Drapers Gardens, City of London (spec: Hot Melt)
Of all the new builds for which Rock has provided quality waterproofing, Drapers Gardens in London has one of the most interesting backgrounds. The present building, designed by Foggo Associates, is a City headquarters building with 270,000 sq ft of office space. It replaces a 30-storey block on the same site, also known as Drapers Gardens, which was pulled down in 2007.
The original Drapers Gardens was designed by Richard Seifert, the architect of a number of other famous tall buildings in the capital, including Tower 42 (formerly the NatWest tower) and Centrepoint. As a fine example of 1960s office architecture, Seifert's tower did have its defenders. However, it was widely believed that it intruded too much on the view of St Paul's Cathedral from Waterloo Bridge. It has the distinction of being the tallest ever building in the UK to be demolished.
At 16 floors the new Drapers Gardens has an appreciably lower profile, with a distinctive stepped design which incorporates roof terraces on levels 5, 9 and 12. Rock was selected by Sir Robert McAlpine to meet all the waterproofing needs of the building.
Between the demolition and rebuilding, an archaeological dig at the site brought to light Roman remains that included the finest example of a complete timber door ever discovered anywhere in the Roman Empire, a well with 19 metal vessels in an exceptional state of preservation, and the skull of a bear!
