| Bloomberg London | |
|---|---|
 The building viewed from the junction of Cannon Street and Walbrook | |
 Interactive map of Bloomberg London | |
| Alternative names | Bloomberg European Headquarters |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Location | 3 Queen Victoria Street,London |
| Opened | October 2017; 8 years ago (2017-10) |
| Cost | £1 billion |
| Owner | Bloomberg L.P. |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Foster and Partners |
| Structural engineer | AKT II |
| Main contractor | Sir Robert McAlpine |
| Awards and prizes | Stirling Prize |
Bloomberg London is an office building in theCity of London, which was opened in 2017. It is owned byBloomberg L.P. and functions as their European headquarters. It is at 3Queen Victoria Street, to the west ofWalbrook, on the site previously occupied by Bucklersbury House.
The building was designed by architectsFoster and Partners with structural engineerAKT II, and constructed bySir Robert McAlpine at a cost of £1bn.[1] It consists of two buildings, divided by a covered arcade. The buildings are linked by bridges. The arcade contains several restaurants, and reinstates part ofWatling Street, an ancient Roman road.[2] Prior to construction, archaeological digs at the construction site yielded a collection of Roman-era inscribed wooden writing tablets now known as theBloomberg tablets.
The building is clad in 9,600 tonnes of Derbyshire sandstone with bronze ventilation fins. Inside, the floors are linked by custom glass lifts and a 210m helical bronze "ramp", which dominates the interior of the building. The cores of the building are on the outside, to create a single open-plan space inside. Express lifts take visitors from the lobby, a self-supporting "vortex" of three curved timber shells, to the double-height pantry on the sixth floor, with view ofSt Paul's Cathedral. Then visitors must take a second lift or use the ramp to access other floors. The building houses 4,000 staff, with room to expand. All desks are electric adjustable-height.
The building features artwork byOlafur Eliasson and other artists. Outside, there is a three-part sculpture called "Forgotten Streams" byCristina Iglesias, which evokes theWalbrook river.[3]
In 2018, theRIBA awarded theStirling Prize to Bloomberg London.[4]
The building is noted for its energy-efficiency. It achieved a 98.5% score against theBREEAM sustainability assessment method, the highest design-stage score ever achieved by any major office development.[5] Rainwater is collected from the roof to supply the vacuum toilets. The office floors are illuminated with 500,000 LEDs. The ceilings are custom aluminium "petals", inspired by the pressed metal ceilings of New York, which act as light diffusers, cooling elements and acoustic attenuation.
The design and building process of the building has been criticised as wasteful:[6] it required developing specialised solutions not applicable anywhere else, and the construction required 600 tonnes of Japanese bronze[7] and 10,000 tonnes[6] of imported Indian granite,[7] rather than using locally sourced or recycled materials.[6]
As part of the construction of the building, a new entrance toLondon Underground'sBank and Monument station complex was built. This provides direct access to theWaterloo & City line via four new escalators and two lifts – providing step free access for the first time. Construction of the new entrance began in November 2015,[8] and the new entrance was officially opened by Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan and former Mayor of New YorkMichael Bloomberg in December 2018.[9]
The new entrance incorporates etched glass panels by artistJohn Hutton, depicting 66 figures based on the ancient Roman history of the area, including theRoman Temple of Mithras. The artwork was originally completed in 1962 on Bucklersbury House, the post war office building previously located on the site.[10][11]
The building is on top of the site of theLondon Mithraeum, the remnants of a Roman temple. The Mithraeum was relocated to a different site in 1962, but as part of the construction of Bloomberg London it was relocated to close to its original site. It is open to the public.[12]
The building also contains the Bloomberg Space, which displays artworks.
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