Shell Centre, in London, United Kingdom is one of the two "central offices" of oil major Shell (the other is in The Hague). Shell Centre is located on the Belvedere Road in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a prominent feature on the South Bank of the River Thames near County Hall, and now forms the backdrop to the London Eye.
Shell Centre was constructed in 1961, to a design by Sir Howard Robertson, and the tower stands at 107 metres (351 ft) with 27 storeys (26 numbered and a mezzanine level) and extends three storeys below ground. The tower was the first London office tower to exceed the height of the Victoria Tower of the Palace of Westminster. It replaced the Midland Grand Hotel as the tallest storied building in London, and the Royal Liver Building as the tallest in the United Kingdom. On completion the building also held the record for the largest office building, by floor space, in Europe.
The current Shell Centre comprises the tower building and three adjoining nine-storey wings (collectively formerly known as the "Upstream Building"). The original development also included a separate building known as the "Downstream Building", which was separated from the Upstream Building by the railway viaduct between Charing Cross and Waterloo East. The Downstream Building was disposed of by Shell in the 1990s and is now a block of residential apartments known as the White House, and has been heightened by a storey.
Read more about Shell Centre: Site History and Layout, Architecture and Design, Functions and Occupation of The Buildings, New Year's Eve
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