Designed by Foster + Partners, the new five-star hotel on Bath Road, close to Heathrow Airport has been approved by the Mayor of London. Wrapped in a unifying glass envelope, the hotel has six pavilions, a flexible 1200-capacity ballroom, two auditoriums and a large conference room, bowling centre, a health centre with a pool, gym, saunas and treatment rooms.
The Castle House is expected for completion in 2009. It’s designed by Hamilton as an eco-residential tower by utilizing wind turbin on the top of the tower. When complete, the main tower will reach 147 m tall and the adjacent pavilion only 5-story. Located at Elephant and Castle South London, the Castle House will have 310 apartments.
The design of Meridian Tower was proposed by Patel Taylor Architect. This 32-story tower is 122 meter AOD or 41 meter higher than it’s permitted. Beside the main tower, actually the proposal also includes 4 more blocks: 5-story pavilion and bar, the 6-story Meridian block, the 18-story Wrap block, and 13-story Strand block.
The actual design features 396 new apartments, 117 of which will …
Despite of its controversy that development would damage historic views in the capital, finally Communities secretary Hazel Blears has approved the 43-storey Doon Street Tower’s planning on London’s South Bank. According to her, the settings of the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre and the views from St James’s Park Footbridge would be preserved. But She didn’t consider this matter had been closed, …
Foster+Partners had an idea to let the audience involving the architecture during the London Festival of Architecture. They built a conical structure, interwoven with fabric panels hand-printed by the public.
Alistair Lenczner of Foster + Partners said:
“The day was a lot of fun for all involved and a real success. The London Festival of Architecture is a great opportunity to bring architecture to a wide audience. Our installation was designed as a celebration of the collaborations between people that create architecture, and in this case the public were very much part of that process. The handprints placed on the fabric symbolised the human input into the structure’s creation and Bill Fontana’s maritime-themed sound work complemented the nautical feel of the rigging-type ropes that formed the cable net structure.”
Designed by Frank Gehry, the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2008 is under construction. This landmark is mentioned to be the first example of Frank Gehry’s spectacular architecture in London.
Frank Gehry said: “The Pavilion is designed as a wooden timber structure that acts as an urban street running from the park to the existing Gallery. Inside the Pavilion, glass canopies are hung from the wooden structure to protect the interior from wind and rain and provide for shade during sunny days. The Pavilion is much like an amphitheatre, designed to serve as a place for live events, music, performance, discussion and debate. As the visitor walks through the Pavilion they have access to terraced seating on both sides of the urban street. In addition to the terraced seating there are five elevated seating pods, which are accessed around the perimeter of the Pavilion. These pods serve as visual markers enclosing the street and can be used as stages, private viewing platforms and dining areas.”
Designed by HOK Sport and Peter Cook, the new planning application of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium including the details of the stadium’s layout, scale, appearance and the external materials to be used have been revealed for the first time.
“Sustainable materials, options for the roof and wrap fabrics are currently being investigated,” the application states. “These include materials using recycled polymer based fabric, hemp and where the polymer based fabric can be recycled after use. Many of these materials could also be re-used after the games for other purposes.”
Two of Foster + Partners’ works including Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough and Wembley Stadium in London has been awarded RIBA awards. Thomas Deacon Academy is an academy specializing in Mathematics and Science and the new Wembley Stadium is largest covered football stadium in the world.
Mouzhan Majidi, Chief Executive of Foster + Partners said:
“We are thrilled to receive RIBA Awards this year for two very different projects in the UK. Wembley Stadium symbolises all that is great about football and occupies an essential place in British sporting history, while providing world-class facilities on a unique scale. Thomas Deacon Academy is an expression of the school’s teaching ethos and a result of an enriching collaboration with the Academy’s sponsors, teachers, children and the local education authority. These are both buildings which we hope will provide a memorable experience for the people who use them.”
