Silicon skyscraper: MAKE’s Atlas Building to be highest in London’s Tech City

Due to complete at the end of 2018, MAKE Architects’ The Atlas Building will combine living with working and entertainment. Just five minutes walk from Old Street station, the design will also contribute to the regeneration of the area, incorporating a pedestrian thoroughfare to run between City road and East road.
At 152m high the building will be the tallest in the area, a flagpole for the future of London’s Silicon roundabout, which has seen astronomical architectural change and economic growth over the past two decades.
The residences on offer include studios, one to three bedroom apartments and penthouses.
It is certainly a sleek addition to the skyline, almost discreet in its neat stack of 12 concrete-framed sheaths clad in anodised aluminium, which shoot upwards in a staggered formation. While currently it stands alone, looking across to The City in the south, it won’t be long before it welcomes neighbours.
The 40 storeys of The Atlas Building will house 302 apartments including studios, one to three bedroom apartments and penthouses; the latter will each have a balcony or terrace with double aspect outlook across London. Built for a convenient modern existence, design and delivery has been undertaken by Woods Bagot and Scott Brownrigg. The building's amenities include a gym, spa and swimming pool as well as a screening room, lounge and a children’s play area – residents of the Atlas may never leave.
Ten storeys of offices will accompany the Atlas in a separate building, designed as a lower, more solid blade a stone's throw from the skyscraper. This allowed MAKE to join the two structures with a public piazza, dedicating 35 per cent of the site footprint to a new, open public space by the vibrant Shoreditch area.
MAKE anticipates the future of residential life in Tech City with this self-sufficient building, which was conceived not just for sleeping, but for working, relaxing, socialising and everything in between – the Atlas is your oyster.
Twelve sheaths clad in anodised aluminium shoot up in a neatly staggered design, which opens up space for terraces for the upper apartments
The interiors were designed by Woods Bagot. The architects used practical, high quality materials and finishes.
Kitchens are fully fitted with Siemens appliances and robust materials, such as composite stone worktops and ceramic tiles.
The swimming pool is just one of the many amenities available to The Atlas Building's residents
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the MAKE Architects website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
‘Leigh Bowery!’ at Tate Modern: 1980s alt-glamour, club culture and rebellion
The new Leigh Bowery exhibition in London is a dazzling, sequin-drenched look back at the 1980s, through the life of one of its brightest stars
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Inside the unexpected collaboration between Marni’s Francesco Risso and artists Slawn and Soldier
New exhibition ‘The Pink Sun’ will take place at Francesco Risso’s palazzo in Milan in collaboration with Saatchi Yates, opening after the Marni show today, 26 February
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Lucie and Luke Meier exit Jil Sander
Wife and husband duo Lucie and Luke Meier are stepping away from Jil Sander after eight years at the brand. The news came today following their A/W 2025 show, unveiled this afternoon during Milan Fashion Week
By Orla Brennan Published
-
This modern Cotswolds home draws on its ancient woodland context
This contemporary Cotswolds home, designed by NCA Architecture with interiors by Echlin, is a slice of the Mediterranean in the English countryside
By Tianna Williams Published
-
A Danish twist, compact architecture, and engineering magic: the Don’t Move, Improve 2025 winners are here
Don’t Move, Improve 2025 announces its winners, revealing the residential projects that are rethinking London living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This Hampstead house renovation in London transcends styles and periods
The renovation of a Hampstead house in London by Belgian architect Hans Verstuyft bridges the classic and the contemporary
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
London’s Sloane Street has been transformed into a ‘green boulevard’
Iconic shopping destination Sloane Street has had a facelift, now boasting wider pavements, enhanced seating and lighting, and a massive planting scheme
By Anna Solomon Published
-
New book takes you inside Frinton Park Estate: the Essex modernist housing scheme
‘Frinton Park Estate’, a new book by photographer James Weston, delves into the history of a modernist housing scheme in Essex, England
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Conran Building's refresh brings a beloved London landmark into the 21st century
Conran Building at 22 Shad Thames has been given a new lease of life by Squire & Partners, which has rethought the London classic, originally designed by Hopkins, for the 21st century
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Inside Powerhouse: The redevelopment of Lots Road Power Station, which once fuelled the London Underground
The twin-turreted building has followed in the footsteps of Battersea Power Station, being transformed into luxury homes and retail units
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Sadler’s Wells East opens: ‘grand, unassuming and beautifully utilitarian’
Sadler’s Wells East by O’Donnell and Tuomey opens this week, showing off its angular brick forms in London
By Tom Seymour Published