Cannon Place - London

This is London, one of the greatest cities on earth, the financial capital of Europe, the creative capital of the world. Historic, cultured, contemporary, cosmopolitan, competitive and quintessentially British. A city with a compelling past, present and future. And here's our site on Cannon Street. Located at Cannon Street Station and within a five-minute walk of six major underground lines, it's 300 meters from the Bank of England, the traditional heart of the city. And minutes from St Paul's and Leadenhall Street and the Lloyds Building. Cannon Street has been at the heart of this global city for over 2,000 years since the Romans first crossed the River Thames and built their governor's palace here. For 400 years, it was the headquarters of the Hanseatic League. Before the Victorians came here, bringing the railway and the underground. An impressive mix of history, location and connection which makes this one of the world's best and most prestigious addresses. Foggo Associates, the architects and engineers at Cannon Place, have employed techniques used on the building of bridges for hundreds of years to straddle this historic site and to construct an extraordinary building that will satisfy the needs of the most demanding international occupiers. And how have they done it? Six trusses, each 32 meters high and weighing 200 tons, are anchored to four massive thrust blocks on the site's edge. A cable-stayed suspension system spans the 70-meter gap between the sides. This creates a vast exoskeleton from which to hang virtually column-free floors of 50,000 square feet each. Two atria carry lifts and bring light into the centre of the building. The effect is of a glass box floating above the station beneath. At the base of the building, you're welcomed into this glass bubble, a calm oasis protected from the buzz of the city outside. That draws you up inside the building where an unexpected and spectacular view awaits you above. And then another with this double-height great hall. Your sense of expectation heightens as you rise up inside this high-tech elevator. And it's when you step out onto a floor that you really realise what all this great architecture and engineering has created. You know, you can fit 26 tennis courts across this expanse. But more than the sheer size, it is the flexibility of the space which is so appealing to all types of occupiers. The floors are large and open to natural light on all sides, providing the option to subdivide. Imagine the people who will work here, in open plan or cellular offices, breakout spaces or boardrooms, chance encounters in corridors or presentations with that historic view as your backdrop. Cannon Place is a building created with the occupier's needs central to every design decision, a building where form really does follow function, a building that has been engineered for business.