One of these stunning bridge designs unveiled by Wandsworth Council could connect Nine Elms with Pimlico February 23, 2015 These are the first images of a potential new bridge connecting Nine Elms with Pimlico, as revealed by Wandsworth Council today. (Source: Wandsworth Council) (Source: Wandsworth Council) Nearly 80 teams from around the world entered the London council's competition to come up with a 21st century design for the new bridge. The international [...]
City Police called in to deal with suspect package at London skyscraper Broadgate Tower February 19, 2015 City Police were called in to investigate a suspicious package at a London skyscraper today. Broadgate Tower on Primrose Street – near Liverpool Street station – was closed off in both directions and a police cordon placed around the area. Witnesses, some of whom tweeted that they were stuck in the building as the [...]
Almacantar wins approval for Marble Arch tower overhaul February 18, 2015 Almacantar was given the go-ahead yesterday by Westminster Council for revised plans by architect Rafael Vinoly to redevelop Marble Arch tower in the West End. The £450m scheme will see Almacantar demolish the 1960s tower and replace it with an office building and a residential tower. The developer has revised its original plans by putting [...]
Chinese names for British landmarks: Shard could be called “star plucking tower” and 100 other attractions christened with Mandarin monikers February 16, 2015 The Shard could soon be christened with a new name which means “A tower allowing us to pluck stars from the sky”. Zhai Xing Ta, which translates literally as the star plucking tower in Mandarin, is one of the suggestions made by the Chinese public to give London’s tallest building a Chinese name. The home [...]
London property: Capital’s Royal Docks business park development gets billion pound investment from China’s Minsheng February 14, 2015 A Chinese investment firm will spend a billion pounds creating a new financial and business district to rival Canary Wharf and the City in London. China’s largest private investment fund, China Minsheng Investment, will plough £1bn into the project to develop a 35-acre site at the Royal Albert Docks in east London. Plans for the [...]
Qatar finally purchases Canary Wharf as enough Songbird shareholders approve sale February 5, 2015 The Qataris have finally got their hands on Canary Wharf, after enough shareholders in current owner Songbird approved the sale. An estimated 94 per cent of shareholders were in favour of the purchase, according to a statement by Qatar sovereign wealth fund and Canadian property fund manager Brookfield Property Partners, which will jointly own the [...]
Eyesore or beauty? The 14 postwar office blocks listed by English Heritage January 28, 2015 Whether you're a fan or take an altogether more "Prince Charles" attitude to post-war architecture, office buildings provide some of the finest examples of it. And turns out English Heritage thinks it's worth preserving: the organisation has listed 14 of the UK's best-loved (or most-hated) post-war offices. According to English Heritage, the buildings – which [...]
TfL has ambitious plans to become London’s largest property developer within decade January 28, 2015 In another sign the London property market is the place to be right now, Transport for London (TfL) has become the latest to get involved, making a serious bid to become one of the capital’s property supremos. More than 500 sites owned by TFL across London, including its former headquarters in a Grade-I listed building [...]
How London’s brutalist Centre Point tower is being turned into luxury flats with a view January 26, 2015 Both reviled and admired, London’s Centre Point tower at the east end of Oxford Street has stirred controversy ever since it was first erected in 1966. A beehive of concrete and glass, its brutalist-style was regarded as an eyesore on the skyline and the fact that a building of its height (it is 117 metres [...]
Centre Point revamps with luxury apartments and new retail space January 26, 2015 Work is beginning on London's iconic Centre Point Tower today in the hope of creating a swanky new retail and restaurant destination in the heart of the capital. The 1960s skyscraper, owned by investment company Almacantar, will be home to 82 luxury apartments as well as new retail and restaurant space. A new public piazza [...]