Viñoly scheme includes sky garden on top three floors

The completion of  the superstructure of Rafael Viñoly Walkie-Talkie was marked this week, with the final 10m-long steel beam lifted into place.

Located in the City of London, the 160m-tall building flares outwards from its base, so that the larger floorplates are found at the higher storeys. The top three floors are set to be occupied by a sky garden, which will be open to the public, and the building will provide 64,000sq m of office space.

The scheme at 20 Fenchurch Street, which is being jointly developed by Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group, is one of a cluster of high-profile buildings earmarked for the City that are better known by their nicknames, including Rogers Stirk Harbour’s Cheesegrater in Leadenhall and KPF’s Helter Skelter building in Bishopsgate.

Planning consent for the scheme was granted in 2009 but work did not start until the end of 2010 due to the recession. Work on the Walkie-Talkie is due to complete at the end of 2013.