
, described as the Third University of England by Chief Justice Coke in 1612, included Robert Hooke, Sir Christopher Wren and the composer John Bull. The building survived the Great Fire, and saw use as a garrison, a Guildhall and Royal exchange. The College moved to Gresham Street. Gresham house was demolished in 1768 and a new Gresham house was built in its place. - Crosby Hall, built in 1466 and named after local politician Sir John Crosby. One of its famous visitors was King Richard III, and another was William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. The Bard set a scene of Richard III where the Duke of Gloucester plotted his route to the crown in Crosby Hall. - Crosby Place, which was built in 1596, the year that Richard III was written.
- Palmerston House was a building that survived from the 19th century, through both world wars. It was named after the Third Viscount Palmerston. It stood at 51-55 Broad Street. It was occupied for some time by the Cunard Steam Shipping CompanyCunard LineCunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
.
Trivia
- Tower 42 contains two restaurants: one is situated on the 24th floor and is operated by chef Gary RhodesGary RhodesGary Rhodes OBE is an English restaurateur, cookery writer, and chef, known for his love of British cuisine and distinctive spiked hair style ....
; the other is a champagne and seafood bar located on the 42nd floor.
- The tower is shown in the sequences leading up to the destruction of the Earth in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
leading to unfounded speculation that the name links to the Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
- The fourth Top Gear race ended at the champagne bar on level 42, with Jeremy ClarksonJeremy ClarksonJeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
appearing to just beat Richard HammondRichard HammondRichard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
and James MayJames MayJames Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
. Clarkson raced a Bugatti VeyronBugatti VeyronThe Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...
and May & Hammond a private Cessna 182Cessna 182The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engine, light airplane, built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats, installed in the baggage area....
from AlbaAlba, ItalyAlba is a town and comune of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo. It is considered the capital of the hilly area of Langhe, and is famous for its white truffle, peach and wine production...
, near TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
See also
- Tower 42 website
- City of London#Landmarks
- List of tallest buildings and structures in Great Britain
- List of tallest buildings and structures in London
External links
- http://www.tower42.com/
- Skyscrapernews.com file on Tower 42
- SkyscraperCity.com — a forum for skyscraper enthusiasts
- AlternativeAccess.com — Access Engineers
- Tower 42 Tower 42 on LondonOffices.com