Paddington is getting a glow-up ... from a giant glass cigarette
Evening Standard|July 01, 2024
SO, Renzo Piano's stumpy cigarette is almost open. Aflame, maybe. Lit. It's actually called the Paddington Cube, but it's almost ready to go.
Dylan Jones
Paddington is getting a glow-up ... from a giant glass cigarette

This beautiful 18-storey, cube-shaped redevelopment next to Paddington Station, designed by Shard architect Piano, had originally been given a late 2021 target date for practical completion when it was approved in 2017. Because of Covid, and the unhelpful collapse of the development's M&E (mechanical and electrical services) contractor Michael J Lonsdale (owing creditors £65 million), it is way overdue, although no less anticipated.

The £350 million Paddington Square project has endured a troubled development process since it was first proposed in 2015 as a highly controversial 65-storey, 224m-tall cylindrical tower dubbed the "Paddington Pole". The original plans were withdrawn amid huge protests from locals and campaign groups due to its location next to Brunel's Grade I listed station. Consequently, the scheme was eventually chopped down to 18 floors, flipped from residential use to commercial, and redesigned as a "floating" cube in 2016.

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