Archinect - News

Plans for London’s Sphere are no more as developers abandon project

2024-01-09T11:29:00-05:00

The developers behind the proposed MSG Sphere in London have withdrawn plans for the project. In a letter to the UK government’s Planning Inspectorate, developers Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) said that the scheme had become “merely a political football between rival parties.”

Plans for the Sphere first emerged in 2018, with planning permission filed in March 2019. London’s mayor Sadiq Khan was originally supportive of the scheme upon its announcement, but a combination of negative feedback in planning officer reports and backlash from locals saw Khan refuse the project permission in November 2023.

The saga continued in December when the UK’s Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, asked for the plans to be personally reviewed by the Planning Inspectorate, which falls under his department. With both a UK-wide general election and London mayoral election set to take place in the country later this year, the project was set to become a major campaign issue between Gove’s ruling C...

South Korea moves closer to getting its own MSG Sphere

2023-12-16T08:00:00-05:00

South Korean media outlets are reporting on a deal that would bring a new MSG Sphere design to the Seoul region just weeks after its controversial London predecessor was rejected over suspect environmental impact assessments and local opposition.

The new 20,000-capacity venue will feature a 1.2 million LED display, the same numbers as the now-open Las Vegas counterpart. The potential satellite would be included in the city of Hanam’s K-Star World project, a mixed-use district totaling 900,000 square meters and located roughly 12 miles to the east of the capital’s Gangnam neighborhood, according to the Korea Economic Daily.

"If Hanam attracts Asia’s first MSG Sphere, it will be an opportunity for Korea’s entertainment industry to take a quantum leap in attracting huge overseas investment and tourists," Mayor Lee Hyun-Jae told the paper in August.

He was reportedly looki...

UK Housing Secretary Gove will re-review London Sphere planning permission after Mayor's refusal

2023-12-02T03:00:00-05:00

Two weeks after London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced his refusal of planning permissions for the controversial MSG Sphere development planned in East London, the UK’s housing chief has issued a rebuke that may leave some glimmer of hope for the project’s eventual realization.

Several UK-based outlets are now reporting that Housing Secretary Michael Gove has asked the London Legacy Development Corporation to have the plans reviewed personally by his office before a final decision can be made. The countermand means another six week’s wait for the project, which has caused a torrent of backlash from critics and local residents since first being introduced in January of 2018.

James Dolan, Executive Chairman of the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., however, told the Evening Standard that Khan’s decision represented the “end of the line” for his company’s pursuit of the project in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Previously on Archinect: So much for the controversial London Sphere afte...

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...

The future of London's MSG Sphere may be getting clearer despite concerns

2023-01-24T17:42:00-05:00

[The] MSG Sphere, a new concert hall planned for Stratford in east London – which would be as wide as the London Eye and as tall as Big Ben – could soon move a step closer to reality. On Tuesday evening, the planning committee of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will meet to consider its developer’s plans for managing the advertising display and its impact.

Efforts to halt the development of the Populous-designed entertainment venue date back to late 2020, when the public consultation phase for the project was extended for a third time over concerns about light pollution. Plans were approved by the LLDC in March of last year contingent on an agreement for a five-year review of the giant billboard’s 25-year advertising consent, which was accepted at Tuesday’s meeting. The project will now go before London Mayor Sadiq Khan for final approval.

Madison Square Garden (MSG)'s revised plan reportedly calls for a “suite of mitigation measures” to combat the effects of what would be the world's largest LED display. The intense visual impact of its Las Vegas counterpart is already being seen as a hazard.

A statement from the opposition group Stop MSG Sphere can be viewed below.

We gave it our best shot (the statement we gave at the meeting tonight is below). We're deeply disappointed no one voted against the paltry 5yr review on the 25YR adver...

