2-879-196 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

1 Finsbury Avenue, Broadgate, City of London, 03/09/1984. A view from the first floor across the central atrium at 1 Finsbury Avenue towards the sculpture, 'Horse & Rider' by Robert Clatworthy. The sculpture is in three sections, the horse, rider and flying bird each to be installed separately. Upon installation it was found that the horse alone weighed three quarters of a ton more than expected and the tail had to be sawn off just to be able to move it inside the building. The tail was removed and welded back on without any apparent objections from the artist. The sculpture is currently on loan to Charing Cross Hospital and occupies an outdoor courtyard near the carpark. The Finsbury Avenue complex was a three phase speculative office development by Rosehaugh Greycoat Estates in anticipation of the deregulation of the financial markets in 1986. It aimed to entice potential tenants in the financial services industry to a fringe area on the edge of the City through high quality design and construction. Designed by Peter Foggo of Arup Associates, Laing secured the management contract for the construction of each phase in turn. Work on phase one, 1 Finsbury Avenue began in December 1982 and was completed by September 1984 followed by phase two, 3 Finsbury Avenue, from October 1985 to December 1986 with work beginning on phase three, 2 Finsbury Avenue in January 1987 and complete by April 1988. The design for each of the three buildings followed a "shell and core" approach incorporating flexibility in the internal construction and allowing simple reconfiguration of space according to tenants needs. Laing undertook several contracts to refit office space in each of the buildings in subsequent years.