The London Octopus building towering over Chiswick Roundabout is at the heart of controversy once again as two Middle Eastern royal families battle it out to gain control of the vast advertising income it will generate.
Work has now started after the controversial building was finally granted planning permission by Hounslow Council in October 2011, following years of planning battles and disputes.
Designed by renowned architects, MAKE, The 50-metre tall, 7,000 sqm office block will be cloaked in an LED 'shroud', on which 550 sqm of media screens will be placed.
The proposals were originally rejected by the council in April 2010 after council officers raised concerns giant advertising screens on the building could distract drivers on the M4 and the Great West Road - an area well known locally for having a high number of accidents.
Residents in the area have vehemently opposed the building , saying it would cause light pollution and would ruin the area, branding it as 'totally inappropriate'.
Now, to add to the controversy, a bidding war has developed between Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned of the Qatar Foundation - wife of the former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani - and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister of the UAE and monarch of Dubai.
The building has been jointly developed by London and Bath Estates and Galliard Group, and with an asking price of £120 million, is effectively Britain's most expensive advertising billboard.
Stephen Conway, chief executive of Galliard Group, said: “The London Octopus is the most futuristic and exciting commercial building ever launched in London. Vast revenue generating advertising boards, cutting edge architecture, a sophisticated multi-functional role, and five-star facilities.
"We believe that the branding rights to the building could be sold to a third party, whilst the media screens could either be managed directly or sold or subcontracted to one of the leading outdoor media ownership groups.”
Marie Rabouhans, chair of the West Chiswick and Gunnersbury Society told the Chronicle the building was totally inappropriate. "It's turning the so-called Golden Mile into a theme park," she said. "It's not really a building, it's a giant publicity hoarding. We remain opposed to the whole concept of the Octopus.
"Because of planning rules and regulations for advertising the plans went through by seeing this as a building when really it's just one giant advert."
Because of its location over Chiswick Roundabout, the huge advertising screens will be seen by one million drivers and passengers per day and in just two months 63 million people - the equivalent of the UK population - will see the building and in 17 months 315 million people - the entire USA population - will see it.
