The Cheesegrater is the affectionate name for the commercial skyscraper 'The Leadenhall Building', also known as '122 Leadenhall Street'. It is a wedge-shaped skyscraper that reaches a height of 225 metres (738 ft) and was nicknamed The Cheesegrater due to its likeness to the kitchen utensil of the same name. The name was coined by Peter Rees (the City of London Corporation's chief planning officer), who upon seeing a model of the skyscraper's concept said to the buidling's designer Richard Rogers that he could imagine his wife using it to grate parmesan.
The skyscraper was opened in July 2014 and forms part of a number of modern tall buildings in the City of London.
The Leadenhall Building was designed by Richard Rogers and developed by British Land and Oxford Properties.
The wedge shape of the structure was chosen so as to have less impact on the protected sightline of St Paul's Cathedral when viewed from Fleet Street and the west. The tapered glass façade of the construction shows a ladder frame and steel bracings which exagerates the elevation of the building.
The tower uses a steel frame as opposed to the more usual concrete core to provide strength and is the tallest building in the world of its type. The evelators and mechanism are a design feature and are visible on the flat side of the structure which is also encased in glass. There is a 30 metre high public atrium at the foot of the building.
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