McMorran and Whitby’s City of London Police Station (1965) appears like an architectural missing link. The rustication of its lower façade and oversized chimney-like ventilation shafts are strangely non-zeitgeist, and the proportional arrangement of the window openings willfully rhythmic. The 19-story tower has been influenced by the vernacular design of a typical brick warehouse. The building is a nod towards post-modernism – a stylistic memorial to London’s historic architecture and industrial past.

The plans generated controversy, as they required the partial demolition of two Wren churches, St Mary Aldermanbury (refer to previous page), and St Albans on Wood Street. The tower of St Albans remains as an eccentric London office.