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The East End of London has been associated with many things: the “cockney” sense of humour; colourful criminals; waves of immigration; and poverty. Not many people associate it with architecture. But it was in Poplar in the south eastern corner of the East End that I chose to do my... View full entry
London’s red-hot housing market of late is by now an international legend, drip-feeding the media with tragicomic stories of insane pricing on a weekly basis—from the $710 cupboard to the one-bedroom flat on sale for $37 million. Now a new report out this week details some of the harmful social effects that this boom in housing costs has wrought. Unsurprisingly, they are many. — CityLab
This research, conducted by the think tank Centre for London, shows that the city's housing crisis is creating a massive gulf between the city's rich and poor. It's also creating an "inequality chasm" between London and the rest of the United Kingdom.The report identifies three major trends... View full entry
Caruso St John, Stanton Williams with Asif Khan, and BIG in a team with Hawkins\Brown have been shortlisted to design the Museum of London’s new home in Smithfields.
The shortlisted teams saw off 80 entries from more than 140 practices and were chosen based on their relevant skills and experience, in particular of significant cultural projects.
The competition will create a £150 million new base for the Museum of London in the historic West Smithfield market.
— architectsjournal.co.uk
Also selected:Lacaton & Vassal Architectes with Pernilla Ohrstedt StudioDiener & Diener Architekten with Sergison Bates Architects, East Architecture and Graphic Thought FacilityStudio Milou architecture with RL & Associés, Axis Architects and Alan Baxter AssociatesRead more articles... View full entry
Foster + Partners’ plans for the overhaul of London’s Grade II-listed Whiteleys shopping centre have got the go-ahead – despite opposition from locals.
Westminster City Council approved the contentious scheme last night, but will now look into setting conditions concerning the scale of two residential towers that form part of the proposal, alongside a gym, hotel, cinema and new shops.
— thespaces.com
For more on listed projects, take a look at previous coverage here:Another Grade II listed building loses its protected status in north east EnglandSex Pistols graffiti secures famous Tin Pan Alley building Grade 2* listed status View full entry
What was it like to be Zaha Hadid? From teaching to developing her vision to turning down an opportunity to work with Rem Koolhaas, in this remembrance we collect a few of Zaha's first-person writings and interviews about her life and work from her unparalleled, groundbreaking career. On being a... View full entry
Which London mayor candidate will fix the capital's housing crisis?
There’s a short answer to [that] question. It is that none of them will. There are two big reasons for that: one, there’s only so much any mayor has the power to do about the city’s various housing problems; two, none of the front line candidates are willing to do everything they actually could do. Housing policy is difficult stuff...
— the Guardian
For more on London's housing woes, check out these links:Could a pop-up village in south-east London be the answer to the city's housing crisis?"Pay to stay" may boot 60,000 UK families from their homesLondon's Bleak HousingActivism targeting London's housing crisis bubbles to the surface View full entry
‘If we accidentally complete our isolation from Europe, please don’t let us imagine that this creates a new openness to the rest of the world – isolation is isolation. We would not only give up the distinct practical advantages of collaboration but the social, political and intellectual advantages too’, he said.
Chipperfield, who has offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai, has hit out at politicians for failing to articulate the cultural significance of the European Union.
— The Architects' Journal
For more UK-specific news, take a look at some past coverage:Excavating ancient Rome beneath London's streetsBritain's last deep-pit coal mine closes — the end of the industrial revolution?Encroaching on the green belt: UK loosens protections on rural landAssemble wins Turner Prize, becoming... View full entry
Buy-to-let landlords should face new limits on the amount they can borrow, the Bank of England has proposed.
It suggested that lenders should be much stricter when deciding whether or not to grant landlords a mortgage.
Instead of just taking their rental income into account, the Bank wants lenders to look at their wider financial situation as well.
If adopted, the new rules could reduce lending to landlords by up to 20% over the next three years.
— BBC
According to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the newly-proposed standards should "curtail inappropriate lending, and the potential for excessive credit losses."The new strictures would take into account the costs a landlord accrues in order to rent a property, tax liabilities associated... View full entry
London’s inaugural Design Biennale is set to open at Somerset House this September, based around the idea of Utopia to coincide with the venue’s year-long events programme.
The biennale is headed up by London Design Festival director Ben Evans, biennale director Christopher Turner, former editor of Icon, and London Design Festival co-founder Sir John Sorrell. More than 30 countries are taking part in the event.
— itsnicethat.com
Representing the UK will be the design duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby best known for designing the London 2012 Olympic Games Torch and their work with Vitra. Their installation will be curated by London's Victoria and Albert Museum. View full entry
The cartoon drawings and graffiti scrawled all over the 1970s hangout of the Sex Pistols - a former silversmith’s workshop attached to a townhouse in London’s Denmark Street – have helped the building be awarded Grade 2* Listed Status.
The decision by the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, on advice from Historic England, is a major victory in the campaign to maintain Denmark Street, known as “Tin Pan Alley”, which is widely seen as a spiritual home for British popular music.
— independent.co.uk
Rapidly rising property prices and rents, combined with the loss of social housing through right to buy, have put councils under growing pressure to find new ways to help people off their housing lists.
In Lewisham one solution is a £4.3m scheme to provide 24 homes and 880 sq m of business space that can be picked up and moved at a later date, allowing the council to make use of vacant brownfield land while longer-term projects are finalised.
— theguardian.com
The contemporary design champion is moving from its current location in Shad Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute building, a Grade II*-listed 1960s landmark conceived by architects RJMM.
Its new home, which is being remodelled by designer John Pawson, will provide three times more space and have a learning centre, auditorium, library and a ‘Designers in Residence’ studio.
— thespaces.com
With over half of the world's population currently living in cities, and seventy percent of it predicted to be urban by 2050, Nissan and Foster + Partners have undertaken the design problem of creating a refuelling network that, among other things, allows electric cars to recharge wirelessly while... View full entry
Google has been granted planning permission for an office in the King’s Cross area of central London.
The 180,000-square-foot building, which is to be known as “S2”, will be designed by UK firm Mossessian Architecture. [...]
It will be based near the site of the firm’s defunct Google Glass store and DeepMind, its artificial intelligence start-up. [...]
The property is expected to be completed by 2017 “at the earliest”.
— globalconstructionreview.com
More news on Google's architectural exploits:Is Thomas Heatherwick designing Google's London HQ?Googleplex expansion pivots BIG and Heatherwick design onto new siteGoogle loses to LinkedIn in Silicon Valley HQ pitchCritical response to Googleplex expansion focuses on suburban development, not... View full entry
The streets of London are slowly being infilled by brick-faced buildings characterised by flat, austere façades and a certain self-effacement that seems to bow to its predecessors, even though its scale is often a huge step up. London might be acquiring a new vernacular. [...]
[Brick] is back in a big way. Manufacturers are running out of stock and there is a critical shortage of skilled bricklayers, leading to construction delays.
— ft.com
More on the elusive London style:Working Warrior: an interview with Katy Marks of Citizens Design BureauHonoring the "Maverick" British architectsInfrastructure or advertisement? Sky to sponsor the Garden BridgeThe (state-facilitated) death of the council houseAmid London's austerity measures... View full entry