Growing It All Sky High; London plans a spate of dazzling new skyscrapers. But how will they look beside St. Paul's Cathedral?

Byline: William Underhill

Developer Irvine Sellar is thinking big. On the drawing board: a soaring [pounds sterling]500 million pyramid right beside the Thames, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. "We believe that we are creating a building for London that Londoners can be proud of, and one that reflects Britain's position in the world," says Sellar. Clearly, he considers that position lofty; when completed around 2010, the 310-meter London Bridge Tower--known to locals as "the shard of glass"--will rank as the tallest building in Europe.

But perhaps not for long. "The shard" has plenty of upcoming rivals approved by London city planners--including a clutch of other eye-catching megaliths dubbed "the walkie-talkie," "the cheese grater" and "helter-skelter" by the press. Any post-9/11 security qualms have been forgotten as demand for space soars. By some reckonings, a dozen more skyscrapers could break the city skyline by 2020. And despite unease from the heritage lobby, the rage now is for bold projects that send a powerful message to the world. "This expresses tremendous energy," says Paul Burgess of British Land, the developers responsible for some of the biggest schemes. "This is a visible manifestation of our confidence in the future of London as a global financial hub."

Certainly, it's a break with the past. Up to the 1960s, city planners forbade skyscrapers--still the policy in central Rome and Paris. A glut of cheap, high-rise housing fed public distaste for unsightly towers. Since the early 1990s, a clump of superbuildings has arisen at the Canary Wharf development, a few kilometers downstream from the ancient financial district known as the City. But in the City itself, the tallest building remains the 26-year-old Tower 42, rising to a modest 183 meters.

Now big buildings are increasingly in vogue, thanks largely to London's left-wing mayor, Ken Livingstone. Once leery of developers, Livingstone now counts architect Richard Rogers, a champion of glossy modernism, among his paid advisers. According to city hall, well-sited towers are not just a lure for the business community; they make efficient use of limited space and ease ...