Exhibition and conference centre The Crystal was built as a key part of the Green Enterprise District policy of the
London Development Agency. The building was designed by
Perkins+Will (fit-out, design leader) and
Wilkinson Eyre Architects (shell and core), with
Arup Group who were the building and civil engineers, and
Townshend Landscape Architects who designed the public realm. The building was the first to achieve the highest sustainable building accolades, platinum and outstanding respectively, from the world's two leading accreditation bodies,
LEED and
BREEAM. When it opened, the Crystal contained a permanent exhibition about
sustainable development, and was owned and operated by
Siemens. In 2016, Siemens sold the building to the GLA, who acquired it to use as a base for the
Mayor of London's £3.5bn project to regenerate the
Royal Docks. After Siemens vacated the building in 2019, it was used by the Royal Docks regeneration team but large parts of the building remained empty. The move was completed in the third week of January 2022, delayed from the previous planned opening date in December 2021. The building was renamed "City Hall" in December 2021. ==Architecture==