Tallest and shiniest building in Milton Keynes is topped out at 50 metres this week

A huge new hotel that sits at Milton Keynes highest point has been topped out at its maximum 50m height this week.

The 261 bedroom Hotel La Tour is already dominating the landscape at Marlborough Gate in Central Milton Keynes.

Now main contractor Winvic is busy covering the 14 storey structure with floor to roof mirrored cladding made from stainless steel.

With the topping well underway, Winvic will also be moving on to the extensive glazing on the thirteenth floor where the sky bar, restaurant and public exhibition space will be.

Hotel La Tour’s managing director Mark Stuart and operations director Jane Riley were invited to site this week, along with Will Elsigood from pHp Architects, to enjoy the city and park views from the roof of the fourteenth floor.

A final touch will be a 30m high, LED-lit stainless steel circle on the eastern façade. The ‘sun’ design will be visible up the city’s Midsummer Boulevard, which was created to align with the sun on the longest day of the year. It will also provide a gateway sign to the city centre, say Winvic.

The project is expected to be handed over to Hotel La Tour in July 2022.

Mark Jones, Winvic’s Head of Multi-room, said: “We started on site just two weeks after the first 2020 lockdown was announced and despite the unprecedented challenges, our team have hit milestone after milestone on, or ahead, of schedule. I’d like to say a huge thank you to them. Reaching the highest point of any multi-room project is always worth celebrating, but this is a bit more special as it’s Winvic’s first hotel."

He added: “It’s great to be able to welcome Mark and Jane from Hotel La Tour to site to enjoy the fourteenth-floor views and also for them to get a feel for the finished scheme in the fully completed show bedroom. Mark, the city planners and the people of Milton Keynes are already impressed with how the striking, mirrored cladding is looking, so we look forward to the next programme landmark when the façade reaches 50 metres up to the top of the building and boasts the 30-metre contrasting circle, which represents the midsummer sun.”

Hotel La Tour's Mark Stuart said: “It’s always a pleasure visiting Hotel La Tour and seeing how Winvic have been driving the project at pace – they’ve been doing a good job so far, operating safely and swiftly. The mirrored cladding going up is an impressive spectacle, and the show bedroom provides the quality and luxury our guests will be looking forward to.

"Standing 50 metres high on the now completed roof has been a momentous milestone and it won’t be long before we’re welcoming members of the public to gaze at the views while enjoying a drink at the bar."