99 Bishopsgate

99 Bishopsgate stands in the City of London financial district on Bishopsgate, a wide thoroughfare lined with tall buildings. The skyscraper rises 104 metres across 25 office floors, with three plant floors tucked below and between. A public right of way cuts through the building as part of the City’s highwalk system, linking a bridge over London Wall to walkways around Tower 42. The tower was completed in 1976 and once housed HSBC, which left for Canary Wharf in the 1990s. In 1993 a Provisional IRA truck bomb severely damaged the building and the nearby NatWest Tower. After a 14-month refurbishment the façade was renewed, floorplates opened up, and the height grew slightly before it reopened in 1995 as a multi-let office tower. Inside, the building now accommodates major tenants such as Brookfield, Huawei Technologies and RELX. Energy-efficient plant and equipment installed during refits earned the tower a ‘C’ rating on its energy performance certificate. A pedestrian route passes through the lobby, giving views of the highwalk connections and the surrounding cluster of towers.