At 263m tall the planned office project at 100 Leadenhall Street will tower over the 225m high Cheesegrater further along the street, offering nearly 1.2m sq ft of space.

Far East investment specialist London & Oriental, acting on behalf of Hong Kong investor Lai Sun Development, bought up key sites on Leadenhall to develop the scheme, known as project Dragon.

The tower will be clad with a faceted diamond-shaped high-performance double skin curtain wall system

Plans for the new tower in the City have been designed by New York architect SOM, with WSP designing building services. If built, it would rank as the third tallest building in the City assuming 1 Undershaft also moves to construction.

The developers hope planning can be gained before the end of the year, allowing construction to start in 2019, offering another boost to the capital’s high rise office building market.

The 100 Leadenhall site is one of the last significant sites available for development on the eastern edge of the Eastern Cluster in the City.

The building design starts with a hexagonal floor plan and tapers to a trapezoidal section at the top where a public viewing gallery is planned.

The public viewing gallery at level 56 looking south

The building’s facades are designed as complex three-dimensional forms based on a pattern of interlocking diamonds to create an ever-changing light pattern over the course of the day.