51°30′41.000″n 0°5′1.000″w  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, said to resemble a two-way radio handset.construction was completed in spring 2014, and the three-floor 'sky garden' was opened in january 2015.the 38-storey building is 160 m (525 ft) 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.a 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 (656 ft) 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.the secretary of state for communities and local government, ruth kelly, called in the project for another public inquiry.the project was consequently the subject of a public inquiry; in 2007 this ruled in the developers' favour and the building was granted full planning permission.in 2015 it was awarded the carbuncle cup for the worst new building in the uk in the previous 12 months.in 2013 paul finch of the design council cabe said he regretted supporting the project during the public inquiry, saying that the developers 'made a mess of it' and were architects of their own misfortune.in july 2017, the hong kong food company lee kum kee groups agreed to purchase the building from land securities and canary wharf group for £1.3 billion.savills management resources hold the contract to carry out all management of 20 fenchurch street.the architect was william h. rogers.the building was formerly occupied by dresdner kleinwort and was notable for being one of the first tall buildings in the city of london, and for its distinctive roof.it was one of the towers nearest to the river thames when viewed from the southern end of london bridge.in 2007, one of the upper floors was used in the drama series party animals.demolition of the building was completed in 2008.despite the top-down method of construction, it was not demolished from the bottom-up, as a temporary structure was built, allowing keltbray, the demolition contractor, to demolish the building from the top down.the garden spans the top three floors, which are accessible by two express lifts and include a large viewing area, terrace, bar and two restaurants.fourteen double-deck lifts (seven low-rise up to the 20th floor, seven high-rise above the 20th floor) serve the main office floors of the building.the south side of the structure is ventilated externally to improve efficiency and decrease solar gain, whilst the east and west faces incorporate extensive solar shading.there is a southern entrance in addition to the main northern entrance set back from fenchurch street.piling and ground works were completed in june 2009.in january 2011, work at the basement level of the tower began.by the end of october 2011, the building was rising above street-level.december 2011 saw the tower's core begin to rise.the concrete core was topped out in march 2012 and by july the structural steelwork was under way around the core.
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