Prototype designs are already emerging from the global fashion house, in collaboration with developer Almacantar, which plans to convert the tower to an übercool residential and retail address by 2016.
Eduardo Paolozzi called Centre Point ‘London’s first Pop Art building’, and it has always had the rare distinction of sharing the grooviness of its time with the likes of Mary Quant and the Beatles, which other 60s buildings failed to match. According to Mark Eley, who co-founded Eley Kishimoto in 1992, ‘The power of the pattern is what gives Centre Point its majesty’, referring to the hypnotically tessellating concrete grid facade, which bucked the glass curtain-wall trend of other 60s offices. ‘Our aim is to translate the spirit of the building into our designs’ he continues, ‘and it’s the iconic design, heritage and location of this landmark that makes this project so exciting for us’.
There is a Mary Quant feel to the shapes of Eley Kishimoto’s early designs, and perhaps even a slightly earlier Balenciaga reference in some sketches, while the building itself is clearly present in the prints. ‘Centre Point is the perfect muse,’ concludes Eley.
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Herbert Wright
