Strata SE1 SE1 Londoners' fifth favourite tall building, behind 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), The Shard, The Leadenhall Building (The Cheesegrater) and One Canada Square (Canary Wharf). Strata SE1 Strata SE1, nicknamed "Razor" or "Electric Razor", is a , 43-storey building at Elephant and Castle in the London Borough of Southwark in London. Designed by BFLS (formerly Hamiltons), it is one of the tallest residential buildings in London and more than 1,000 residents live in its 408 flats. Strata SE1 is located on the site of Castle House, an early 1960s six-storey office building, which was the first commercial premises at
30 St Mary Axe not recoverable, forcing them to relax their building constraints; they hinted that an "architecturally significant" building might obtain a favourable reception from City authorities. This gave the architect a free hand in the design; it eliminated the restrictive demands for a large, capital-efficient, money-making building, whose design was per the client's desire. The new building's low-level plan satisfied the planning authority's desire to maintain London's traditional streetscape, with its narrow streets. The mass of the tower was not too imposing. Like Barclays Bank's former City headquarters in Lombard Street, the idea was that the passer-by in neighbouring streets would be