28 Oct 2011, 4:17 pm
The plans for the development include a 55 storey Henri Matisse-inspired tower, a hotel, 400 flats and 170,000 square feet of office space.
As the centrepiece of the scheme, the tower includes a 200 bedroom four-star Intercontinental hotel, on the roof of which sit ten cantilevered storeys containing restaurants and other public space.
The tower will also provide 170,000 sq ft of grade A office space and 400 apartments, each with access to a balcony or a winter garden.
The frontage of the building will be revamped and plans include a widened public footpath which will be lined with cafes, restaurants and bars. Plans also show provision for a gym with a swimming pool and underground parking for cars, bicycles and motorcycles.
A valuable contribution will be made to the public realm with the creation of a proposed new public square collocated with a cafe away from the main highways, the developer said.
Designed by Piers Gough of CZWB, the tower is said to have been inspired by Matisse's “voluptuous shapes of a curvy woman”.
The planning application has been submitted to Croydon Council and is currently subject to public consultation. The council expects to make a determination on 17 January 2012, with a start date for construction in 2013.
