Fenchurch Street

Rees is measured in his prognosis. ‘I don’t see this as the start of a new property boom. Developers are simply meeting demand that currently exists, because there is a shortage of grade-A office space in the City. In the longer term, people have significant question marks about the state of the world economy and so on. They’re just getting the product there while there’s demand.’

So it could be that the resurrection of the Walkie Talkie, Darth Vader’s Helmet, the Helter-Skelter and all the rest that make up the cast of characters that will compete for attention on the London skyline will be the last of a generation of tall buildings in the City. The two most significant buildings that are currently under construction in the Square Mile are both by the same architect, KPF. The Heron Tower on Bishopsgate is nearly there and has emerged as a pretty regular-looking office building. It has none of the fancy shapemaking of the Gherkin, rather it has straight edges and right angles. Paul Simovic of KPF, the architect in charge of the Heron Tower, says, ‘I think it has a very different attitude from the so-called iconic buildings. We focused on having a sensitive approach to orientation and site. The building allows other people to build near it and forms part of the urban fabric rather than elbowing others out of the way. The materials are high quality but nothing that screams, and there’s a focus on the ground floor, with a recessed arcade at the front entrance and a pedestrianised area next to it.’