froodnet

At one minute to four on the 11th of July, I received a phone call at my desk in the office.

If you can be at reception in two minutes, you can have a tour of the new building. Don't bring anything, no phone, no camera, no jacket or you won't get in.

I dropped everything and ran to the lift.

Five minutes later I was dressed in heavy boots, gloves, a high viz jacket and a hard hat and was on a tour of the building that will be our new head office.

We travelled up in the goods hoist (think metal cage!) and started on the 45th floor which is basically just concrete. No glass, no walls, just concrete floor and ceiling and a stunning view over London.

Cameras and phones were banned because of the risk of something dropping over the edge. Luckily one of my colleagues had a camera phone with a wrist strap so that was permitted. The building won't be finished until 2015, there are no lifts installed at the moment, just stairs and two metal cages fixed to the side of the building.

Two years ago when I went to work for my new employers this site was just a very, very deep hole in the ground which I could look down into from the 9th floor of my office. Now on with the tour!

Click to enlarge, use Ctrl and + to zoom in further.

Look out for Tower Bridge, St Katherine's Dock, Trinity House, the Tower of London, and my old office. (The red building with spiky roof.)