LONDON | Projects & Construction

[SO143]

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said a third runway would be "an environmental disaster" for west London

Boris Johnson vows to block third runway at Heathrow

image hosted on flickr


London Mayor Boris Johnson has insisted he will not allow a third runway to be built at Heathrow airport, amid reports the idea could be back on the table.

The government has previously ruled out a third runway, but reports suggest Chancellor George Osborne is pushing for the idea to be reconsidered.

One possibility is said to be an expansion and incorporation of RAF Northolt, six miles from Heathrow.

A consultation on UK aviation is due to report back in the summer.

In his Budget speech last week, Mr Osborne said the government "must confront the lack of airport capacity in south-east England".

Earlier, Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK must "retain our status as a key global hub for air travel" and he was "not blind to the need to increase airport capacity, particularly in the south east".



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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17510021

[PortoNuts]

I think a third runway at Heathrow is inevitable. The Thames Airport project would never get off the ground.

[TedStriker]

Originally Posted by PortoNuts

I think a third runway at Heathrow is inevitable. The Thames Airport project would never get off the ground.

You reckon? I'm doubtful.

I agree with you about the Thames airport idea though, I'm also sure
that will never come about, and perhaps it shouldn't given the wildlife considerations.

[benchaney]

I really hope that they build the thames hub airport its a well designed airport and would prevent other airports being expanded.

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said a third runway would be "an environmental disaster" for west London"

What word would he then choose for the airport that they want to build in the middle of an estuary. Catastrophe? Apocalypse? I'm genuinely interested...

Does he think that plonking a concrete monstrosity in the middle of a body of water is more environmentally sound than on dry land?

[PortoNuts]

Originally Posted by TedStriker

You reckon? I'm doubtful.

I agree with you about the Thames airport idea though, I'm also sure
that will never come about, and perhaps it shouldn't given the wildlife considerations.

Sooner or lates, yes. I believe a third runway at LHR will go ahead. The Thames Airport would still be far more controversial.

[Ion Cannon]

I think the thames airport is more likely than a LHR extension, it certainly makes more sense. The isle of grain, which I believe is the proposed area for the new airport is an important area for birdlife - but here is the thing, every single piece of land seems to have some significance to nimbys / environmental groups. I really don't think much would be lost by building over some more marshland, we already have quite alot.

[PortoNuts]

There's an element of truth in that. Not doing anything on this issue cannot be an option.

[PortoNuts]

Cladding has finally appeared on The Place.

Originally Posted by cybertect

Must admit I'm not quite convinced that they're temporary or that the rest of the building isn't more like The Shard.

That render posted while I was writing this shows them well.

There's similar looking fins on the roof terrace

http://www.theplacelondon.com/gallery/visualisations

I'm momentarily reminded of (the very fine IMHO) 30 Cannon Street on the other side of the river, but that may just be me.

image hosted on flickr

30 Cannon Street by cybertect, on Flickr

Anyhow, here's some pics taken yesterday.

Those glazing panels






North side steel




More cranes. Those red and white Wolff ones are quite photogenic










More bus station

[SO143]

Originally Posted by benchaney

I really hope that they build the thames hub airport its a well designed airport and would prevent other airports being expanded.

good point but the problem is that the airport's capacity needs to be urgently expanded due to many obvious reasons. i was watching an interview with sir richard branson on youtube a few days ago and he mentioned that the uk is losing a lot of business and jobs because of this capacity issue, and a lot of jobs are now going to places like germany and france. he said that expanding the 3rd run way would be the best option at the moment because boris island airport would take more than 20 years to build so it sounds like a new airport for the next generation and that would not solve the current problems at all. i personally think that the government should expand 3rd run way with a new terminal near heathrow area and then establish that beautifully designed island airport in a few years.

[SO143]

[SO143]

Covent Garden Authority Shapes Plans for Massive $3.2 billion Project

LONDON-The Covent Garden Market Authority said today that it has chosen VSM Estates, a joint venture of Paris-based Vinci PLC and Birmingham, England-based St. Modwen to assist in a $3.2 billion mixed-use development. The project is to replace the large fresh produce market with a new 500,000-square-foot facility, as well as the development of 2,800 new housing units.

