The “Cheesegrater”, officially called the Leadenhall Building, completed this week ready for its tenants and restauranteurs to move into the fit-out stage.   One of the highest quality of recent buildings in the City of London, with a high quality of materials and detailing that you would expect from Richard Rogers of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, it overlooks Roger’s iconic 1968 Lloyd’s Building.

The 50-storey office tower has been prefabricated and assembled with machine-like precision and is the tallest building in the City of London, facing across to the taller Shard at London Bridge in Southwark. The 225-metre skyscraper is raised up above a huge public space running beneath the tower, with hopes for public art exhibitions and events perhaps?. Visitors and office workers will rise through the building in a wall of external lifts.  The distinctive shape is in response to protecting views of St Paul’s from the west which results in lower areas of floorspace at the top.   There are impressive tenants signed up already. The lower floors have been pre-let to insurance broker Aon, while insurance group Amlin is taking a 20-year lease of the 18th to 24th floors as well as the top floor from March 2015.