Archinect - News

So much for the controversial London Sphere after Mayor Sadiq Khan refuses planning permission

2023-11-20T18:54:00-05:00

The proposed MSG Sphere in East London has been scrapped with the late decision by Mayor Sadiq Khan to refuse planning permissions over grounds that its design causes a public nuisance to residents of the surrounding Stratford district.

The long-controversial Sphere had been derided by critics and locals alike since first being revealed in January of 2018. Myriad attempts at halting the application process had been lodged in the years leading up to Monday's decision. Populous, which has also developed its well-reviewed twin in Las Vegas, was responsible for the 21,500-capacity design proposal.

The issue of light pollution had always been a critical factor in its pending success as a proposed entertainment venue sited in place of the 4.7-acre former coach park of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Khan’s decision cited the issue along with two other factors for the refusal, including its huge operational costs and an overall lack of green credentials for the project. Its impact on se...

Photos: First V&A East building tops out in East London ceremony

2021-12-15T13:42:00-05:00

Exciting news in the museum world as the first site of the long-awaited Victoria & Albert Museum’s East extension has officially topped out as of this week.

The new V&A East has been years in the making. After overcoming roadblocks which threatened its existence beginning with sharp public criticism at its inception in 2016 and lasting all the way until this past fall, when it was announced that a much-heralded partnership with the American Smithsonian institution had to be called off thanks to unforeseen circumstances caused by the pandemic.

The O'Donnell + Tuomey-designed building is one of two slated to transform East London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a premier destination for the city’s artistic community.

The building was inspired by an x-ray of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s 1956 silk taffeta dress and will house a slate of progressive exhibitions and an employment program which includes the newly-established V&A East Youth Collective along...

V&A East project update

2016-04-21T12:02:00-04:00

A key part of the V&A’s expanding family of sites dedicated to the past, present and future of the designed world, V&A East is a brand new civic space and cultural destination that will form part of the Olympic legacy project taking shape at Stratford Waterfront.

The seven-storey building is being designed by award-winning architectural practice O’Donnell-Tuomey and is part of the masterplan developed with Allies and Morrison for the new educational and cultural district in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. At 18,000 sq metres, V&A East will sit directly opposite Zaha Hadid’s London Aquatics Centre and adjacent to a group of partners with which the V&A has great creative synergy: Sadler’s Wells, UAL’s London College of Fashion and UCL (University College London).

V&A East will be an entirely new kind of civic institution. At its core will be the ability and remit to respond quickly to current affairs, and to use objects, the V&A collection, collaborations and displays to in...