The authority owns and is responsible for the operation of the market, located in the Nine Elms neighborhood of London. The market redevelopment will be funded by the sale of 20 acres for the residential units. Six groups vied to join the authority as development partner, with VSM, Barratt Developments & Kier Group, and Bouygues UK Ltd. being the final three competing for the selection.

VSM and the authority will now work on a contract, with signing expected by this summer, and construction expected to commence by mid-2013. Construction will initially focus on the building of the new market ahead of a multi-phased move of the traders into the new market facility between 20014-18. John Stanion, chairman and CEO at Vinci, said in a statement today that the team will “focus on developing a solution that enables the market to continue to trade efficiently throughout the construction program.”

http://www.globest.com/news/12_315/e...ct-319995.html

Crossrail gets clearance for Moorgate commercial scheme



Plans submitted by Crossrail and Aviva Investors for a commercial and retail development above the new Crossrail Liverpool Street Station western ticket hall shaft at 101 Moorgate have been cleared by the Corporation of London.

The new scheme will comprise 88,000 sq-ft of new retail and commercial space in the City on Moorgate. The previous 1970s office building at 101 Moorgate, home to Amro Bank and Norton Rose solicitors, has already been demolished for Crossrail to sink a shaft to provide access to Crossrail’s east and westbound tunnels.

The new development will integrate with both new and existing railway. It will be constructed over part of the new Crossrail station and in part over the existing Metropolitan and Circle line tracks to Moorgate.

101 Moorgate is on the west side of Moorgate next to the proposed new western entrance to Crossrail’s Liverpool Street station. The development will wrap over and around the associated ventilation and emergency intervention shaft, the ‘Moorgate Shaft’, for the station.

Crossrail land and property director Ian Lindsay said: “101 Moorgate will be an office-led mixed-use sustainable development of high quality which is respectful to its surroundings and will help assist in the promotion of the City as the world’s leading financial and business centre.

“These proposals at 101 Moorgate make best use of this centrally located site. The new shop units will provide a significant length of active frontage which, together with the high quality office floor space will contribute positively to the Moorgate area. These plans are further evidence of the lasting legacy that Crossrail will deliver. Crossrail plans to promote over 3 million sq-ft of new development above and around the new railway infrastructure through the heart of London.”

The privately funded over-site development project will be built once work to construct Liverpool Street Crossrail station is complete in 2017. Income from over-site developments is a major element of the Crossrail funding package.

http://www.theconstructionindex.co.u...mercial-scheme

[SO143]

London's new and old estates

Grosvenor, the Queen's property company the Crown Estate, and the Howard de Walden, Portman and Cadogan estates together control about 860 acres, or about 6 percent, of central London.

While they are clustered in the city's West End district, their modern-day equivalents are located around current and future major rail stations like Paddington, King's Cross and Stratford.

THE OLD

Crown Estate

The Crown Estate is one of the UK's biggest land owners and manages the Queen's property holdings including most of the seabed around the country. It has spent 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) transforming Regent Street into an upmarket shopping strip housing brands like Apple and Burberry.

Grosvenor Estate

The Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor has evolved into an international business with properties in China and America. It turned Mount Street in Mayfair into a luxury retail district by attracting brands like shoemaker Christian Louboutin and making the parking bays big enough for chauffeur-driven limos.

Cadogan Estate

Created in 1717 when army officer Charles Cadogan married Elizabeth Sloane, daughter of animal and antiquities collector Sir Hans Sloane and heiress to his Chelsea estate. Today, it is headed by the 8th Earl Cadogan and home to a growing wealthy foreign population.

Howard de Walden Estate

Led by Baroness Howard de Walden, Hazel Czernin, its history dates back to the Domesday Book land survey of 1086 with the manor of Tyburn, a settlement of less than 50 people. It housed a church called St Mary at the Bourne, which later evolved into Marylebone.

