City of London, United Kingdom
Tower 42
City of London, United Kingdom
Exterior only
Visible from the street; the inside is private.
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Tower 42, at 183 metres high, is a skyscraper in the City of London designed by Richard Seifert's firm R Seifert & Partners and engineered by Pell Frischmann. Constructed by John Mowlem & Co between 1971 and 1980, it was London's first skyscraper and the tallest building in the United Kingdom upon completion. Originally built as National Westminster Bank's international headquarters, its distinctive shape—visible from above as three chevrons in hexagonal arrangement—echoes the NatWest logo. Formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 11 June 1981, the tower dominated the London skyline for decades until superseded by One Canada Square in 1990. Severely damaged in the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing, it underwent full refurbishment and recladding before being renamed Tower 42 in 1997, referencing its 42 cantilevered floors. Now a multi-tenanted office building with restaurants on the 24th and 42nd floors, it ranks as the sixth-tallest skyscraper in the City of London.
Architect
- Built
- Type
- skyscraper
- Height
- 182.9 m
- Place
- City of London, United Kingdom
This building on
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Location