Centre point History:
“ One of London's most famous, if not most-loved, buildings, Centre Point stands in the centre of the West End, looking over the busy Oxford Street and Charing Cross Rd junction.
Built on land originally designated for a traffic roundabout, a long drawn out process led to planning permission being granted in August, 1959.
The building stands 117m (385ft) tall, accommodating 35 floors of office space, with its distinctive concrete pattern making it an instantly recognisable London landmark.
Work started on the tower in 1962, to a design submitted by Richard Robin Seifert & Partners (who went on to build the 43-story Tower 42 in 1980)
The building was constructed using prefabricated precast-concrete, H-shaped units lifted into position by an internally sited crane designed to rise in height with the building.
The units were bolted to each other and to the concrete floor to become the load-bearing façade of the building. Loads were also designed to be carried by two pairs of precast-concrete columns in the centre of the building.
The architect, Seifert explained that the H-shaped units 'should provide interesting modelling in a self-finished material capable of withstanding the extremes of exposure and the elimination of wet materials will considerably speed up the construction time'.
Centre Point was completed in 1964, offering 180,000 square feet of office space.
Critics weren't too pleased with the building, deriding its 'murky and filthy underpass' underneath which quickly proved popular with junkies, the homeless and ne'er do wells.
Outrageously, the 200,000 sq ft building famously stood empty for nearly a decade after it was completed - and when current owners Targetfollow took over in 2005, 12 floors still remained vacant.
Seeing this vast tower standing empty for so long while so many people were homeless led some people to suggest that the building 'came to embody the greed of the UK property industry' [Source].
On January 18th 1974, homeless protesters managed to briefly occupy Centre Point, cunningly assisted by two campaigners getting jobs as security guards for the building. The protesters described the skyscraper as 'the concrete symbol of everything that is rotten about our society.'
The protest went on to inspire the name for a new homeless charity, Centrepoint.
Plans are afoot for London’s iconic Centre Point skyscraper, with developers proposing to ‘transform the office building and public realm into a new residential use tower with retail, restaurants and a major public space at its bas
The climb:
Was pretty hard for us not to be seen by anyone, as we made our way over the fencing and into the building, but it all worked out ok. Journey to the top seemed endless, upon reaching the 35th floor we had a view of the whole of London. Viewing platform was incredible, could hear the distant echoes of sirens and music but felt at peace and relaxed. Got straight into taking photos, and after an hour chilled with some drinks to watch bustling London.
“ One of London's most famous, if not most-loved, buildings, Centre Point stands in the centre of the West End, looking over the busy Oxford Street and Charing Cross Rd junction.
Built on land originally designated for a traffic roundabout, a long drawn out process led to planning permission being granted in August, 1959.
The building stands 117m (385ft) tall, accommodating 35 floors of office space, with its distinctive concrete pattern making it an instantly recognisable London landmark.
Work started on the tower in 1962, to a design submitted by Richard Robin Seifert & Partners (who went on to build the 43-story Tower 42 in 1980)
The building was constructed using prefabricated precast-concrete, H-shaped units lifted into position by an internally sited crane designed to rise in height with the building.
The units were bolted to each other and to the concrete floor to become the load-bearing façade of the building. Loads were also designed to be carried by two pairs of precast-concrete columns in the centre of the building.
The architect, Seifert explained that the H-shaped units 'should provide interesting modelling in a self-finished material capable of withstanding the extremes of exposure and the elimination of wet materials will considerably speed up the construction time'.
Centre Point was completed in 1964, offering 180,000 square feet of office space.
Critics weren't too pleased with the building, deriding its 'murky and filthy underpass' underneath which quickly proved popular with junkies, the homeless and ne'er do wells.
Outrageously, the 200,000 sq ft building famously stood empty for nearly a decade after it was completed - and when current owners Targetfollow took over in 2005, 12 floors still remained vacant.
Seeing this vast tower standing empty for so long while so many people were homeless led some people to suggest that the building 'came to embody the greed of the UK property industry' [Source].
On January 18th 1974, homeless protesters managed to briefly occupy Centre Point, cunningly assisted by two campaigners getting jobs as security guards for the building. The protesters described the skyscraper as 'the concrete symbol of everything that is rotten about our society.'
The protest went on to inspire the name for a new homeless charity, Centrepoint.
Plans are afoot for London’s iconic Centre Point skyscraper, with developers proposing to ‘transform the office building and public realm into a new residential use tower with retail, restaurants and a major public space at its bas
The climb:
Was pretty hard for us not to be seen by anyone, as we made our way over the fencing and into the building, but it all worked out ok. Journey to the top seemed endless, upon reaching the 35th floor we had a view of the whole of London. Viewing platform was incredible, could hear the distant echoes of sirens and music but felt at peace and relaxed. Got straight into taking photos, and after an hour chilled with some drinks to watch bustling London.
