Flotilla on the Thames: There’s going to be a royal river salute Queen Elizabeth II today with boats including Havengore, Gloriana, and Massey Shaw A flotilla of historic vessels will make a royal river salute on the River Thames today to mark Queen Elizabeth II becoming the UK's longest reigning monarch. The flotilla of boats will include the Havengore and Gloriana, which took part in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in 2012, as well as the fireboat, [...]
The City of London’s decade of growth – upwards An army of tall buildings that have transformed London’s skyline over the past decade – from the Heron Tower, completed in 2011, to the Shard, which opened in 2012 near the former site of City A.M.’s very first offices, New Bridge House. And there are many more to come in the next few years, [...]
The refugee crisis, the EU referendum and London’s skyline: Here’s what got us talking this week There was a fine wine scam. There was a Circle Line travelator (in the making). And somewhere in Japan, people started seeing the world from a cat's perspective. Here's what got us talking this week 1) The refugee crisis Disturbing images of dead toddler Aylan Kurdi galvanised the world into action over the Syrian refugee [...]
The Walkie Talkie is a glorious building and the Carbuncle Cup jury are just architectural snobs September 3, 2015 Most of the critics of Rafael Viñoly's “Walkie Talkie” at 20 Fenchurch Street are other architects or professional moaners. Laypeople, like the City workers milling around the building at lunchtime, are more amenable. As if to prove my point, Sir Simon Jenkins, a vocal and consistent critic of, well, just about anything built since bricks [...]
As the Walkie Talkie is awarded the Carbuncle Cup, is it really the UK’s worst new building? September 2, 2015 James Hughes, conservation adviser at The Victorian Society, says Yes The Walkie Talkie’s “victory” in this year’s Carbuncle Cup is a vindication of our director’s argument in City A.M. in January that it is London’s ugliest building. It was the most nominated entry and its crowning demonstrates that it’s not just conservationists who feel that [...]
Walkie Talkie awarded annual Carbuncle Cup as judges declare it the UK’s ugliest building September 2, 2015 It's divided opinion since its plans were first unveiled – but now judges of the Carbuncle Cup, the annual award for Britain's least aesthetically-pleasing constructions, have declared the Walkie Talkie to be the UK's ugliest building. It had stiff competition, mind: the Rafael Vinoly-designed building, developed by Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group, was up [...]
London mayoral elections: Tower blocks are no place to bring up families – it’s time for Londoners to reclaim their horizon September 2, 2015 "We believe most of the wave of proposed towers now hitting the city will do permanent damage to its public spaces and views, without answering London’s real housing and employment needs. There is a lack of evidence for the benefits of these buildings, of planning that can direct them well, and of genuine public consultation." [...]
London property prices: The Shard skyscraper smashes record for office rents as Leonteq Securities takes entire 26th floor August 25, 2015 A letting at The Shard skyscraper in London Bridge has smashed price records for the South Bank and the City, as the hunt for office space in the capital heats up. German-listed IT company Leonteq Securities is understood to have struck a deal to take the entire 26th floor of the tower for over £90 [...]
Network Rail is poised for £1bn sale of properties including Vinopolis site and Brixton arches August 16, 2015 Network Rail has taken the first step towards selling off its £1bn commercial property portfolio after hiring bankers to conduct a review of its estate. The government-backed organisation, which runs all of Britain’s rail infrastructure, confirmed that it is working with boutique investment bank Rothschild to explore ways in which it can “make more [...]
Chinese insurance giant Anbang nears £750m Heron Tower deal August 9, 2015 The Heron Tower in the City that is part-owned by property tycoon Gerald Ronson could soon change hands after a Chinese insurance giant emerged as a frontrunner to buy the skyscraper for £750m. Anbang Insurance, a privately owned group that last year snapped up New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel for almost $2bn (£1.3bn), is close [...]