20 Fenchurch Street London

1 Jun 2016

20 Fenchurch Street is one of the most recognisable buildings in the London and Townscape Products was chosen to provide the perimeter protection system to enhance its ground-level security.

The Client

20 Fenchurch Street is renowned architect Rafael Viñoly’s latest London skyscraper. The visually distinctive building boasts 680,000 sq ft of top quality offices over 32 floors. Developed by a joint venture partnership between Canary Wharf Group and Land Securities, the high performance, energy-efficient building breaks with common architectural design by enlarging the floor plans at the top of the building instead of the bottom. This creates additional public space at ground level and provides extra leasable floor area to valuable upper stories.

The Brief

Townscape was enlisted by leading security engineering consultants, QCIC, to develop a bespoke perimeter security solution which would not only protect the building from hostile vehicle attacks, but also create a high quality urban landscape at the base of the property.

20 Fenchurch Street will attract thousands of visitors each year, so a hostile vehicle mitigation (HMV) system was needed to defend the perimeter, whilst also providing an open and inclusive perimeter. The developers behind the scheme also wanted the security system to be multipurpose and not viewed solely as a HVM measure. A solution was needed which would complement and enhance the progressive vision and design of the building.

The Installation

Working with leading stone masonry firm, Gormley, Townscape developed and installed six PAS 68 CT Blocks, which are topped with granite and include LED spot lighting on the sides. The high quality granite finish was selected to tie into the prestigious City of London surroundings. 

Due to the inner city location of Fenchurch Street, it was important the installation of the bespoke CT Blocks was carried out in a tight time frame with little disruption to traffic and services in the area. The 100mm low profile foundation required by CT Blocks was ideal in this location and the CT Blocks were installed over a six day period. 

The Results

Fenchurch Street is protected from any hostile vehicle incursions to the highest PAS 68 standard, thanks to Townscape’s HVM expertise.

Townscape took its leading HMV product, the CT Block, and gave it additional purposes as security seating and lighting for this special project. Visitors to 20 Fenchurch Street will enjoy a public plaza, unaware that the seating and landscaping has been creatively designed to provide the utmost protection.

The Insight

20 Fenchurch Street is an iconic building and the bespoke CT Blocks enhance the entrance whilst protecting it to the highest PAS 68 standard. Security, versatility and design have been combined in a unique way and we are pleased with the impressive results.

Jonathan Goss, managing director, Townscape Products Limited.