The Asphalt Art Initiative expands to more cities as new statistics point to improved pedestrian safety

2022-04-19T20:06:00-04:00

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a European expansion of its Asphalt Art Initiative on the heels of a new study from the organization and Sam Schwartz Consulting that revealed some eye-opening statistics about the improvement of blacktop spaces in urban areas. A total of 20 new cities will be given grants of $25,000 each as part of the program’s next round of funding, which has to date gone to fund 45 projects in 41 different locations across the United States.

The joint study of 22 different U.S. test cases revealed that arts-driven transportation projects produce, among other outcomes, a 50% drop in the rate of crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists, a 37% drop in the rate of crashes involving serious injury, another 25% drop in road rage incidents between pedestrian and motorist, and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians who have the right-of-way, suggesting tremendous public health and safety benefits overall.

Asphalt Art Initiative, Amsterdam. Lead artist: ...

London selected as host of the 2023 Ecocity World Summit

2022-01-19T15:25:00-05:00

Climate activists in the UK are set for another round of high-stakes international climate meetings as London has just been announced as host of the 2023 Ecocity World Summit.

The biannual summit has been held since 1990 and is a key platform for leaders to pore over and present effective strategies in the world’s fight against climate change. The city’s bid as host comes just a few short months after another UK city, Glasgow, took its successful turn as host of the COP26 summit, which organizers will look to continue the momentum of.

Representatives from all walks of life across the city will gather in the Barbican Centre for the three-day event when it begins on June 6th. The city’s month-long Festival of Architecture will provide an apt backdrop for the throngs of activists, environmental designers, and urban planners who attend. An unnamed green “legacy project” will be put together by participants in the conference to mark the collaborative spirit of the occasion.

Previously ...

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...

London Mayor Sadiq Khan announces ADUP 2 replacement panel application in push for increased diversity

2021-10-21T17:18:00-04:00

The Greater London Authority is looking for architects to form a representative body in a new scheme formally announced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday.

The mayor’s Architecture + Urbanism Framework will debut next spring with a fifty-member panel taken from the design community that will work within a four-year timeframe with a slate of the GLA’s public sector development partners who can commission projects directly from the panel. The panel is a follow-up to ADUP 2, the second phase of a program launched in 2012 in order to “make it quicker and easier for organisations like councils and housing associations to commission high-quality consultants for certain types of projects.”

It is also a part of Khan’s fifty-member Good Growth by Design program launched in 2017 to investigate the coming challenge of population growth to the city. Though some commentators in the UK have been critical of his development pursuits overall, the two-term mayor has a stated interest in incorpora...

UK housing secretary Michael Gove rumored to be mulling approval of Foster + Partners' Tulip Tower

2021-10-20T13:36:00-04:00

Foster + Partners’ hotly-contested Tulip Tower proposal in London may now spring to life once more as several UK outlets are reporting the £500 million ($691 million) scheme is set to be granted approval by housing secretary Michael Gove.

Planned for the site opposite The Gherkin, the 300-meter-high tower is meant as a tourist attraction, featuring a 12-story viewing ‘pod’ that will serve a variety of functions, most notably as a “classroom in the sky” for the 20,000 schoolchildren expected to visit the tower annually.

The tower would become London's second tallest building once completed. Credit: DBOX for Foster + Partners.

The plan bounced back in the summer of 2019 after London’s mayor Sadiq Khan rescinded municipal approval for the tower on the grounds that it was "of insufficient quality for such a prominent location" and "would result in harm to London’s skyline and impact views of the nearby Tower of London World Heritage Site."

London's mayor had previously rejected municipa...

Oliver Wainwright on the MSG Sphere's political tangle

2021-08-03T17:06:00-04:00

He [Kahn] was enthusiastic about welcoming “another world-class venue to the capital, to confirm London’s position as a music powerhouse” when the sphere was announced in 2018; yet the following year, his planning officers’ first report concluded that it did not comply with his own London Plan. He is in a bind. Will he side with the Labour borough and listen to the locals, or back his development corporation in the hope of using this brash bauble to buff the capital’s post-Brexit brand?

The Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright explores the sordid dealings behind the gigantic $1.8 billion orb he describes as "the apogee of 360-degree advertising, the ultimate building-as-sign […] the stuff of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown’s neon-soaked dreams."

The MSG Sphere fate is still very much up in the air ahead of a scheduled September planning council meeting. Residents in London's Stratford and nearby Hackney neighborhoods have lodged complaints pertaining to the light and noise pollution caused by the 4.7-acre LED-clad structure.

Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth shortlist announced

2021-05-26T21:24:00-04:00

London’s mayoral office has announced six shortlist finalists for the annual Fourth Plinth Commission in Trafalgar Square.

The candidates for this year’s commission include an international slate of artists vying to be one of two winners that will replace Heather Phillipson’s THE END when it is removed in September of 2022.

Highlighted by a monument to 850 living trans women and the recreation of an unfinished grain silo Ibrahim Mahama knew as a child in rural Ghana, finalists seeking a shared theme of recollection and memento turned to their past integration of architecture to inform sculptures that, as artist Teresa Margolles told The Guardian, form an active “wall of memory.”

Other entries include a giant rocket ship meant to inspire future activists at the popular protest site, a jewelry tree sculpture by Nicole Eisenman inspired by Bloody Sunday, a statue based on a 1914 photograph of murdered Malawian...

London to move city hall from Norman Foster-designed tower to Docklands site

2020-06-24T13:02:00-04:00

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced a plan to move London's city hall facilities from their current location within the Norman Foster-designed "glass gonad" building to the Wilkinson Eyre Architects-designed Crystal building in the city's Docklands district.

The Foster building is a privately-owned facility that costs the Greater London Authority, the regional government for London and surrounding boroughs, an estimated £11.1million per year to rent. The building's colloquial name was given to the facilities by former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is now Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The move comes as the London struggles to pay for essential services, including public transportation and firefighting services, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regarding the move, Khan tells The Huffington Post, “My first priority will always be to protect funding for front-line services, including public transport, the Met Police and the London Fire Brigade,” adding, “Leaving ...

London launches commission to review diversity of public realm landmarks, statues, and monuments

2020-06-09T13:02:00-04:00

London Mayor Sadiq Kahn has announced a new commission that will "review and improve diversity across London’s public realm to ensure the capital’s landmarks suitably reflect London’s achievements and diversity."

A press release announcing the creation of the commission states: "The Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm will focus on increasing representation among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, women, the LGBTQ+ community and disability groups."

NEW: Today we've unveiled a new commission to review and improve the diversity of London’s public landmarks.

We must commemorate the achievements and diversity of all in our city - and that includes questioning which legacies are being celebrated. pic.twitter.com/dro06UQB7Y
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 9, 2020

The creation of the commission comes as protest movements around the world take aim at monuments celebrating the sordid legacies of slavery and colonialism. In the United States, protesters have taken down prom...

Are segregated playgrounds the new 'poor doors'?

2019-07-23T04:00:00-04:00

Segregated play spaces are to be banned in all future London housing developments, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has revealed this week. The policy, part of the London Plan for developers and local authorities across the city, follows outrage across the political spectrum at the case of the Lilian Baylis estate in Kennington. [...] families living in the social housing side of the estate were not allowed to use the play area or any communal spaces on the development.

"It is disgraceful that children who live in the same development would ever be prevented from playing together," London Mayor Sadiq Khan told The Guardian.

The case of the segregated play areas at this London housing development (and several others) — only children from Lilian Baylis estate's 'affordable' units were denied access to seemingly communal amenities and spaces — brings back memories of 'poor doors.'

London rejects Foster+Partners' Tulip Tower

2019-07-15T14:03:00-04:00

In a defeat for Foster + Partners, London mayor Sadiq Khan has rescinded municipal approval for the 997-foot Tulip tower the architects had proposed for the city's Square Mile high-rise district.

