The development’s tapering shape, which when viewed from the west will appear to ‘lean away’ from St Paul’s Cathedral, delivers varied sizes of floor plates, all offering spectacular views over London. Practical completion of the shell and core is scheduled for mid-2014. The geometry of the 52-storey skyscraper makes it theoretically unstable.

Exceptional engineering skills were necessary therefore, to develop a construction methodology that enabled the building to stay upright – with tolerances of plus or minus 20mm required on all but five of its floors.