East London Baths. Image Courtesy of Studio Octopi + Picture Plane
Studio Octopi has revealed a new site for the Thames Baths project along the Royal Docks in London. Dubbed the East London Baths, the latest addition was unveiled at SAM Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel, Switzerland. The project was designed to reintroduce swimming in the River Thames and re-establish a link between Londoners and the city's historic lifeblood.
47 London buildings have been awarded 2019 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Regional Awards. Each year, RIBA Regional Award-winning buildings set the standard for skilful, accomplished architecture across the UK. All winning buildings are now in the running for RIBA National Awards, which will be announced on June 27, 2019.
Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the new linear park running along the river Thames is opening its doors on Greenwich Peninsula, London, this July. In collaboration with Neiheiser Argyros, the New York-based office has created the next culture and leisure destination in the UK's capital, offering an evolving collection of free-to-view public art by emerging and world-renowned artists along a landscaped route for running, walking and meditation. The 5 kilometers-long landscape features 9 meters-high elevated walkways flowing through trees and giant sculptures.
LEGO has revealed the newest addition to its Architecture set. The "Trafalgar Square" set will feature London landmarks such as the National Gallery, Nelson’s Column, and accessories such as micro-lion statues, fountains, and the city’s famous red double-decker buses.
https://www.archdaily.com/914932/legos-next-architecture-set-will-be-londons-trafalgar-squareNiall Patrick Walsh
While the Eiffel Tower was negatively received at first for its utilitarian appearance, it soon became a major attraction for Paris, France in the late 19th century. It represented structural ingenuity and innovation and soon became a major feat, rising to 300 meters of7,500 tons of steel and iron. Just three years after its unveiling, London sponsored a competition for its own version of the tower in 1890. The Tower Company, Limited collected 68 designs, all variations of the design of the Eiffel Tower. Proposals were submitted from the United States, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Turkey and Australia. Many of the designs are bizarre interpretations of utilitarian structures, following the aesthetics of the Eiffel Tower, only bigger and taller.
Join us after the break for more on the story of the Tower of London.
Officials were particularly convinced by the scheme’s proposed education facility, operated by building owners J. Safra Group giving 20,000 free places per year for London’s state school children, and featuring “an unparalleled vantage point to view London from a height of around 300 meters.” Approving the scheme, the City of London Corporation's planning committee stated their belief that the scheme would boost the area's economy.
London-based practice JTP won the competition to create a 760ha masterplan for a new eco-city district in Kazan, Russia. Working with OXO Architects, Terra Scape and XTU Architects, the team proposed the development outside the regional capital of Tatarstan. Dubbed Ecopolis, the design centers on a series of "green fingers" that connect to a landscape ring around the district.
The Architecture Foundation has announced the winning design for Antepavilion, the annual installation program in London. Chosen from more than 200 entries and six finalists, Maich Swift Architects ‘Potemkin Theatre’ features “colorful panels of painted canvas, which will act as both a canalside theatre and a rooftop cinema.” The design perches on the rooftop of a warehouse along east London’s Regents Canal, creating a visible landmark in the low-scale neighbourhood.
London-based artist and architectural designer Yunil Nam has developed an illustrated project inspired by Jules Verne’s science fiction novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” The project, titled “The Reef of Silence” explores a “funerary venue and coral cultivation facility within an underwater structure alongside an investigation into cultural and environmental issues in the Indian Ocean.”
The fictional scheme is designed to revitalize endangered vultures preying upon dead human bodies, alongside its religious function. The “Tectonic Vultures” burial process consists of new techniques in body decomposition such as freeze-drying and liquefaction, transforming the human body into nutrients in the form of powder or liquid.
New London Architecture has published the results of their annual Tall Building Survey. Now in its sixth year, the report declares 2019 as “The Year of the Tall Building” with a record number of 76 tall buildings set to be completed in the UK capital in 2019.
Among the key findings from the report, it was revealed that the completion of tall buildings is set to be three times higher than in 2018. There are currently 541 tall buildings in the pipeline for the capital, with 22 out of London’s 33 boroughs containing tall buildings under construction. These tall buildings will offer more than 110,000 new homes for a city with chronic housing shortages.