One New Change in London by Jean Nouvel

Just a few days after the disassembly of the temporary summer pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park, the first realization of the studio of Jean Nouvel in the British Isles was ceremonially opened on October 28, 2010, in the heart of London's City. The project for the new department store “One New Change“ is located next to St. Paul's Cathedral and the Bank of England. The realization also involved the London office Sidell Gibson Architects. The seven-story building offers a total of 52,000 m² of commercial space. The three lower floors are occupied by shops, while the four upper floors serve as offices. A restaurant with a rooftop terrace is planned to open in the spring of next year. The glazed façade consists of 6,300 glass panels, of which more than 4,300 have unique dimensions and shapes. The patterns on the façade are from graphic designer Hiroshi Maeda.
The new glass and steel shopping center stands in one of London's historically most valuable areas, which has earned Nouvel's design a lot of criticism. One of the most fervent opponents was Prince Charles, who in 2005, immediately after the publication of the results of the architectural competition, declared that no one should be allowed to build in the shadow of Christopher Wren's cathedral dome.

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