The 190-meter office building 52 Lime Street (this is the official name of the "Scalpel") is located in the so-called City Cluster: a concentration of new high-rise buildings - and older ones, such as the Lloyds building by Richard Rogers and St Mary Ax - "Cornishon" - Norman Foster. Nearby there is also a "Cheese Grater" - Leadenhall by the same Rogers.
The sharp silhouette of the "Scalpel", which fits perfectly into this company, is the result of dodging key perspectives on the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. The building was to be either a stepped or sloped volume, and the architects chose the former.
The glass façade, interrupted only by metal stripes of borders between the edges, provides the interior with natural light and the staff with views of London. The pivot of the building is shifted to the southern facade, which frees up useful space and allows it to be freely divided between tenants - especially since there are almost no supports there. In addition, the rod shades this very sunny side of the building.
Historically, the building is associated with four bas-reliefs by James Woodford, dedicated to the four elements: they adorned the 1957 Lloyds building, and then were located on the 52-54 Lime Street building, which was demolished to make way for the Scalpel.
The Scalpel's customer and its main "inhabitant" is W. R. Berkeley, the rest of the space is leased. The project budget is 240 million pounds, the total area is just under 40 thousand m2.