Architect's Journal reports that a spokesperson for the mayor's office said that the tower's design was "of insufficient quality for such a prominent location," and that if built, the bulbous monolith "would result in harm to London’s skyline and impact views of the nearby Tower of London World Heritage Site."

The tower would have joined London's eclectic and growing skyline. Image courtesy of Foster + Partners.

The spokesperson added that the proposal, as currently articulated, would create "an unwelcoming, poorly-designed public space at street level.

The proposal includes using bulbous gondolas to reach the uppermost levels of the tower. Image courtesy of Foster + Partners.

The tower, which is being developed by J Safra Group, received preliminary approval from the City of London's plann...

Due to lack of affordable housing, London Mayor throws out plans for New Scotland Yard scheme

2017-09-12T14:21:00-04:00

The Abu Dhabi-owned developer won planning approval for the 268-home mixed-use redevelopment of the Metropolitan Police’s HQ site in April 2016....Since then developer BL Developments has sought to increase the total number of homes by 27, from 268 to 295, with no increase in the number of affordable units or payment in lieu, meaning the level of affordable housing fell further still to only 3%.

BL Developments, who bought the site back in 2014 for £370m, had submitted an initial proposal to transform the former Metropolitan Police headquarters into a mixed-use scheme. The plans, which involved tearing down three existing buildings to clear the way for six residential-led buildings ranging from 14 to 20 stories, were approved with full planning permission by the then London Mayor Boris Johnson in 2016. The plans included only 10 affordable homes out of 268.

In 2017, the developer lodged a 'section 73 application' to increase the total number of homes to 295 without adding to the number of affordable units or payment in lieu. This increase put the level of affordable housing on site at 3%. Due to the lack of sufficient affordable housing on site, London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has rejected the new proposal. The initial planning permission for the Broadway property will not be affected by this decision and development will go on as planned.

Sadiq Khan, who has made tackling the ...

Sadiq Khan to invest £25m to bring 1,000 'Pocket Homes' to London

2017-08-24T04:00:00-04:00

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that the city will be investing £25 million into constructing over 1,000 affordable prefab apartments. Funding from the city will go into purchasing small brownfield sites that will then be built on by Pocket Living, a developer specializing in 400-square-foot modular apartments. The apartments will go to first-time home buyers, already living in the relevant borough, and will be sold roughly 20% below market rate. The initiative also ensures that the Pocket homes remain affordable for the lifetime of the building. The new homes are expected for completion by 2021.

Upon making the announcement, the Mayor acknowledged his commitment to helping solve London's housing crisis: "The housing crisis is the biggest challenge facing Londoners today and I have been honest from the start that we won’t be able to turn things round overnight. For decades, we have simply not built enough new and affordable homes in the capital, meaning that for too m...

Controversial plan for garden bridge in London is finally scrapped

2017-08-14T13:58:00-04:00

Lord Davies, the chair of the trust, wrote to Khan outlining the reasons why the trust had taken the decision. He said it was “with great regret that trustees have concluded that without mayoral support, the project cannot be delivered”.

Back in April, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he would not spend any more taxpayer money on the controversial garden bridge plan. The project, propelled by Khan's predecessor, Boris Johnson, has been criticized for its inability to raise the private funds promised and its subsequent mishandling of public money. Upon taking office, Khan ordered an investigation into whether the bridge represented value for public money and ultimately, the city decided to remove financial backing. Without help from the city, the Garden Bridge Trust has struggled to come up with the remaining funds necessary to complete the project and the bridge has been officially scrapped by the organization.

Camden Highline gets backing from London Mayor

2017-07-28T02:36:00-04:00

Another day, another city, another high line—this time in London. While in America, we use crowdfunding to help supplement health care costs or to actualize an invention, in England, Spacehive is using this form of alternative financing to help back projects that make local places better. Think kickstarter, but for place-making. Projects range from a 90m temporary water slide in Bristol to a Library of Things in Southeast London where one can rent a violin or camping gear alongside their books. Among such proposals, is a 0.8km garden walk on a disused elevated railway line. Its project title—Camden Highline.

