HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > City Compilations


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #801  
Old Posted Jun 7, 2018, 10:41 PM
10023's Avatar
10023 10023 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: London
Posts: 21,146
This place is dead.
__________________
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #802  
Old Posted Jun 11, 2018, 10:38 AM
nito nito is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,855
I sadly lack the time these days to fully support general, transport and stadium/arena projects in London. Having so many projects as well doesn’t help!

Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
I do wonder what happens to some of these, especially North Greenwich, when the Canary Wharf office market is about to get knee capped by Brexit. It at least turns them all into empty investment properties, rather than homes for European bankers on assignment to London.
Uncertainty is never helpful, but for perspective London’s vacancy rates are the joint second lowest (with Hong Kong, pipped by Tokyo) of the 26 major cities covered in JLL’s Global Market Perspective; at 5.1% it is half that of New York, and a third of Los Angeles or Chicago. Last year (i.e. post-referendum), London outstripped all other cities for commercial real estate investment, 25% more than New York. Employment remains strong, but there are without a doubt issues surrounding prime residentials which has become saturated and is clearly an issue facing a lot of the developments in the Battersea-Nine Elms-Vauxhall corridor.


New London Model
1:2000 scale interactive model covering 85 square kilometres spanning from Kings Cross (north) to Peckham (south), and Old Oak Common (west) and the Royal Docks (east). The model covers 170,000 buildings and is free to view at the Building Centre on Store Street, just off Tottenham Court Road.

White buildings are those which are either under construction, proposed or in planning. Pictures are my own.

Royal Docks foreground




North Greenwich and Canary Wharf behind




Battersea – Nine Elms – Vauxhall


__________________
London Transport Thread updated: 2023_07_12 | London Stadium & Arena Thread updated: 2022_03_09
London General Update Thread updated: 2019_04_03 | High Speed 2 updated: 2021_09_24
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #803  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2018, 4:56 PM
10023's Avatar
10023 10023 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: London
Posts: 21,146
^ Interesting.

I took an Uber home from City Airport last night (we had luggage and couldn’t be bothered with the DLR and tube), so I drove through a lot of London that I don’t really see. Suffice it to say that almost the whole of that drive until you get to the Tower of London is better viewed from the air. The number of projects is impressive, but they have done nothing to coordinate them or create a real urban environment.

You can’t just convert docklands and factories to residential neighborhoods on this scale ad hoc. The whole road layout needed to be ripped out and rethought, as do the postwar developments from back when people were leaving London. Places like “London City Island” will not age well (see Roosevelt Island in NYC, which is horrible).
__________________
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #804  
Old Posted Jun 24, 2018, 3:30 PM
wjfox2004's Avatar
wjfox2004 wjfox2004 is offline
FutureTimeline.net
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: London
Posts: 3,308
Couple of pics from yesterday, by aerial photographer Jason Hawkes.

22 Bishopsgate now clearly the tallest tower in the City cluster.

I remember this project being discussed back in 2005... what a long wait it's been!






__________________
http://www.FutureTimeline.net - a timeline of future history
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #805  
Old Posted Jun 25, 2018, 12:07 AM
IMBY IMBY is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 1,161
I have to say that skyline looks a bit funky to me, but nice to see the city go skyward!
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #806  
Old Posted Jun 25, 2018, 9:25 AM
10023's Avatar
10023 10023 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: London
Posts: 21,146
The first photo above is a bit deceptive. It’s shot with a telephoto lens, so the field of vision is compressed quite a lot.

The BT Tower in the foreground is almost 3 miles from the tallest building under construction, which is in turn about 3 miles from One Canada Square (the building with the pyramid crown) in the background. So that’s about 6 miles (or 120 NY city blocks) of cityscape made to look more or less like a single CBD.

The City of London and Canary Wharf skylines are actually about as far apart as the main Midtown and Downtown skylines in Manhattan (without all the great neighborhoods in between).
__________________
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov

Last edited by 10023; Jun 25, 2018 at 10:14 AM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #807  
Old Posted Jun 25, 2018, 12:54 PM
rgarri4's Avatar
rgarri4 rgarri4 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,022
The city of London seems to lack a city center. Or if it has one its really hard to tell. Development seems so scattered around and un-aware of each other. I haven't been to London before so I wouldn't know if this is a good or bad thing but seeing it in pictures it's super confusing to tell how the city is growing.
__________________
Renderings, Animations, VR
Youtube
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #808  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2018, 1:27 PM
wjfox2004's Avatar
wjfox2004 wjfox2004 is offline
FutureTimeline.net
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: London
Posts: 3,308
Jason Hawkes again.


__________________
http://www.FutureTimeline.net - a timeline of future history
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #809  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2018, 5:41 PM
chjbolton chjbolton is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 48
Just the sheer amount of construction going in London right now...
And that pic doesn't even include Vauxhall or Elephant & Castle.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #810  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2018, 7:00 PM
Urbanguy's Avatar
Urbanguy Urbanguy is offline
Go Beavs! Go Niners!
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Portland | Honolulu
Posts: 6,209
As if London wasn't already one of the best cities on the entire planet! It's great to see so much under construction and proposed through out that great city.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #811  
Old Posted Jul 1, 2018, 11:34 PM
Jordan de California's Avatar
Jordan de California Jordan de California is offline
El Guátqui
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Ventura County
Posts: 54
Quote:
Originally Posted by rgarri4 View Post
The city of London seems to lack a city center. Or if it has one its really hard to tell. Development seems so scattered around and un-aware of each other. I haven't been to London before so I wouldn't know if this is a good or bad thing but seeing it in pictures it's super confusing to tell how the city is growing.
Understandable confusion for a Chicagoan, because your city does have just one central business district full of skyscrapers, the Loop. London also does have an ancient core, the City of London or the Square Mile. It's where you see the sharply angled Cheesegrater and Scalpel buildings in these pictures, and most of the other "unusual" architecture. That zone is where most of London's oldest and biggest and wealthiest financial institutions are headquartered, but very few full-time residents. The center of city life is more towards Westminster, in my experience from a decade ago.

