Former names NLA Tower Country England Structural engineer Triton Town or city Croydon | Address 12-16 Addiscombe Road Completed 1970 Opened 1970 Architect Richard Seifert | |
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Similar ISLAND, Whitgift Centre, Altitude 25, East Croydon station, Centrale | ||
No. 1 Croydon (formerly the NLA Tower, and colloquially the 50p Building, the Weddingcake or the Threepenny bit building) is a skyscraper at 12–16 Addiscombe Road, Croydon, London, next to East Croydon station. It was designed by Richard Seifert & Partners and completed in 1970. It has 24 storeys and is 269 feet (82 m) high. 'NLA' stood for 'Noble Lowndes Annuities'. It was one of many new buildings constructed in the growing town of Croydon in the 1960s. The development of tall buildings was later encouraged in the 2004 London Plan, which led to the erection of new skyscrapers as London went through a high-rise boom.
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Map of No.1 Croydon, Croydon, UK
Restoration project
A refurbishment programme costing over £3.5 million was completed in early 2007. It included a six-month exterior cleaning project, 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 a Channel 4 programme as one of the UK's top eyesores. A spokesman for building restoration firm Triton said: "Work is running to schedule and within budget."
Occupiers
No. 1 Croydon is occupied by a number of companies and organisations, including Atkins, Directline holidays, HotGen, dotmailer, Natterbox and Global Resourcing.
In November 2014, a branch of Sainsbury's Local was opened in part of the former courtyard on the north side of the building, effectively forming a part of the structure. The new building attracted criticism on aesthetic grounds and also in respect of safety due to its proximity to the Tramlink track bed.
Other names
No. 1 Croydon was originally known colloquially as the Threepenny Bit Building, due to its resemblance to a number of threepence coins stacked on top of each other. After the coins stopped being used following decimalisation the building eventually gained the alternative nickname the 50p Building, as it also resembles a stack of the now more familiar 50p pieces; and it is also referred to as The Wedding Cake. The resemblance to threepenny and 50p coins is approximate, as the building's floors are octagonal whereas threepenny coins are dodecagonal and 50p coins are septagonal.
The building was used as part of an establishing shot in Croydon in the opening credits of the 1980s British sitcom Terry and June.
Listing
The campaign for listing No.1 Croydon is supported by the Twentieth Century Society but this was turned down by English Heritage in 2013.