No. 1 Croydon
| No. 1 Croydon | |
|---|---|
 No. 1 Croydon looking east | |
 | |
| Former names | NLA Tower |
| General information | |
| Address | 12-16 Addiscombe Road |
| Town or city | East Croydon,Greater London |
| Country | England |
| Completed | 1970 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Richard Seifert & Partners |
| Structural engineer | Triton |
51°22′30″N0°05′28″W/ 51.3749°N 0.0910°W
No. 1 Croydon(formerly theNLA Tower,and colloquially the50p Building,theWeddingcakeor theThreepenny bitbuilding)[1]is a tall building at 12–16 Addiscombe Road,Croydon,Greater London,next toEast Croydon station.It was designed byRichard Seifert & Partnersand completed in 1970. It has 24 storeys and is 269 feet (82 m) high. 'NLA' stood for 'Noble Lowndes Annuities'.[2]It was one of many new buildings constructed in the growing town of Croydon in the 1960s.[3]The development oftall buildingswas later encouraged in the 2004London Plan,[4]which led to the erection of new skyscrapers as Greater London went through a high-rise boom.
Restoration project
[edit]A refurbishment programme costing over £3.5 million was completed in early 2007. It included a six-month exterior cleaning project, a new lobby, landscaping and common areas, and refurbishment of the top ten floors to provide 74,543 square feet (6,925 m2) of high spec, air-conditioned office accommodation.
A substantial amount of work had already been done to improve the façade of the tower. It was identified in aChannel 4programme as one of the UK's top eyesores. A spokesman for building restoration firm Triton said: "Work is running to schedule and within budget."[5]
Occupiers
[edit]No. 1 Croydon is occupied by a number of companies and organisations, includingAtkins,Directline holidaysanddotdigital.
In November 2014, a branch ofSainsbury's Localwas opened in part of the former courtyard on the north side of the building, effectively forming a part of the structure.[6]The new building attracted criticism on aesthetic grounds and also in respect of safety due to its proximity to theTramlinktrack bed.[6]
Other names
[edit]No. 1 Croydon was originally known colloquially as theThreepenny Bit Building,due to its resemblance to a number ofthreepencecoins stacked on top of each other. After the coins stopped being used followingdecimalisationthe building eventually gained the alternative nickname the50p Building,as it also resembles a stack of the now more familiar50p pieces;and it is also referred to asThe Wedding Cake.[7][8]The resemblance to threepenny and 50p coins is approximate, as the building's floors are octagonal (8 sides) whereas threepenny coins were dodecagonal (12 sides) and 50p coins are heptagonal (7 sides).
In popular culture
[edit]The building was used as part of anestablishing shotin Croydon in the opening credits of the 1980s BritishsitcomTerry and June.[9]It also appeared in theBlack Mirrorinteractive filmBandersnatch,as housing the offices of fictional game software developer Tuckersoft.[10]
Listing
[edit]The campaign forheritage listingNo. 1 Croydon is supported by theTwentieth Century Society,but this was turned down byEnglish Heritagein 2013.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Croydon, Route & What to See".London Footprints.Retrieved20 March2008.
- ^"Information on names of NLA Tower".Graham Johnson.Retrieved15 December2006.
- ^State of the art refurbishment
- ^"London - Full Summary of Projects".Will Fox, SkyscraperCity.com.Retrieved15 December2006.
- ^"NLA Tower's makeover nearly done".Croydon Guardian.Retrieved14 March2008.
- ^abCroydon Advertiser staff writer (17 December 2014)."East Croydon Sainsbury's: Is this Britain's worst-placed supermarket?".Croydon Advertiser.Retrieved29 October2015.
- ^"Croydon's 50p tower stolen".This is Local London.Retrieved20 March2008.
- ^Your Croydon Pamphlet, February 2009(Retrieved 4 January 2010)
- ^Grindrod, John (November 2014)."NLA Tower, Croydon".Twentieth Century Society.Retrieved6 April2023.
- ^Debnath, Neela (28 December 2018)."Black Mirror Bandersnatch location: Where is Bandersnatch filmed? Where is it set?".Daily Express.Retrieved28 December2018.