ABSTRACT
The Broadgate story embraces issues of large scale urban change, architectural politics (a battle between modernist traditions and post-modernist sentiments), and a common ground probably unacknowledged by either of the main protagonists. The narrative begins with No.1 Finsbury Avenue, on Wilson Street, one of the fi rst developments to be targeted at a specifi c market (fi nancial trading), designed by Arup Associates and their fi rst adventure designing speculative offi ce buildings. Finished in 1984, No. 1 was the ‘foundation stone’ of a scheme put together by two of London’s then most prominent developers (Lipton and Bradman) and British Rail. In brief, the master plan demolished a small station and amalgamated its services into an adjacent one (Liverpool Street), in the process unlocking the potential to develop a large tract of land on the edge of the City of London.
