Centre Point

51°30′57.1″N 00°07′46.9″W / 51.515861°N 0.129694°W / 51.515861; -0.129694

Centre Point
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeResidential (converted from commercial)
Architectural styleModernist
AddressNew Oxford Street
Town or cityLondon, WC1
CountryUnited Kingdom
Construction started1963
Completed1966
Renovated2016–18
Height117m (385ft)
Technical details
Structural systemReinforced concrete
Floor count34
Design and construction
Architect(s)George Marsh
Architecture firmR. Seifert and Partners
Structural engineerPell Frischmann
Main contractorWimpey Construction
Website
centrepointresidences.co.uk

Centre Point is a building in Central London, comprising a 34-storey tower; a 9-storey block to the east including shops, offices, retail units and maisonettes; and a linking block between the two at first-floor level.[1] It occupies 101–103 New Oxford Street and 5–24 St Giles High Street, WC1, with a frontage also to Charing Cross Road,[1] close to St Giles Circus and almost directly above Tottenham Court Road tube station. The site was once occupied by a gallows,[2] and the tower sits directly over the former route of St Giles High Street, which had to be re-routed for the construction.

The building is 117 m (385 ft) high, has 34 floors[3] and 27,180 m2 (292,563 sq ft) of floor space. Constructed from 1963 to 1966, it was one of the first skyscrapers in London, and as of 2009 was the city's joint 27th-tallest building.[4] It stood empty from the time of its completion until 1975,[5] and was briefly occupied by housing activists in 1974. Since 1995 it has been a Grade II listed building.[6] In 2015, it was converted from office space to flats.[7]

  1. ^ a b Historic England. "Centre Point (1113172)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. ^ Peter Ackroyd, London: The Biography, Chatto & Windus, London, 2000. ISBN 1-85619-716-6.
  3. ^ Targetfollow news archive, 06/10/05
  4. ^ Targetfollow news archive, 11/08/09 [dead link]
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pevsner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Centre Point and Pond to Front, Camden, British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  7. ^ Hilary Osborne, "Work begins on luxury flat conversion of London landmark Centre Point", The Guardian, 26 January 2015.