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No 1 Poultry is a building in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, allocated to office and commercial use. It occupies the apex where the eastern ends of
Poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...
and Queen Victoria Street meet at Mansion House Street, the western approach to Bank junction. The design, by James Stirling, was constructed after the architect's death. It replaced a neogothic, conical-turreted, predecessor retail building, owned by developer Rudolph Palumbo and subsequently by his son, developer Peter Palumbo. Another option was a modernist minor skyscraper designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the manner of the
Seagram Building The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with minor assistance from Philip Johnson, Ely Jacques Kahn, ...
in New York City – but dropped having failed in an influential architectural and planning show-down in the 1970s. The tall but less towering design, in a
postmodernist Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...
style with an outer shell of even bands of rose-pink and muted yellow stone, prevailed. The point of the apex, as before, has a clock face but higher, as above a large pointed apex set of 30 window panes. In 2016, the landowner proposed exterior alteration. Building users, experts and neighbours persuaded the experts at the designated UK body to protect and recognise the building and did so in the notable
grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
category, making it, within England, the youngest at the time. The rooftop restaurant was used for the apparent Queen's helicopter departure point in the
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proce ...
.


Overview

The present building was completed in 1997, five years after architect Stirling's death and three years after construction began. It is a postmodern structure, with use of bold, perhaps unsubtle, forms and colours in a compact assembly. It is clad in pink and yellow limestone in even stripes (and apex arch stones, that is
voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
s) whilst the courtyard, an atrium, displays some of Stirling's characteristic acidulous colour play. Like many notable postmodern buildings, the imagery is rich in references. For example, from the sharp apex of the site a
keyhole A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, security token or coin), by supplying secret information (such as a number or letter permutation or pas ...
-shaped opening leads to a little-seen Scala Regia with a ramped floor, gold-leafed terminus and ancient Egyptian aura takes visitors into the heart of the building. Intended as site owner Palumbo's private entrance, this space is now little used: Palumbo sold the development before its completion. The turret above is sometimes likened to a submarine conning tower while the glazed thus two-sided clock is in concept and detail that of the Art Deco era
Palazzo delle Poste, Naples The ''Palazzo delle Poste'' (Italian: "Post Office Palace") is located in Piazza Matteotti in central Naples. It is an example of architecture completed during the fascist government of Benito Mussolini. Another such example is the nearby ' ...
. Completed nearly two decades after the first designs were published, the building saw a range of muted and divided views from leading critics as the heyday of postmodernism was over. Amongst the readers of '' Time Out'' magazine, it was voted fifth-worst in London. Following application generally supported by neighbours, users and experts, the building was protected and recognised by law as Grade II*-listed on 29 November 2016. The chief proponent was the
Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is for ...
to block a planned redesign of the structure; thus the main opponent was the landowner.


Construction

As to the apex facing Mansion House, a Conservation Area, to rebuild drew much opposition particularly as standing there, in repairable condition, was a 19th-century
neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
occupied by crown jewellers Mappin and Webb. It had been designed by John Belcher in 1870. An office building and public plaza by
Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
was pencilled for the site in 1969, to be ''Mansion House Square''. The successful counter-argument was retold by Prince Charles in his 1984 "carbuncle" speech to
RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...
, viewing such a plan as "yet another giant glass stump, better suited to downtown Chicago than the City of London" and the plans were eventually scrapped. A major archaeological dig was undertaken by the
Museum of London Archaeology Service MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) is an archaeology and built heritage practice and independent charitable company registered with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), providing a wide range of professional archaeological servi ...
, directed by Peter Rowsome. This excavation made significant discoveries, including a wooden drain along the main Roman road. Using dendrochronology, this was dated to 47 CE, proving Roman Londinium had developed in this part of the city by that date. Construction was completed in 1997. The building took in other smaller buildings to the east.


Use

No 1 Poultry comprises a mixed space of retail and offices. A restaurant occupies the rooftop, and has a terrace and formal garden with far-reaching City views for drinkers and diners. It featured in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in the segment ' Happy and Glorious' which saw
Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
(as
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
) transport Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
to the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
by helicopter. The terrace, below which is a fall of around 80 feet, has drawn notoriety in the City for having seen six cases of suicide by jumping off it: in 2007, 2009, twice in 2012, in 2015, and in 2016.


Owners

For four years the building was owned by a
Heinrich Feldman Heinrich Feldman, also known as Harold Feldman or Chaim Moshe Feldman, (born November 1935; died 22 March 2022) was a British property investor. In 2015, he had wealth of £100–360 million. Companies founded and owned Inremco 26 Inremc ...
company – selling it to
Perella Weinberg Partners Perella Weinberg Partners L.P. is a global financial services firm focused on investment banking advisory services. The firm was founded in 2006 by Joseph R. Perella, Peter Weinberg, Peter A. Weinberg and Terry Meguid, and went public in 2021. I ...
for £110 million, a 4.8% gain, in 2014.


References, footnotes and sources

References Footnotes Sources * Rowsome, Peter. ''Heart of the City'' (
Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...
, 2000)


External links


Photographs of № 1 PoultryPhoto of previous (Neo Gothic) building
{{Coord, 51, 30, 48, N, 0, 05, 27, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Office buildings in London Postmodern architecture in the United Kingdom Roman London Commercial buildings completed in 1997 Buildings and structures in the City of London Grade II* listed buildings in the City of London Suicides in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed office buildings