Berkeley homes tops out 68 Storey South Quay Plaza

South Quay Plaza, the tallest ever building to be constructed by The Berkeley Group has topped out. Rising to 68 storeys, this is the tallest building Foster + Partners’ has ever designed in the UK. South Quay Plaza is 15 metres taller than the Foster + Partners’ designed HSBC building in Canary Wharf.

The topping out ceremony was attended by Ray O’Rourke, CEO of Laing O’Rourke and Sean Gavin, Operations Director for Berkeley Homes (South East London) as well as key members of the team from Berkeley Homes, Expanded, Foster +Partners, HTA Landscape Design and WSP.

South Quay Plaza will comprise 888 homes and significantly enhance the surrounding area with 2.6 acres of new public realm and green space. Unique to the design is the architectural rotation of the building at a 45-degree angle ensuring that the majority of apartments have riverside views and allows for more light permeation in the gardens. Facilities include what will be the highest club lounge in Europe located on the 56^th floor, a 20m swimming pool overlooking South Dock, a cinema room, spa, meeting rooms and expansive outdoor terrace for alfresco dining.

The topping out comes after South Quay Plaza won the prestigious multi-storey award at the National House Building Council’s (NHBC) annual National Health and Safety Awards in July. This is the second time the development has been awarded the honour and demonstrates Berkeley Homes’ ability to deliver large and complex schemes safely and consistently.

Justin Tibaldi, Divisional Managing Director of Berkeley Homes (Capital), commented: “South Quay Plaza is a landmark development for Berkeley Homes and at 68 storeys this is the tallest building we have ever developed. This is a significant project for us, and we were delighted to have worked successfully with Laing O’Rourke on this engineering challenge. Although the height of the building is momentous, we are incredibly excited about the way South Quay Plaza will enhance the area; opening up the streetscape in a way previously unseen. We saw this as an opportunity area almost a decade ago and we are proud to be playing an integral part in the redevelopment of South Dock, creating new quality homes as well as amenities for locals to use.” 

Ray O’Rourke, CEO of Laing O’Rourke, added: “Laing O’Rourke is proud to be working once again with The Berkeley Group. The delivery of South Quay Plaza has been optimised through early engagement, with our teams digitally engineering the project from the outset, determining the most suitable construction methods for a project of this scale on a tightly constrained site. An Innovative, offsite-manufacturing approach has kept us on track and the team is due to complete construction well in advance of the contractual handover date. I look forward to seeing this exciting 68-storey addition to the changing skyline of London.”