Can a Skyscraper Constitute Sprawl?

Renzo Piano’s proposed new 735-foot tower might just be a skyscraper too many for London. That, at least, is the highly critical take from rival architect Terry Farrell on the recently announced project. In an open letter Tuesday, Farrell damned the new scheme for a slender residential cylinder built over London’s Paddington Station as “piecemeal” and “opportunistic.” He also went public with his own alternative, a mid-rise concept he had developed himself during ongoing work on the area’s masterplan.

Professional one-upmanship aside, Farrell may have a point. London has seen so much new high-rise development recently that its skyline is fast developing a porcupine bristle. But while most new London towers—including The Shard, also designed by Piano—have restricted themselves to a corridor flanking either side of the River Thames, Piano’s tower strays into the uncharted territory of wealthy residential West London.