21 Moorfields redefines oversite development above London’s Moorgate station

Wilkinson Eyre is responsible for an architectural tour de force at 21 Moorfields in the City of London. This innovative corporate headquarters demonstrates how engineering vision and urban design ambition can flourish above one of London’s busiest transport hubs.

Rising directly over Moorgate station’s ticket hall, 21 Moorfields is a striking lesson in structural innovation and urban transformation by architects Wilkinson Eyre, working with engineers Robert Bird Group. Originally conceived and commissioned by Landsec in 2012, the long-awaited scheme has now become Deutsche Bank’s London headquarters, delivering over one million square feet of workspace on a site once considered all but impossible to redevelop.

The project exemplifies the ingenuity required to build on constrained, complex ground. Suspended above a live rail interchange—including the Elizabeth Line and the Northern Line—the scheme’s foundations demanded exceptional solutions. The engineering team devised a pioneering ‘super pile’ system alongside diamond-patterned trusses to bridge and transfer weight across the subterranean web of tunnels, maximising usable space while protecting the station operations below.

The results are both technically daring and spatially generous. Four trading floors, each the size of a football pitch, form the heart of the development. Around them, a stepped series of workspace terraces rises towards the Barbican, introducing natural light and west-facing outdoor areas across six levels. The building culminates in a discreet ‘crown’ which is where Deutsche Bank’s executive and client suites can be found.

At ground level, the scheme transforms what had long been an underperforming corner of the City. Once fragmented and difficult to navigate, the Moorgate/London Wall area is now anchored by new pedestrianised streets, squares and a bridge extension to the Barbican Highwalk. Over 20% of the site is given to biodiverse planting, aligning with the City’s urban greening initiative and creating an unexpected oasis above a transport interchange.

A five-storey wellness building, facing the main tower across a newly formed square, extends the focus on people-first design. It provides fitness studios, cycle facilities and health amenities. Inside the main building, atria bring daylight deep into the vast floorplates, while an internal “street” at first floor level connects reception, lift lobbies and communal spaces.

The architecture embodies the aspirations of strength and transparency of this client’s Interiors by tp bennett combine drama for visitors with adaptable, collaborative spaces for staff, encouraging community and informal exchange.

The journey from concept to completion was neither swift nor simple. Three separate planning applications were required to balance proximity to listed buildings, sightline protections to St Paul’s cathedral, and rights to light. Construction itself spanned five years, navigating the constraints of a live interchange while more than doubling the capacity of the site.

This project is a catalyst for the Moorgate area’s regeneration. In elevating a major new workplace above a vital transport hub, the project demonstrates how ambition, design and engineering can converge to create a new urban landmark.

© All pictures: Ben Bisek