15 years of the London Eye… in pictures March 9, 2015 It was a pretty epic aim to build the largest ferris wheel in Europe and London's tallest viewing point at 135m tall – no small feat of engineering. Here’s how it looked in 1999 before being raised. It weighed 1,500 tons and back then, was still known as the Millenium Wheel. That first attempt to [...]
Houses of Parliament: Man arrested after spending night on roof of House of Commons March 8, 2015 A man has been arrested after spending the night on the roof of the houses of parliament. The 23-year-old was detained on suspicion of criminal damage and trespass by the police at around 5am after gaining access to the highly secured building late on Saturday night. Police, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance services were [...]
Crystal Palace replica redevelopment plans by Chinese firm and backed by Boris Johnson ended by Bromley council March 2, 2015 Ambitious plans to recreate London's famous Crystal Palace have shattered into a million pieces after the local council withdrew its support. Plans by Chinese developer ZhongRong and backed by mayor Boris Johnson to rebuild the palace created in 1851 for the Great Exhibition have effectively ended after Bromley council decided not to extend an exclusivity [...]
And Baby makes three: Shard to get another building buddy to become “trilogy” by 2018 February 26, 2015 All the best things come in threes and skyscrapers are no different. A third building is being planned to join the Shard and Baby Shard to create a “trilogy” of towers designed by award-winning architect Renzo Piano. Sellar Property Group, which is responsible for the two existing buildilngs, is in talks with contractors over [...]
One of these stunning bridge designs unveiled by Wandsworth Council could connect Nine Elms with Pimlico February 23, 2015 These are the first images of a potential new bridge connecting Nine Elms with Pimlico, as revealed by Wandsworth Council today. (Source: Wandsworth Council) (Source: Wandsworth Council) Nearly 80 teams from around the world entered the London council's competition to come up with a 21st century design for the new bridge. The international [...]
City Police called in to deal with suspect package at London skyscraper Broadgate Tower February 19, 2015 City Police were called in to investigate a suspicious package at a London skyscraper today. Broadgate Tower on Primrose Street – near Liverpool Street station – was closed off in both directions and a police cordon placed around the area. Witnesses, some of whom tweeted that they were stuck in the building as the [...]
Almacantar wins approval for Marble Arch tower overhaul February 18, 2015 Almacantar was given the go-ahead yesterday by Westminster Council for revised plans by architect Rafael Vinoly to redevelop Marble Arch tower in the West End. The £450m scheme will see Almacantar demolish the 1960s tower and replace it with an office building and a residential tower. The developer has revised its original plans by putting [...]
Chinese names for British landmarks: Shard could be called “star plucking tower” and 100 other attractions christened with Mandarin monikers February 16, 2015 The Shard could soon be christened with a new name which means “A tower allowing us to pluck stars from the sky”. Zhai Xing Ta, which translates literally as the star plucking tower in Mandarin, is one of the suggestions made by the Chinese public to give London’s tallest building a Chinese name. The home [...]
London property: Capital’s Royal Docks business park development gets billion pound investment from China’s Minsheng February 14, 2015 A Chinese investment firm will spend a billion pounds creating a new financial and business district to rival Canary Wharf and the City in London. China’s largest private investment fund, China Minsheng Investment, will plough £1bn into the project to develop a 35-acre site at the Royal Albert Docks in east London. Plans for the [...]
Qatar finally purchases Canary Wharf as enough Songbird shareholders approve sale February 5, 2015 The Qataris have finally got their hands on Canary Wharf, after enough shareholders in current owner Songbird approved the sale. An estimated 94 per cent of shareholders were in favour of the purchase, according to a statement by Qatar sovereign wealth fund and Canadian property fund manager Brookfield Property Partners, which will jointly own the [...]