Portman Estate

It was formed in 1532 when English judge Sir William Portman, Lord Chief Justice to King Henry VIII, bought a series of fields and pig farms stretching from Oxford Street to Regents Canal. Now a district of shops, offices and homes centred in Marylebone, it is owned by the 10th Viscount Portman.

THE NEW

Earls Court

A down-at-heel district in comparison to its flashier Knightsbridge and Belgravia neighbours, developer Capital & Counties is planning four villages of offices, homes and garden squares as well as a new High Street modelled on the independent store model of Marylebone High Street.

Last year, it poached Sarah-June Curtis, a 25-year veteran of Grosvenor, to oversee the makeover of its Covent Garden estate.

Kings Cross Central

The district will house 23 office blocks, 2,000 homes and up to 500,000 square feet of retail space. Tenants include arts college Central Saint Martins and the Aga Khan Foundation.

Nine Elms

Up to 16,000 new homes as well as offices and shops are planned for this 482-acre strip south of the River Thames. More than ten developers and government bodies are working on the project in an area that includes London icon Battersea Power Station and the future United States embassy.

Paddington Waterside

About 2 billion pounds has been spent on this formerly run-down area around Paddington rail station and the Grand Union Canal. Since it started in 1998, backed by companies including Development Securities and Land Securities, 1.9 million square feet of offices and shops and 1,100 homes have been built.

Olympic Park/Stratford City

Once an industrial suburb of slaughterhouses and chemical plants in east London, the site of the 2012 London Olympics will be redeveloped into a neighbourhood built around developer Westfield's Stratford City mall and the East Village housing scheme.

Canary Wharf

The former docks area was turned into London's second financial district in the late 1980s by Canadian developer Paul Reichmann, whose company Olympia and York later went bankrupt.

Now majority-owned by Canary Wharf Group, the company is planning more homes and shops for the district and aims to double in size by 2021. In January, it took full control of a semi-derelict site next to the estate, Wood Wharf.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/0...e=olympics2012

[SO143]

Free Wi-Fi to be made available at London Overground stations

Company that operates London Overground signs deal with Wi-Fi provider The Cloud to give commuters internet access

Passengers travelling on London Overground are to get free internet access after the body that runs the train network, London Overground Rail Operations Limited, signed a deal with The Cloud to roll out Wi-Fi at its stations.

The contract will give travellers one hour of free online access every day, at any station on the network.

The Wi-Fi rollout, which will cover all 56 London overground train stations, will begin in the summer and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Commuters will be asked to complete a one-time registration process before being given access to the service, according to The Cloud.

The major stations on the network that are scheduled to get Wi-Fi before the end of 2012 include:

• Willesden Junction and West Hampstead in north London.

• New Cross Gate, Forest Hill, West Croydon and Norwood Junction in south London.

• Surrey Quays, Dalston, Wapping and Hackney Central in east London.

• Kensington Olympia and Shepherd's Bush in west London.

Steve Murphy, managing director of London Overground Rail Operations Limited, said: "Access to the internet is no longer limited solely to home or to the workplace, and people's expectation is to be able to work and communicate effectively and seamlessly while they're on the move so we're delighted to support this initiative which will bring reliable, free Wi-Fi to London Overground's customers."

The news follows London Underground's recent announcement that it has signed a deal with Virgin Media to install wireless internet access at 80 tube stations in time for the 2012 Olympics.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/government...?newsfeed=true

[SO143]

limited edition of oyster cards unveiled

London 2012: Olympics and Jubilee Oyster cards unveiled

The Queen and animated characters in front of Buckingham Palace feature on two commemorative Oyster cards.

The special pay-as-you-go cards, one for the Queen's Jubilee and the second for the London Olympics, will be available at Tube stations in Zone 1.

About 250,000 Jubilee cards, featuring an official portrait of the monarch, will be available from mid May.

There will be 1.5 million Olympic editions of the card for travellers from mid June.

The commemorative cards will cost £10, which includes a £5 deposit and £5 credit, Transport for London (TfL) said.

Up to 1.5 million cards for the London Olympics will be available from June
The Olympics Oyster card includes images of sports, the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames and bunting to mark the summer of events in the city.

