1. Overview

2. Construction

3. Use

4. References and sources

5. External links

The building was owned by Heinrich Feldman until he sold it to Perella Weinberg Partners for £110 million in 2014.^[2]

Overview

The present building at No 1 Poultry was completed in 1997, five years after architect Stirling's death and three years after construction began. It is a postmodern structure, with use of bold, perhaps unsubtle, forms and colours in a compact assembly. It is clad in pink and yellow limestone, fixed in stripes and blocks of colour whilst the interior atrium at the centre of the wedge-shaped site displays some of Stirling's characteristic acidulous colour play.

Like many notable postmodern buildings, the imagery is rich in references. For example, from the sharp apex of the site a keyhole shaped opening leads to a little-seen Scala Regia with a ramped floor, gold-leafed terminus and ancient Egyptian aura takes visitors into the heart of the building. Intended as site owner Palumbo's private entrance, this space is now little used: Palumbo sold the development before its completion. The turret above is sometimes likened to a submarine conning tower while the glazed two-sided clock is in concept and detail a direct quotation from the Fascist-era main post office in Naples, Italy. Completed nearly two decades after the first designs were published, its reception among architectural critics suffered from the fact that the heyday of postmodernism was already over. Amongst the readers of Time Out magazine, it was voted the fifth worst building in London. However, its distinct image means it is often photographed as a symbol of the new London.

The building was announced as Grade II* listed on 29 November 2016 by Historic England. The listing had been proposed by the Twentieth Century Society to block proposals to alter the structure, and so had been opposed by the building's current owners.^[3][4][5]

Construction

The construction of No 1 Poultry required the fiercely fought and highly publicised demolition of a 19th-century neo-gothic listed building on the apex of the site, then occupied by crown jewellers Mappin and Webb. It had been designed by John Belcher in 1870.

An office building and public square by Mies van der Rohe was commissioned for the site in 1969, to be known as Mansion House Square. Van der Rohe's plans were criticised as "yet another giant glass stump, better suited to downtown Chicago than the City of London" by Prince Charles in his 1984 "carbuncle" speech to RIBA, and the plans were eventually scrapped.^[6]

While construction was underway, a major archaeological dig was undertaken by the Museum of London Archaeology Service, directed by Peter Rowsome. This excavation made several significant discoveries, including a wooden drain along the main Roman road. Using dendrochronology, this was dated to the year AD 47, suggesting this may be the date of the founding of Roman Londinium.

Construction was completed in 1997.

Use

The building comprises a mixed use of retail and commercial office space.

A restaurant occupies the rooftop of No 1 Poultry and has a terrace and formal garden with panoramic City views for drinkers and diners. The rooftop featured in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in the segment 'Happy and Glorious' which saw Daniel Craig as James Bond transport Queen Elizabeth II to the Olympic Stadium by helicopter.

The rooftop terrace has gained notoriety in the City as the place where a number of people have committed suicide by jumping to the street below, a fall of around 80 ft. In recent years, six City workers have jumped from the terrace — in 2007, 2009, twice in 2012,^[7] in 2015, and in 2016.^[8]

References and sources

References

Sources

• Peter Rowsome Heart of the City Museum of London, 2000

External links

• Photographs of No 1 Poultry
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716143839/http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/archrev/rev95_6/poultry.htm Excavations at No 1 Poultry]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140528025303/http://www.referenced.co.uk/lost-london-75-early-photographs/ Photo of previous (Neo Gothic) building]
• [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9616861/Successful-banker-jumped-to-his-death-from-No-1-Poultry-building.html Successful banker jumped to his death from No 1 Poultry building]

• Japanese spelling reform
• Japanese Spider-Man
• Japanese spiderman
• Japanese Spindle
• Japanese Spiraea
• Japanese spiraea
• Japanese spotted fever
• Japanese spurge
• Japanese Sri Lankan
• Japanese star anise
• Japanese Stranglehold
• Japanese Street Fashion
• Japanese Striped Snake
• Japanese Studies
• Japanese sturgeon
• Japanese-style castles in Korea
• Japanese-style fortresses in Korea
• Japanese Style Originator
• Japanese-style painting
• Japanese-style Strawberry shortcake
• Japanese submarine I-1
• Japanese submarine I-10
• Japanese submarine I-11
• Japanese submarine I-12
• Japanese submarine I-13