St. Helen's

St Helen’s is a 23-floor office tower in the City of London, standing at 118 metres with its main entrance on Leadenhall Street. The building was designed by the Gollins Melvin Ward Partnership in the 1960s for the Commercial Union Assurance Company and the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Its stark, rectilinear form shows the influence of Mies van der Rohe, with anodised aluminium cladding that shifts from dark grey to bronze in different light. The structure uses a suspended steel framework, with office floors hanging from trusses at mid- and roof levels to free internal space. Below ground, five levels housed a staff restaurant, garage and secure storage, while a raised podium linked to a neighbouring building as part of the abandoned City of London Pedway scheme. The building has played a notable role in London’s modern history. In 1992 it suffered heavy damage in the Baltic Exchange bombing by the Provisional IRA and required extensive renovation. It was later sold to Abu Dhabi investors, then to developer Simon Halabi, who considered demolition for a taller tower before plans were dropped. In 2011 it changed hands again for £288 million to a Far Eastern investor, and redevelopment proposals evolved into a 310-metre, 72-floor design. The current plan, revealed in 2023, is a quad-segmented tower called One London, which will replace the existing building once demolition begins. Visitors approaching the site see a broad piazza planted with semi-mature lime trees, sunk below street level with wide steps on two sides. Air intakes for the underground levels are built into the step treads, blending ventilation with the public realm. The tower’s clean lines and suspended floors give it a weightless appearance against the City skyline. Though the building is now empty, its place in London’s architectural and political history remains visible in its form and setting.