The victorians were not great fans of load-bearing masonry. It was they who started the trend for constructing steel-framed commercial buildings faced with non-load-bearing cladding, a trend that lasted for more than 100 years. Indeed, the all-masonry method appeared to have been consigned to the dustbin of history. However, one century on in the City of London, there are signs that a revival is taking place. Foremost in this is Two Plantation Place, part of a 93,000 m~2 development owned by British Land that occupies most of a city block between Fenchurch Street and Great Tower Street Arup Associates' design for the block is not, however, a traditional brick-on-brick solution; instead, blocks of limestone are stacked above each other as a series of perpendicular panels, giving the facade a contemporary flavour. And the lack of a bond pattern means that some distinctly modern technology was needed to ensure that the building retained its structural integrity.
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