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End of the line for Foster’s Tulip after UK government rejects project due to climate concerns

2021-11-11T09:57:00-05:00

The UK government has rejected the Foster + Partners-designed Tulip Tower, bringing an end to years of uncertainty over the project’s future. The scheme’s rejection by Housing Secretary Michael Gove and housing minister Christopher Pincher comes only one month after speculation within the British press that Gove was expected to approve the scheme.

The £500 million ($691 million) project was unveiled by Foster + Partners in 2018, rising 305 meter to become the tallest building in London’s financial district. The 12-story viewing pod at the building’s summit was described as a “classroom in the sky” which could accommodate 20,000 schoolchildren every year as well as bars and restaurants.

Image: DBOX for Foster + Partners

Today's rejection of the scheme by the UK government follows the advice of planning inspector David Nicholson who, as the UK’s Architect’s Journal reports, advised the scheme be rejected following a multi-week public inquiry held in November 2020.

Nicholson’s rep...

RIBA wastes no time reminding Boris Johnson of the immense challenges facing the UK's built environment

2019-07-24T18:03:00-04:00

Boris Johnson has a mammoth task on his hands as soon as he enters No.10. Brexit, climate change and ensuring the UK has a safer, high-quality built environment must be priorities.

The assumption of Boris Johnson to the prime ministership of the United Kingdom has come with no honeymoon period, it seems. This week, as Johnson's selection was formalized, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) issued a pointed and lengthy list of concerns facing the nation's building industry while vowing to "engage with the new Prime Minister and his government immediately, ensuring the voice of architects is heard loud and clear.”

In a letter reacting to the selection of the new prime minister, RIBA CEO Alan Vallance said, "The global climate emergency is the greatest challenge the world has ever faced. With 40-percent of carbon emissions generated from the built environment, the [prime minister] must recognize how vital our profession is to ensure the UK meets the net-zero target."

Valance added, "The unacceptable delay to reforming building and fire safety regulations since the Grenfell Tower tragedy must be urgently addressed. The [prime minister] must strengthen ...

10x10 London auction renders 100 drawn perspectives around The Shard

2014-10-30T18:14:00-04:00

10x10 Drawing the City London is an annual fundraising event established by British architect Tim Makower and organized by charity group Article 25 that gets its name from the 100-square grid that captures one particular area in the city of London.

Each square of the grid is assigned to 100 participants, who are typically some of the U.K.'s most well-known and emerging architects, designers, and artists. Participants will then create and donate an original work of art inspired by the buildings and public spaces within their assigned square. For 2014, The Renzo Piano-designed Shard will be the center of the grid.

This year's set of participants include notable names and 10x10 favorites like Norman Foster, Ivan Harbour, Sheila O'Donnell, C.J. Lim, Piers Gough, Chris Wilkinson, textile designer Celia Birtwell, artists Norman Ackroyd and Roger FitzGerald, and 10x10 founder Tim Makower himself.

Online bidding for the art begins November 4 through November 25, followed by an exclusive evenin...