However, the landmark structure on the Thames is privately-owned by a Kuwaiti investment group with the increasingly cash-strapped GLA paying upwards of $14 million annually to lease the space, with a sizable rent increase on the horizon. Opened in 2002, just two years after the formation of the GLA, City Hall has served the mayoralty and 25-member London Assembly well over the past 18 years. The current City Hall, which somewhat confusingly refers to both the physical building itself and, colloquially, the Mayors’ Office- and London Assembly-comprising governmental agency, the Greater London Authority ( GLA), that populates it, isn’t exactly aging or deficient in size. The combination of all these energy saving systems means that there is no need for chillers in the building.As relayed to BBC News by a spokesperson for Kahn, the move will save about $80 million over the next five years. The deep-plan floors allow for the collection of heat at the building’s core, which can then be redirected to its periphery. Heat generated by computers and lights is recycled. The building is naturally ventilated, with openable windows in all office spaces. This is achieved not only through the use of ecologically sound, passive environmental control systems, but also through the shape and alignment of the building. The energy strategy for City Hall enables it to run on a quarter of the energy consumed by a typical high specification office building. The design incorporates as a number of features designed to make the building as green as possible. This hybrid form is designed to minimise the surface area exposed to direct sunlight. In conventional terms, the building has no front or back: its shape is derived from a geometrically modified sphere. The building is 45 metres high, with 185,000 sq ft (gross) of floor space spread over 10 floors. The built form of City Hall is a distinctive glass globe, with a purpose built assembly chamber and offices for GLA staff. It is part of the More London development located between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, on the south bank of the Thames. City Hall was designed by Foster and Partners, whose design brief was to create a building for the GLA (Greater London Authority) that would become a new landmark for the capital.
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