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| No.1 Croydon (formerly
NLA Tower) |
No.1 Croydon from East Croydon station |
| Building
information |
| Name |
No.1 Croydon (formerly NLA Tower) |
| Location |
East
Croydon, London |
| Country |
England |
| Architect |
R. Seifert & Partners |
| Engineer |
Triton |
| Completed |
1970 |
Coordinates: 51°22′30″N 0°05′28″W / 51.3749°N
0.0910°W / 51.3749;
-0.0910
No.1 Croydon (or the 50p
Building, formerly the NLA Tower or
Threepenny bit building)[1]
is a skyscraper at
12-16 Addiscombe Road, Croydon, London, next to East Croydon station. It was
designed by R. Seifert & Partners and completed in 1970. It has
24 stories and is 269 feet (82 m) high. 'NLA' stood for
'Noble Lowndes Annuities'.[2] The
growing town of Croydon attracted many new buildings to be built in
the 1970s including No.1 Croydon.[3][4] In
recent years, the development of tall buildings has been encouraged in the
London Plan, which
will lead to the erection of new skyscrapers over the next few
years as London goes through a high-rise boom.[5]
It is Britain's 88th tallest tower,[6]
and an example of original 1970s architecture.
Restoration
project
A refurbishment programme costing over £3.5 million was
completed in early 2007. It included a six-month exterior cleaning
project, new lobby, landscaping and common areas, and refurbishment
of the top ten floors to provide 74,543 square feet
(6,925 m2) of high spec, air-conditioned office
accommodation.
A substantial amount of work had already been done to improve
the exterior facade of the tower. It was identified in a Channel 4 programme as one
of the UK's top eyesores. A spokesman for building restoration firm
Triton said: "Work is running to schedule and within budget." [7]
Occupiers
American International
Group (AIG) have their European headquarters in No.1 Croydon,
which they share with a number of other companies, including HCL,
IBS, Liberata, Pegasus Solutions, Directline Holidays, Zenos Academy
and the Institute
of Public Finance.[3]
Other
names
No. 1 Croydon was originally known colloquially as the
Threepenny Bit building, due to its resemblence to a
number of Threepence coins stacked on
top of each other. After the coins stopped being used in 1970 the
building eventually gained the alternative nickname the 50p
building, as it also resembles a stack of the now more
familiar 50p
pieces, and it is also referred to as The Wedding
Cake.[8][9]
See also
References
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