Rise of the office skyscraper

From Tokyo to Toronto, from New York to London, skyscrapers are becoming an increasingly popular feature to a city’s skyline.

But are these majestic additions of any benefit? Strategically positioned, an office skyscraper could have tremendous advantage to a company in terms of productivity, efficiency and image.

In this blog, we will look at the rise of the office skyscraper and the potential benefits that may arise for the workplace.

The skyscraper boom

As businesses in the UK expand and the demand in office space soars, skyscrapers could provide the answer.

Dubai, New York and China are all infamous for their impressive city skylines. London is also a key player of the skyscraper boom with the Shard, Gherkin and Walkie Talkie all proudly standing tall with hundreds of new proposed buildings on the cards.

Legislation has previously inhibited the height of the UK’s buildings but since the 17th century these have been relaxed. Some regulations, however, are still in place to ensure that the “protective views” of historic landmarks are preserved. St. Paul’s Cathedral in London is an example.

The first buildings to start creeping higher into the sky were built in the 1960s following the lifting of these height restrictions.

As it stands (no pun intended), The Shard is currently the tallest skyscraper in the UK boasting a height of 309 metres. Consisting of premium office space, the Shangri-La hotel, a shopping mall, restaurants, a spa, a public viewing gallery and luxury apartments – why wouldn’t a city want to add a skyscraper to its skyline?

And it’s not just the UK capital that is hosting these great buildings, but other cities are now submitting proposals for tall skyscrapers and office schemes. Manchester’s City Tower is the city’s tallest office building standing at 107m. And more buildings are shooting up across the city.

Standing tall – what are the benefits?

Providing these buildings are well-designed, in tactical positions, in the right place and at the right height, skyscrapers could be fundamental to a city’s future growth.

With planning restrictions and a tight green-belt in most city centres, building up rather than out allows greater density. Therefore, by stacking spaces on top of each other, tall buildings have the potential to contribute to meeting the increasing demand of office workers and space.

If a strategic approach is administered when building these tall buildings and outstanding architecture secured, not only will there be enough space to cater for the increasing population of people and workers in a city but the general image of that area will also appear to be magnificent.

Manchester’s skyline

Like London, Manchester’s skyline is soaring higher and a higher and at a rather quick pace. With objectives of the Northern Powerhouse directing increased investment to the city, construction in Manchester has almost doubled that of 2015.

More companies are viewing Manchester as an attractive, prosperous and vibrant city to do business with enormous potential. Many are choosing to make the move from London to the North. Therefore, it’s not only the number of office space available in high demand, but the quality.

Whether a large, influential professional service firm or a creative, digital agency, employers ultimately want the highest quality of office space to meet the needs of their company and their staff.

City Tower, situated perfectly in Piccadilly Gardens, comprises of 28 storeys of high quality office space. No.1 Spinningfields, dubbed as the last piece of the Spinningfields jigsaw, is currently under construction. Representing twenty years of development of the Manchester business and leisure sectors the impressive 24 storey building will certainly be a skyline icon.

And you?

What are your thoughts about the rise of office skyscrapers? Should we continue to build upwards? Let us know your thoughts by getting in touch below or check out our Facebook and Twitter pages.