Why London needs a rebrand for its 21st century life as a megacity September 23, 2015 With London’s population set to top 8.6 million this year, overtaking the previous record set in 1939, there’s been heightened debate on the big challenges for housing, education and transport in the capital. But relatively little discussion has focused on the crucial matter of how we help Londoners to connect with and develop a [...]
London’s prime housing market bigger than New York’s, says new report October 7, 2015 London’s prime housing market now stands out both in terms of the volume of prime sales and the scale of expansion, against other global cities including New York, a new report has found. The global development report 2015 by real estate Knight Frank found New York and London continue to lead development trends, in terms [...]
The Strand could receive a radical makeover from Trafalgar Square and VIctoria Embankment to Royal Courts of Justice and Aldwych June 17, 2015 The Strand could be about to get a radical makeover thanks to a series of proposals put forward by the Northbank Business Improvement District (BID) and urban design consultancy Publica. These include the redesign of the gyratory around Aldwych, as well as a new riverside promenade along Victoria Embankment. The changes to the Northbank area, which stretches [...]
The Barbican: A new book celebrates one of London’s greatest landmarks June 25, 2015 Light and shadow on a clear day at the Barbican. Photograph by Alan Ainsworth Elegant expression of post-war utopianism, or concrete carbuncle in the heart of the City? Whatever you think of the Barbican, it’s impossible to deny its impact. The Grade II-Listed building, developed exclusively from designs by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, was [...]
A booming West End will be fatally undermined unless we pedestrianise Oxford Street June 21, 2015 Oxford Street needs to be pedestrianised. There is a growing consensus about this among traders, transport operators, and local councils. The question is when and how. The “when” is easiest to answer. The new east-west Crossrail line starts operating through Central London in four years’ time. It will generate a new surge of people coming [...]
How the new Canary Wharf is sailing into the 21st century: With Crossrail Place gardens completed, the East End finance hub marks another milestone May 7, 2015 Canary Wharf has been a centre of upheaval for the last 30 years, and it has no intention of standing still now. It’s already renowned as one of London’s biggest financial hubs but it has also established itself as a shopping, dining and entertainment destination. By the end of the year, it will add “residential [...]
What’s ticking? Watch News April 8, 2015 New brand at Harrods gets hearts ticking IT’S been a long road, but independent watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin is finally selling his own brand of exquisitely crafted, classically styled dress watches back in his homeland. Made on the outskirts of Geneva in his Swiss atelier, which he founded in 2002, Speake-Marin watches are, as of this [...]
The Walkie Talkie has opened its Sky Garden to the public, but is it the City’s ugliest building? January 5, 2015 Christopher Costelloe is director of the Victorian Society, says Yes Despite tough competition – the new UBS HQ in Broadgate promises to be quite remarkably ugly when completed – the Walkie Talkie is probably the ugliest building in London. We owe its architect, Rafael Vinoly, a great debt for demonstrating precisely why almost all buildings [...]
English Heritage listed buildings: Protecting our past is a tricky affair January 28, 2015 One Finsbury Avenue squats on the western edge of the Broadgate development at Liverpool Street, like a huge camouflaged army tank under the false illusion that no one can see it. Capped with a large glass roof to allow UBS traders to benefit from as much daylight as possible, the building’s bronze-coloured sides are clad [...]
Brits drawn to Soho homes: 15 Hollen Street is latest development in once subversive London district January 15, 2015 In Victorian times, Soho was a murky and dangerous district. Home to London’s original red light district, it was the place where the gentry mixed with poverty-stricken artists. Nowadays, you’re more likely to bump into an advertising executive sipping a mocktail than a lady of the night, but it’s still a thriving cultural hub with [...]