Last April TfL issued 750,000 special Oyster cards bearing a picture of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to mark the Royal Wedding.

Shashi Verma, TfL's Director of Customer Experience, said: "Transport will play a vital role in bringing people out to see The Queen during her Diamond Jubilee, and in getting people to all of the sporting and cultural events during the London 2012 Games and so it is fitting that we have limited edition Oyster cards that they can use and keep to mark these wonderful, once in a lifetime, occasions."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17521948

[Belmonter]

I can not wait for the future of our great city. These are some great out lines of the ongoing projects. Thanks for posting this.

[SO143]

£100m Secured To Boost Building, Jobs And Construction Across London

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced a vital boost for the capital's construction industry after he revealed a £103 million funding package to kick-start building projects across London's boroughs.

As part of the government's Get Britain Building programme, the funding has the potential to create more than 2,700 homes and thousands of jobs in Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Enfield, Hackney, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Southwark, Croydon and Haringey.

Get Britain Building is intended to unlock stalled sites with planning permission to support construction and provide new homes for Londoners. Its aim is to address difficulties in accessing development finance faced by some housebuilders and to help bring forward marginal sites by sharing the risks involved.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "This programme offers us a fantastic opportunity to accelerate the delivery of desperately needed new homes and provide a real boost for jobs in the construction industry. As well as driving economic growth these sites have all been identified as having the potential to create stronger and thriving communities to live in."

Submitted bids were assessed by the Homes and Communities Agency, which was looking at those projects which offered the best value for money and the most likely to be delivered. The shortlisted schemes will now be invited to enter a due diligence process before contracts are signed.

The current shortlist, totalling £103 million, builds on the first sites announced under a special commissioning phase in February. Grahame Park in Barnet, where a total of 3,000 new homes are being built, featured in the initial list of sites and secured £5 million, bringing total programme funding to £108 million.

http://www.build.co.uk/construction_...?newsid=141877

[SO143]

Catching Up With Bloomberg Square
28/03/2012



Planned to replace the wonderfully nicknamed Darth Vader's Helmet, or Walbrook Square as it was more formerly known, is a massive couple of sprawling groundscrapers for news and information giant Bloomberg as their new London headquarters.

Now named Bloomberg Place, and without a hint of Star Wars in sight, the scheme is designed by Foster + Partners, who also worked on the previous development but then in tandem with Atelier Jean Nouvel. It will contain 100,368 square metres of office space, plus a further 4,433 square metres of ground floor retail.

Dictating the building design is in part the severe height constraints that run through the plot due to the protected sightlines of St Paul's Cathedral. These set an absolute height limit to the south of the site, and negotiable one through the much of the rest. As a result the building heights have been restricted to a mere ten floors and an AOD height of 51.64 metres, with a passageway between them that recreates the route of Watling Street. A number of skybridges will span this route linking the buildings together.

At ground level the Watling Street route will benefit from the colonnaded retail and boast a width of 14 metres to the shop fronts. This compares favourably to Leadenhall Market which is only 8 metres.

The south eastern corner of the site will be kept unbuilt on to preserve views of the River Thames from the larger northern building, whilst the same goes for one of the western corners that will open views towards St Paul's for the building occupiers. Above the first floor the heights will narrow to 9 metres, and then eventually 7.

The north-eastern corner will serve as the main entrance to the development, and be located adjacent to a newly planned entrance to Bank Station. In situating it here, the architects have also created a new setting for Christopher Wren's historic church of St Stephen Walbrook to be complimented by. Public art is expected to be installed in all three new open areas to compliment them, paid for by Bloomberg.

Set in the facades of Bloomberg Place will be ventilation ducts, with two competing approaches - one will have rounded stone fittings, and the other having sharp titanium louvres - a material that marks out the building as anything but cheap. Lord Foster, ever the structural expressionist, expects the facades to express what's underneath them. The ground level, which will contain the retail, will be set back from the street line behind a colonnaded frontage.

