British practice NEX created a benchmark in integrated design at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London last week, working with Buro Happold and Chelsea Gold Medallist Marcus Barnett on the creation of a pavilion for The Times Eureka Garden, in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. — bustler.net

Zaha Hadid has made the Sunday Times Rich List for the first time, with her personal wealth estimated at £37 million.

Hadid features in the extended list of the UK’s 2,000 wealthiest people, due to be published in full later this month. The threshold for entering the top 1000 is £70 million. — bdonline.co.uk

"It's about future-proofing yourself - nobody wants to be at the bottom of the pile on this agenda." — Mr. Buckingham

... one of the big problems in Britain – a country infamous for its visual illiteracy, or so say outsiders – is that architecture isn't taught to children, not much in the home, and much less at school. What an all-embracing discipline it is, though, for teachers and pupils alike: a fusion of art, maths, geometry, geography, physics, technology, politics, economics and environmental concerns. — guardian.co.uk

“The age of bling is over,” said Shuttleworth, who led the team at Norman Foster’s firm that designed the seven-year- old tower in the City of London financial district. He said it would never get off the ground today. “Money now drives everything, so if you can build something for half the price, you will,” he said. — bloomberg.com

The new 1.1-kilometer (0.68 miles) route will link the Greenwich Peninsula next to the O2 Arena with the Royal Docks on the north bank of the Thames and will cost an estimated £40 million ($65 million)... Transport for London (TfL) are hoping that building work on what will be the first urban transport system of its kind in the UK will be completed in time for the opening of the London 2012 Olympics on July 27. — Matthew Knight, CNN

So far 33 flats have been registered at the Land Registry with a combined value of £727.4m [$1,182,243,220]. According to Project Grande, total completed sales to date – about 45, although not all have been registered – have amounted to £963.5m [$1,565,976,550]. There are about 30 still to be sold, with deals worth about £125m expected this quarter. — Daniel Thomas and Cynthia O’Murchu, Financial Times

“Architects,” wrote Adolf Loos, “are there to get to the bottom of life, to think through people’s needs to the very end, to help the disadvantaged in our society and to equip as large an amount of households as possible with perfect objects of everyday use. Architects are not there to invent new forms. But you can count the number of people in Europe today who will understand these views on the fingers of one hand.” — ft.com

Amanda Levete made her reputation working with in the influential architectural practice, Future Systems. She talks about her 'spectacular failures', and also her many thrilling triumphs — guardian.co.uk

Peter Zumthor has unveiled his plans for a secret garden for this years Serpentine Pavilion. — Guardian

The design for the 2010 Pavilion is a contrast of lightweight materials and dramatic metal cantilevered structures. The entire design is rendered in a vivid red that, in a play of opposites, contrasts with the green of its park setting. In London the colour reflects the iconic British images of traditional telephone boxes, post boxes and London buses.