‘Scalpel’ contract for Skanska

Skanska has won the contract to build a 190m tall building – which is being nicknamed the Scalpel – in the centre of London, UK.

The contract for the building was won through a competitive tender, and work is due to start this month. The building, at the junction of Lime Street and Leadenhall Street in the City of London, is scheduled for completion in early 2017.

Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) for the WR Berkley Corporation, one of the world’s leading property casualty insurance providers, the office development has an internal floor area of 58,000m² over 35 office floors and two basement levels, including retail and restaurant areas.

A public square of approximately 1,020m² will be created by the development, complementing the existing space around the Willis Building. The square will include public seating and planting, and may also provide space for public art and tables linked to a specialist ground floor coffee shop, designed to echo the 17th century origins of the London insurance market at Lloyds Coffee House.