The project plans to transform the obsolete tracks into a new type of green infrastructure for walking and cycling. They are currently seeking £37,412 in order to cary out a feasibility study, including site appraisals and surveys. Thus far, the project has raised 93% of its funding goal to the thanks of 249 backers, including Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. Khan spoke of the pro...

Sir David Adjaye + Sadie Morgan join London Mayor Sadiq Khan's "Good Growth by Design"

2017-07-11T12:44:00-04:00

London needs to provide space for 46,000 new jobs and build 50,000 new homes a year just to keep up with demand, as well as build the social infrastructure to support both. Good Growth will enable this, leaving a legacy of world-class buildings, outstanding public realm and large-scale regeneration for Londoners of the future.

Exhibiting both farsightedness and excellent aesthetic taste, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has created a program specifically meant to help anticipate and solve London's growth (experts estimate the city will soon have a population of 10 million). The "Good Growth by Design" program will have an advisory panel of 50 design advisors, including Sir David Adjaye and Sadie Morgan.

London. Image: Juan Cabanillas via Flickr

As the mayor explained in a statement, “London is facing unprecedented population growth and with that comes challenging work, but also amazing opportunities to deliver a city that is socially integrated, sustainable, healthier, safer and with a world class public realm. We must embrace London’s rapid growth with both hands and take this chance to use good architecture and planning to make a real difference to the lives of Londoners. And this is a chance to learn from past mistakes, some of which are still dotted across our city, and blight the lives of the communities that...

London Mayor Sadiq Kahn scraps Garden Bridge

2017-04-28T05:07:00-04:00

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has finally pulled the plug on the controversial plan for a garden bridge across the Thames, announcing that he would not provide the vital financial guarantees needed for construction to begin. In a letter to the Garden Bridge Trust, the charity leading the much-delayed project, Khan said he was taking the decision because of a continuing shortfall in fundraising for the scheme, and a lack of the necessary land use agreements despite three years of talks.

691 New Homes in North London given the go-ahead by Sadiq Khan

2017-03-14T11:54:00-04:00

Announcing the decisions, Khan said he had fully considered all the evidence available and was “confident” both high-density developments would deliver hundreds of genuinely affordable homes for Londoners. “Building the homes Londoners urgently need will mean town centres and suburbs becoming denser, so we expect developers to continue to come up with high-quality designs which don’t have a negative impact on their surroundings.”

Overruling councillors in two north London Boroughs, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has approved an Allies and Morrisson scheme in Tottenham Hale and another in Harrow by Moss Architecture; both will be high-density housing developments which together will deliver 691 new homes for Londoners within 30 minutes of central London.

Khan spoke of the schemes’ close proximity to transport, and potential to provide affordable homes, as key factors in giving these developments the green-light. He also noted the changes made to these schemes to ensure the protection of “our precious Green Belt”. This decision comes at a time where overcrowding and unaffordable housing is prevalent in the press and in parliament.

£1 billion scheme for London's Greenwich Peninsula designed by Calatrava unveiled

2017-02-02T10:02:00-05:00

Peninsula Place, part of the Greenwich Peninsula redevelopment, is a billion pound landmark building, designed by architect, artist, and engineer, Santiago Calatrava. He was joined at today’s press conference by Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London), Peter Murray (NLA), and Richard Margree and Sammy Lee (Knight Dragon).

The conference this morning took place in the Now Gallery, which is part of the Gateway Pavilions. The space, which is on the doorstep of North Greenwich tube station, was designed by Marks Barfield, and is (as described by Margree) “a deliberate statement of intent by Knight Dragon as to what we wanted to do here, and the quality that we will bring.” This initial building - the literal and metaphorical gateway - is one which will set the tone for the development. Knight Dragon's overarching aim for the 150 acre site is to become an attractive and thriving community of seven neighbourhoods, and is why the team approached Santiago Calatrava almost two years ago to create some...

