Foster plan for 200m net zero Thames tower

Developer Hines has submitted a planning application for a mixed development by the river Thames designed by Foster and Partners and consultants Lipton Rogers Developments.

It will feature two residential 22 and 40 storey high-rise towers, an office block almost 200m in height and a public space ('the Rotunda'). The developer said that the development will provide 400 new homes, 40% of which will be affordable housing.

The project design aims to minimise embodied carbon and is targeting a 20% to 30% improvement against the GLA benchmark. Hines also said that the project wants to be operationally net zero. To achieve this, it will implement an all-electric strategy with ground and air source heating and cooling to avoid all on-site emissions.

The office block, which would become the 15th tallest building in London, will feature a series of bustles gradually reducing in size to the top. "The concept is to provide a new form of architecture, departing from the traditional flat tower office building," said the developer.

The project will be located at 18 Blackfriars Road, close to the Tate Modern and Southbank.