Many London buildings have picked up endearing nicknames, from the Cheesegrater to the Gherkin. Some might suggest the ’Glass Gonad’ is a rather less complementary one for the ill-fated City Hall Building. But the much-maligned structure could be set for a new lease of life.

Like so many buildings with structural glass systems, the light frame enabled the architects, in this case Lord Norman Foster’s firm, to push the envelope in design terms. But after being given its unfortunate moniker by Boris Johnson, his successor as mayor Sadiq Khan moved out three years ago to cut costs.

However, now the building is under the new ownership of St Martin’s Property Investments, it is being reshaped as new shops, restaurants and offices, with the glass cladding set to be replaced with open terraces and the upper floors extended to replace its current sloping profile and add 4,000 sq ft of extra floor space.

Now planning permission has been granted, the ‘glass gonad’ will be no more. However, architects will notice what is being done and there may be many more projects to follow if some of the more novel new buildings appearing in London and elsewhere fall out of favour.

Of course, structural glass still has a role to play in new buildings that, every architect behind them hopes, will stand the test of time and not go the way of the old City Hall.

A prime example of this will be the newly-approved 1 Undershaft Building, which will stand out as the joint tallest building in Britain along with the Shard. Located in the heart of the City next to the Gherkin, the 309.6 m (1,016 ft) skyscraper will feature a podium garden with outside glass balustrades, 42 metres above street level.

Construction is expected to start next year and take five years, perhaps allowing time for an extra inch of height to be sneakily added to the Shard.