Stalled out: Thomas Heatherwick's "New Bus for London" nixed by Mayor Sadiq Khan

2017-01-03T19:42:00-05:00

Partly in order to help pay for a transit fare freeze, Sadiq Khan has halted the order for the double-decker, triple-doored Thomas Heatherwick-designed "New Bus for London," which would have replaced the old fleet of Routemaster buses. Much like Heatherwick's troubled Garden Bridge proposal, the costly New Bus for London was backed by former mayor Boris Johnson, whose funding policies have largely attracted more public ire than praise.

For more on Thomas Heatherwick:

Google moves ahead with plans for a massive new London HQ

2016-11-15T14:21:00-05:00

More than three years ago, Google announced plans to build a massive “landscraper” headquarters in London. But after switching architects from AHMM—whose plans were deemed “too boring"—to Thomas Heatherwick, and following the chaos of Brexit, the plans were up in the air. Now, the Guardian reports that Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai has announced that plans were going ahead.

The headquarters will be built in London’s King’s Cross, in between King’s Cross station and St. Pancras. Like with the plans for Google’s new Silicon Valley headquarters, Bjarke Ingels Group will collaborate with Heatherwick Studio on the design.

"From the beginning, the project to give Google a new home in King's Cross has been extraordinary. Rather than impose a universal style on Google’s buildings in the UK and the USA, we have tried to create an interestingness that fits the scale and the community of King’s Cross,” BIG and Heatherwick Studio state in a joint press statement. “The Silicon Valley star...

Third runway at Heathrow gets the go-ahead

2016-10-25T12:30:00-04:00

Ministers approved the long-awaited decision at a cabinet committee meeting on Tuesday. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling called the decision "truly momentous" and said expansion would improve the UK's connections with the rest of the world and support trade and jobs. Although Heathrow has always been the favourite among businesses, it has attracted the most opposition from MPs with constituencies near the airport or under flight paths.

The expansion which had been publicly opposed by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Tory MP for Richmond Park, Zac Goldsmith and Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson has been widely debated for years.

Funded with private sector cash the new runway will cost £17.6 billion but provide 260,000 more flights with an estimated boost of £147 billion to the economy over 60 years. However, construction is unlikely to begin until 2020 at the earliest.

Read more about Heathrow and UK aviation projects here:

Mayor of London launches probe into the impact of foreign investment in city's real estate

2016-09-29T12:58:00-04:00

London mayor Sadiq Khan is to launch the UK’s most comprehensive inquiry into the impact of foreign investment flooding London’s housing market, amid growing fears about the scale of gentrification and spiralling housing costs in the capital. Khan said there are “real concerns” about the surge in the number of homes being bought by overseas investors, adding that the inquiry would map the scale of the problem for the first time.

In related news:

London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks extra funds for garden bridge

2016-07-11T03:34:00-04:00

The future of London’s proposed garden bridge has been called into further question after the city’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, halted preparatory work on the structure over fears this could involve more public money being spent. The Garden Bridge Trust says the bridge from South Bank to Temple, featuring 270 trees and thousands of plants, will be a “tiara” for London, being both an iconic landmark and a vital pedestrian bridge.

Read more about London's Garden Bridge on architnect:

London's garden bridge, the saga continues

Why are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London?

Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge project

Infrastructure or advertisement? Sky to sponsor the Garden Bridge

Sadiq Khan names Justine Simons deputy mayor for culture

2016-07-01T11:46:00-04:00

Top figures from the cultural world applauded the appointment of Justine Simons, 45, by Mayor Sadiq Khan, who handed her responsibility for firms working in film, music, video games, crafts and publishing. She said: “My lifelong belief is that creativity can transform lives and places. “Culture is part of London’s DNA. It’s a big reason so many of us choose to visit and live here, it generates billions for our economy and gives London its unique character and dynamism.