Construction work has started on Will Alsop's Heliport Heights, a 15-storey building will be the first residential tower raised on slender stilts on the existing four-storey building beside the River Thames in London. The project is expected to complete in 2020. 

Conceived the last major project of the late Will Alsop, aLL Design's residential tower is intended to fill the unsightly gap on London's south bank skyline and provide wonderful views across the river Thames.

The studio will refurbish and re-clad the existing building to bring into the city life. The 3,722-square-metre tower will include 14 apartments all with two large balconies and river views. 13 apartments will each occupy an entire floor plate and the top unit will be a duplex with large roof terrace.

"The forms within the building are imperative to the design. The curved plan helps to create an optimal panoramic flat. The taper towards the top and the bottom gives the overall form an organic and elegant shape," said aLL Design. 

"It also provides an ideal reduction of floor plate for a duplex penthouse. The tower will be clad in weathered steel, which weathers to a warm rusty appearance. The form of the mirrored conference pod and the white 'underbelly' provide playful reflective surface for street life."

The tower is being developed to become a new landmark in the city, by helping to create a more liveable and attractive neighbourhood. "It features an art gallery in the lobby which we hope to become a destination in its own right and the unusual design aims to foster enthusiasm for architecture," added the studio.

The exterior façade of the tower will be covered with a series of orange-colored panels of weathering steel, with a plenty of colorful balconies.  

Commonly known with his playful, sculptural and artful forms, Will Alsop used the same architectural language in his latest design, like the Peckham Library, the Sharp Centre for Design, and Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto, Canada.

British architect Will Alsop passed away on May 12, 2018, aged 70. He was considered one of the greatest contemporary British architects along with the likes of Norman Foster and Richard Rogers. 

Heliport Heights received the planning permission in 2014 but the construction of the building was delayed due to financial problems and with its developer Damsonetti UK entering administration in 2017.

Will Alsop recently spoke to World Architecture Community in an exclusive interview at World Architecture Festival in Berlin, and he discussed recent contemporary architectural scene from different perspectives as well as his latest projects in different geographies.

All images courtesy of aLL Design

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