If it is built according to current plans, it will be 300m (984ft) tall - almost twice the height of the Gherkin - and a breathtaking sight on the skyline.
The Vortex - nicknamed because of its whirlpool shape - is the first project to be unveiled by Mr Shuttleworth's new practice, Make. Mr Shuttleworth was the creative force behind some of Foster's high-profile projects, such as Swiss Re (the Gherkin), Wembley stadium, the Millennium bridge in London and Hong Kong airport.
Eighteen of Mr Shuttleworth's 21 staff abandoned Foster and Partners to join Make. In a coup for the new practice, they have also beaten Foster to the enormous job of the redevelopment of the 23 hectare (57.5 acre) site around London's Elephant and Castle.
The shape of the Vortex is a hyperboloid: a slightly tapering column twisted to create the "waist" in the centre of the tower. So, although the silhouette of the building is gently curved, all the lines in it are straight, creating an extremely simple structure.
As well as the aesthetic appeal of the shape, it has commercial advantages, according to Mr Shuttleworth. "Every new tower has to be better than Swiss Re - it has raised the game," he said. "The top of Swiss Re is a fantastic space, but small. In towers the most commercially valuable spaces are the base, and the top. The Vortex maximises that."
Of the bright hues Mr Shuttleworth envisages for the tower, he said: "There's not enough colour in London. We could achieve colour with paint, or light, or glass."
It is unclear where the tower will be built. "We have a site in mind on the edge of the City of London. We are working with a developer," said Mr Shuttleworth. If all goes according to plan the tower could be complete within seven years.
Mr Shuttleworth said that his relations with Norman Foster were "quite amicable" over the recent split. "I thought it was time for a change. At Christmas there was a lull where all my projects were complete - I wouldn't have wanted to leave halfway through a wobbly bridge, for instance. It was a now or never moment." Mr Shuttleworth said that he was enjoying the opportunity to be "more expressive".
John Prevc, the architect handling Elephant and Castle for Make, had previously worked on the master plan for four years with Foster and Partners before breaking away to join Mr Shuttleworth in March. He brought the project with him when Southwark council invited architects to re-tender for the job under EU regulations. "One thing a lot of us found difficult at Foster and Partners was that there was a lot of aggression," he said. "At Make we are all interested in getting on".
Mr Prevc is also involved in a Make project that proposes, he said, to "do a Barcelona" on Edinburgh, redeveloping a mile-and-a-half stretch of industrial brownfield coastline aimed at "flipping Edinburgh around and reminding everyone that it is a coastal city".
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shuttleworth is the guy to watch. www.makeplaces.com
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