Taking into account the very large floor-plates of the northern building, the plans feature a substantial atrium that will be 25 metres wide access by winding staircases if you don't want to take the lift.

When the prior but demolished occupier of the plot was being built, the ancient temple of Mithras from the Roman city of Londonium was dug up as the contractors worked their way through almost two millennia of detritus. Sadly this was relocated to a forlorn overshadowed piece of concrete near its newer neighbour.

The plans by Foster + Partners see the remains of the temple located to as close to their original historic position as possible underneath the building with a new public entrance and a display space to show it off better. It has yet to be announced however if this will include the original marble statues that were recovered from the excavation of the temple that the City of London now houses in its collection.

Bloomberg Place may lack the vim and excitement of the Walbrook Square designs that screamed bankers and big bonuses, but in these austere times its quietly wealthy, appearance is probably what the City needs more of.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=3059


Bloomberg Place North. Copyright Holder - Hayes Davidson

[SO143]

In depth: What is the point of Tech City?



Tech City's website looks like a promotional hub for a business park in the suburbs, but the copy reveals a different story. The site is, of course, promoting the cluster of startups which have emerged organically in East London and the Government's attempts to amplify them. Silicon Roundabout and its surrounding neighbourhoods are being championed by the coalition government as the "digital capital of Europe", with a site which has a design befitting of the digital capital of Basingstoke, at best, at a cost of £53,351 to tax payers.

"It was a tricky thing," admits Eric van der Kleij, CEO of the Tech City Investment Organisation, "but we have huge government restrictions relating to who we can procure from. We have to use people 'on the framework' -- people who have previously tendered and we've had time to check them out and see if they've paid their VAT, etc. We [also] have to build a secure website because people try to deface government websites the whole time."

Does he find that frustrating? "It's ridiculous. But we had to deliver something very quickly." He's proud of the content, which updates regularly, but not the design. "If you asked me whether I thought the government should be designing websites, I do not. I think we could have done better."

Tech City was officially launched out of UKTI in November 2010 by David Cameron to promote the vibrancy and growth of the area to attract foreign direct investment, entrepreneurs and large companies to the area. It aims to provide a direct dial to policy makers, organise networking and cheerleading events as well as encourage companies looking for a European HQ to consider London over other cities.

In just over a year of operation, it has been accused -- in a series of acerbic and attention-grabbing columns -- of jumping on the bandwagon, being a waste of £1.7 million per year of Government money, being run by " nontrepreneurs", taking credit for the organic growth of startups in Shoreditch, and being little more than a PR company that justifies its own existence.

......

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/...t-of-tech-city

Chancellor George Osborne vows to make Great Britain Europe’s Tech Centre with investments in broadband and creative industries

The government reaffirmed its commitment to developing UK’s digital infrastructure and industries, as the Chancellor George Osborne announced specific measures to boost both in his budget speech to MPs earlier today.

With the aim to boost international investment and nurture creative industries, the government has announced plans to match the £1 billion tax credits already invested in the film industry to cover video games, animation and tv productions.

Building digital infrastructure would be crucial in keeping Britain competitive, said the Chancellor. He then outlined plans to build the “best infrastructure” to help Britain become Europe’s tech centre.

He went on to announce that six more cities would join the capital cities – London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast - to share the £100 million funding to provide “ultra-fast” broadband to three million people in the country. Under the plans announced by Mr. Osborne, 1.7 million households along with 200,000 businesses would benefit from superfast broadband in Birmingham, Bradford, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Newcastle.

A further investment of £50 Million would help smaller cities to upgrade their broadband coverage.

Arguing broadband infrastructure would have to be a key foundation of any industrial policy, the Chancellor said these plans would enable the UK to compete with the best in the world in digital infrastructure. The government seeks to compete with not only the best in Europe, but countries such as Singapore and South Korea.

......

http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/48250

[LondonFox]

Good news for UK games developers!...

Unfortunately, most of the UK's games companies moved to the US... but we can do it.. as proved by the success of existing UK games companies and their products.. Tomb Raider, the entire Grand Theft Auto range etc etc... and websites like LastFM.