7 More London Riverside

7 More London Riverside is PwC's prestigious new office that houses some 6,000 consultants in comfort in an area of substantial redevelopment between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

I was there for a Gurteen Knowledge Cafe and arrived early to take advantage of the pre-cafe tour of the building.

I actually arrived an hour early for the early start as I was looking for somewhere quite and reasonably private to take a business call.

PwC were exceptional.

I was given a card for one of their client lounges. The main lounge is the other side of security and is for clients who have PwC escorts and there is a smaller lounge next to the entrance were unescorted clients can work. This looks like a friendly frequent-fliers' lounge with comfy chairs, tables, telephones and separate meeting rooms. It also had free coffee and cake. This is real customer service.

The tour took us through the more public areas of the building where clients have plenty of space to roam.

Understandably we were kept away from the main work areas where commercial secrets could have been revealed.

The building is sort of horse-shoe shaped with the opening facing towards the river and Tower Bridge. The views are stunning.

The building makes the most of its position and the river is a constant presence.

The inside of the building is impressive too with a lot more open space than you would expect in a building with so many people (it is so very different to the modern building that I work in), casual meeting spaces with easy chairs, modern art and more free coffee, and balconies that give you the fresh air to go with the views.

Rising to the top of the building you can see more of the open space that has been gained through the redevelopment. Something else to thank Ken for.

What was less obvious was the reason for the tour in the first place - this is an extremely energy efficient building.

Our tour guide told us about the record-breaking achievements and how these were achieved through a range of innovative ideas, such as using recycled chip oil to heat the building.

The message of this building is that very high standards of sustainability can be achieved without compromising space or luxury. The location and the views are a substantial bonus that make this a most impressive building.