User:Lewisskinner/Sandbox/St Pauls Tower

St Pauls tower, or City Lofts tower or the Conran tower, is the title commonly given to a major development proposal in Sheffield City Centre. Primarily faced with concrete and glass, the scheme is comprised of a 32 storey tower called the tower, along with an associated 9 storey block called St Paul's view, which fronts onto two new squares, Millenium Square and the as-yet incomplete St Pauls Square, soon to form part of a new bar and restaurant district. The Tower and associated squares form part of the St Paul's Place, which also includes three office blocks, a multi-storey car park and a casino. They represent just one element of the wider regeneration of the area around Sheffield Town Hall, known as the Heart of the City Project. The tower will be the tallest structure in Sheffield at 101 m, overtaking the Arts Tower by a significant margin. The tower and its smaller neighbour will provide private apartments for city centre living, with retail on the ground-floor of the tower, facing Arundel Gate and restaurants on the upper-ground floor of St Paul's View, facing St Paul's Place.

Planning permission was given in October 2005, final ground excavation work began in August 2006 and construction commenced in December 2006. The construction process of the development is due to be completed early 2008.

The development will include a total of 316 one and two-bedroom apartments located in two linked towers of 31 and 9 storeys. The project has been sensitively designed to create a striking modern building whilst complementing the adjacent Grade 1 listed town hall and the modern winter gardens. The light and slender towers create architectural forms that are both original and elegant, whilst high quality traditional and modern materials will be used to ensure the building’s lasting contribution to the skyline. The building will incorporate a variety of complementary external treatments with the use of extensive glazing, warm stone cladding (not often seen in tall buildings), specially made terracotta rainscreen, copper cladding and bronzed aluminium louvre panels creating a distinctive and memorable scheme.