One New Change – no, not a badly thought out slogan for a political party, but a brand new shopping and office complex slap bang in the middle of the City of London.
City workers are beside themselves with glee at the arrival of
One New Change, as it's the City's very first shopping centre (excluding the high-end Royal Exchange), providing a myriad of new options for lunch and dinner, as well as a stack of shops - all in one convenient location.
Designed by French architect
Jean Nouvel, the impressive structure, which stands in the shadow of St. Paul's Cathedral, comprises more than 6,000 floor-to-ceiling glass panes, with 60 shops, cafes and restaurants spread over three floors.
All of your high street favourites are here, including H&M, Topshop, Topman, North Face, Office, Banana Republic, Next, and Reiss.
Taking care of tummies is M&S Simply Food, Wasabi Sushi & Bento, Zizzi, Sumo Salad, EAT, Nando's, Byron (serving up "proper" hamburgers), and on the sixth floor you'll find a roof terrace restaurant and cafe with great views of nearby St. Paul's Cathedral and beyond.
Food heavyweights Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay also have restaurants in the complex. Oliver's Barbecoa serves a wide variety of food cooked in wood-fired ovens, while Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen (opening early 2011) will be taking inspiration from Ramsay's Plane Food at Heathrow's Terminal 5, with an emphasis on getting food to the table quickly (ideal for the busy City workers).
One New Change will definitely be teeming with local workers during the week, and should also have little trouble attracting shoppers to a part of town usually rather quiet on the weekends. While fans of the West End may well be curious enough to go and take a look, One New Change will no doubt be a hit among those living in east London who've been waiting a long time for a place like this.
If you're the type that drops when you can no longer shop, or curious about a new shiny bit of modern architecture, or simply want to keep dry when it's bucketing down, One New Change could be just the place.
