Details of revised plans for a new cluster of skyscrapers in central London have been published, promising to transform the skyline in Southwark.

Designed by Fosters’ architects, the scheme now includes a newly-designed office tower in addition to a 53-storey residential tower and a 34-storey office building at a brownfield site by the southern end of Blackfriars Bridge., for which planning permission was already in place.

Fosters and Partners had been drafted in to redesign the whole scheme by US developer Hines and its investment partner the National Pension Service of Korea.

Although there will still be plenty of structural glass in the buildings, this will not be the whole story, as the design envisages substantial brick cladding, a departure from many of the other tall buildings designed by the practice. The highest of the trio will be 210 m (689 ft) and all will have green rooftop gardens. The residential building will be 160 m high and the other office block no more than 100 m.

Originally, architects Wilkinson Eyre worked on the project before being replaced late last year. The new design will see the three towers linked by a central plaza connected to the Christ Church Garden. 

The choice between using structural glass and brick can have a range of motivations, not least in keeping the appearance of a building in line with its local neighbours. 

It does not necessarily mean the shape or size will be particularly different, however; for example, Birmingham’s famous glass-clad Rotunda has the same cylindrical shape as the brick-clad Candle House in Leeds and is only a little taller.

Planning permission for the new cluster at Blackfriars Bridge has not yet been submitted to Southwark Council, but if it is successful, it will give the South Bank yet another landmark building to go with the tallest glass-clad structure in Britain, the Shard.