page_title: 20 Fenchurch Street
section_title: Sky garden
hierarchical_section_title: 20 Fenchurch Street / Criticisms / Sky garden
caption_attribution_description: English: Sky Garden inside
context_page_description: 20 Fenchurch Street is a commercial skyscraper in London that takes its name from its address on Fenchurch Street, in the historic City of London financial district. It has been nicknamed 'The Walkie-Talkie' because of its distinctive shape. Construction was completed in spring 2014, and the three-floor 'sky garden' was opened in January 2015. The 38-story building is 160 m tall. Since July 2017, the building has been owned by Lee Kum Kee Groups.
  Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and costing over £200 million, 20 Fenchurch Street features a highly distinctive top-heavy form which appears to burst upward and outward. The entrance floor and 34 floors of office space are topped by a large viewing deck. Bar and restaurants are included on the 35th, 36th and 37th floors; these are, with restrictions, open to the public.
  The tower was originally proposed at nearly 200 m tall but its design was scaled down after concerns about its visual impact on the nearby St Paul's Cathedral and Tower of London. It was subsequently approved in 2006 with the revised height. Even after the height reduction there were continued concerns from heritage groups about its impact on the surrounding area.
context_section_description: The Sky Garden, which was described as a large, free, public viewing space at the top of the building, was part of the justification for the planners allowing such a vast office block to be built on the edge of a conservation area. Advanced computer visualisations shown to the planners included a glade of full-height trees, but the garden as constructed has a slope with ferns and succulents instead.
  Free access to the general public is limited to 1 1/2 hour slots which must be booked three days in advance, and visiting ends at 18:00, after which the garden is available only to paying customers of the catering facilities.
  The Garden has been criticised for these restrictions, and for its extent and quality failing to meet pre-construction expectations. Oliver Wainwright, architecture critic of The Guardian, described it as "a meagre pair of rockeries, in a space designed with all the finesse of a departure lounge".
  The City of London Corporation's former chief planner, Peter Rees, who approved the structure, said: "I think calling it a sky garden is perhaps misleading. If people [are] expecting to visit it as an alternative to Kew, then they will be disappointed." In July 2015 it was reported that planners are to consider a landscape architect's alterations to the layout, following claims it is not consistent with illustrations submitted with the original planning application. The 'sky garden' was a key feature in sealing approval for the building, which is situated outside the main cluster of skyscrapers in the City.
caption: The 'sky garden' occupies the 36th to 38th storeys
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