Empress State Building (London)

United Kingdom / England / Richmond / London
 office building, skyscraper
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The Empress State Building is a skyscraper in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was built in 1961 to a design by Stone, Toms, & Partners with a height of 100 metres (328 ft) and 28 floors. It was renovated from 2001 to 2003 to a design by Wilkinson Eyre Architects. The renovation involved extending the building's height to 117 metres (385 ft) and 31 floors and had a cost in the region of £80,000,000. The building has 43,664 square metres of floorspace and has 190 parking spaces.

The building is named after Empress Hall, which formerly stood on the site, and in tribute to the Empire State Building in New York. It was originally designed for the Admiralty and was intended to look like the bow of a warship from any angle.

The building is mainly occupied by staff from the Metropolitan Police Service who refer to it as ESB. Some of the upper floors are occupied by staff from Transport for London. It once served as the headquarters of MI6.

The top floor boasts Orbit - a private revolving bar with spectacular views over London.

Empress State Building was a RIBA award winner in 2004.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   51°29'14"N   -0°11'58"E

Comments

  • Currently home to the part of the Metropolitan Police service that deals with requests made under the freedom of information act. Was originally designed for the admiralty in such a way that it was supposed to represent the bow of a warship no matter what way you looked at it. Was subsequently used by MI6 before their relocation to Albert Embankment into the building you see in modern James Bond films
This article was last modified 14 years ago