Inside the Cheesegrater London's latest skyscraper

August 13, 2014

Workers will be whisked skywards at a stomach-dropping 18mph in the Richard Rogers-designed Leadenhall building

London’s escalating love affair with giddying views will reach a new height this autumn. Starting in November, up to 6,000 City workers will move their swivel chairs and espresso machines into the highest offices in Britain, in the Leadenhall building.

Galleries are forced out of their historic London home

January 19, 2014

/ Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Cork Street dealers say property development is a threat to character of St James and Mayfair

London’s reputation as a romantic destination for lovers of art and style will hang in the balance this Valentine’s Day, as the deadline passes for public responses to a scheme to safeguard the look and traditions of Mayfair and St James’s against the influx of rich foreign residents.

The two grand, chiefly Georgian-built areas of the capital are a big draw for tourists and daytrippers, fanning out around Cork Street, renowned for its art galleries and salesrooms, and around Savile Row, for many years the heart of Britain’s bespoke tailoring industry.

Architecture in 2014: singing bins, talking pavements and skygardens

January 7, 2014

/ Oliver Wainwright

From crime-fighting lampposts to Zaha Hadid’s Olympic pool opening for business and a rise in social housing (finally), Oliver Wainwright charts the trends that will dominate 2014

It may sound like a prediction made while still high on brandy butter, drunk with New Year optimism, but 2014 will see an increase in the volume and quality of social housing built by local authorities for the first time in decades. After a rule change that allows councils to spend housing rental income on building new homes, and a relaxation of local authority borrowing caps, up to 25,000 council homes could be built over the next five years. East London borough Newham is leading the way, with a pilot project of modular homes designed by Richard Rogers, along with opportunities for younger architects to get involved. Let’s hope we see more initiatives like Peabody’s recent competition, allowing smaller practices to bypass cumbersome EU procurement rules.