Design and Architecture.
The London Underwriting Centre (LUC), part of the impressive Minster Court development, was built with the specific intention of creating a new City landmark. An excellent example of modern architecture, the LUC achieves a balanced synergy between the functional and the dramatic. Its high-tech neo-gothic profile is a striking and distinctive addition to the City skyline.
The entire Minster Court development of which the LUC is part was designed by architects GMW Partnership - also responsible for the award-winning St Enoch Centre in Glasgow and Vauxhall Cross in London. The development incorporates a canopied courtyard (Minster Plaza) off which the main entrances to buildings 2 and 3 lead.
At the entrance to Minster Plaza three giant bronze horse sculptured by Althea Wynne stand guard, flanked by huge wrought iron gates. Nicknamed Sterling Dollar and Yen, the horses have become a widely recognised symbol of the London insurance market. The Plaza area and the LUC itself featured in the Walt-Disney re-make of 101 Dalmatians.
The exterior cladding is faced with rough-cut Torcicoda granite and polished rose-coloured Brazilian marble, giving the building its distinctive pink appearance. The exterior design features colonnades, arches and extensive use of glass and light.
The building was originally handed over to the LUC as an empty shell. Architects YRM Partnership were brought in to design the interior which incorporates an extensive range of custom-designed features and facilities intended to enable the LUC to operate effectively as a market building. The interior design incorporated provision for the extensive conference and catering facilities that now serve the LUC.
A 300,000 sq ft property, the LUC is spread over nine floors and arranged a massive glass walled internal atrium. The atrium is 18.3m (60 ft) in diameter and 40m (131 ft) high (as high as Nelson's Column) with a conical glass roof. It was devised to act as both the functional and symbolic hub of the LUC, and houses the world's tallest centrally suspended bank of escalators. Sixteen glass sided escalators are hung from just four rods attached to a ring beam around the top of the atrium. Clear toughened glass screens, 15m high, flank the escalators, which are linked to galleried walkways by glass bridges.
Purpose-designed office space allows easy flexible subdivision to cater to any tenant's requirement. The state of the art air conditioning system ensures that there is an ideal environment at all times.