London has also made an effort to redevelop other parts of the city, such as the docklands, with high-rise offices. That's given the city multiple CBD's now, making it similar to New York City or Los Angeles, though for different reasons.

Also, residential towers seem to go up wherever it's convenient, unlike in Chicago where most are clustered by the lakeshore.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #812  
Old Posted Jul 2, 2018, 5:10 PM
nito nito is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,855
Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
I took an Uber home from City Airport last night (we had luggage and couldn’t be bothered with the DLR and tube), so I drove through a lot of London that I don’t really see. Suffice it to say that almost the whole of that drive until you get to the Tower of London is better viewed from the air. The number of projects is impressive, but they have done nothing to coordinate them or create a real urban environment.

You can’t just convert docklands and factories to residential neighborhoods on this scale ad hoc. The whole road layout needed to be ripped out and rethought, as do the postwar developments from back when people were leaving London. Places like “London City Island” will not age well (see Roosevelt Island in NYC, which is horrible).
There are certainly examples of docklands redevelopment done wrong; the 80’s development directly opposite ExCeL is a case in example, as is the data centres, and most of the area around Blackwall is suspect. I think there was a step-change post-financial crisis when developers had to wise-up and provide a more competent offering in some parts of the Docklands that were a bit disconnected and lacking a neighbourhood feel.

London City Island that you refer is probably quite a good example of the change in direction. It is one of the first multi-tower developments in London which is built around pedestrian and bicycles (road access is limited) and has a 2-minute connection to Canning Town station via a new bridge. Ballymore were also clever in paying for a new home for the London Film School, the English National Ballet and the Arebyte Gallery, as well as workspaces.

For those not aware, London City Island is a development on a bend of the River Lea on its final approach to the Thames in east London. Ballymore are also developing Goodluck Hope, a neighbouring plot (on the Thames) which will create a riverside walk along the River Lea.


Image taken by skyscrapercity.com forum member corerising: https://www.flickr.com/photos/578552...847104/sizes/l


Quote:
Originally Posted by rgarri4 View Post
The city of London seems to lack a city center. Or if it has one its really hard to tell. Development seems so scattered around and un-aware of each other. I haven't been to London before so I wouldn't know if this is a good or bad thing but seeing it in pictures it's super confusing to tell how the city is growing.
The City of London is the original Roman settlement of Lonindium, and now forms the eastern quarter of the central activity zone, or what is more commonly referred to as Central London. This is an area roughly defined by the 13 mainline termini of London and covers the main CBD of London (the West End), the financial district (the City), the legal quarter (Holborn) and the majority of most headquarters and other primary offices. The actual centre of modern day London where distances are measured from is Charing Cross which confusingly not in the City of London, but in the neighbouring City of Westminster!

Canary Wharf which is the primary concentration for skyscrapers in London, but is just the third largest CBD in London is located to the east of Central London in the old London Docks. Other skyscrapers and high-rise developments tend to be clustered around transport hubs (Stratford, Vauxhall, Croydon, etc…). The tallest tower in London; the Shard, is built above London Bridge station across the river from the City of London.

It can certainly come across that there is a rather scattergun approach to development, mostly due to the lack of available (and cheap) land, stringent planning guidelines, conservation zones, protected sightlines and a host of other commercial factors.
__________________
London Transport Thread updated: 2023_07_12 | London Stadium & Arena Thread updated: 2022_03_09
London General Update Thread updated: 2019_04_03 | High Speed 2 updated: 2021_09_24
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #813  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2018, 12:59 PM
10023's Avatar
10023 10023 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: London
Posts: 21,146
Quote:
Originally Posted by nito View Post
There are certainly examples of docklands redevelopment done wrong; the 80’s development directly opposite ExCeL is a case in example, as is the data centres, and most of the area around Blackwall is suspect. I think there was a step-change post-financial crisis when developers had to wise-up and provide a more competent offering in some parts of the Docklands that were a bit disconnected and lacking a neighbourhood feel.

London City Island that you refer is probably quite a good example of the change in direction. It is one of the first multi-tower developments in London which is built around pedestrian and bicycles (road access is limited) and has a 2-minute connection to Canning Town station via a new bridge. Ballymore were also clever in paying for a new home for the London Film School, the English National Ballet and the Arebyte Gallery, as well as workspaces.

For those not aware, London City Island is a development on a bend of the River Lea on its final approach to the Thames in east London. Ballymore are also developing Goodluck Hope, a neighbouring plot (on the Thames) which will create a riverside walk along the River Lea.


Image taken by skyscrapercity.com forum member corerising: https://www.flickr.com/photos/578552...847104/sizes/l
London City Island is a horrible and disconnected environment. That’s my point. It’s not good urban planning at all. It’s surrounded by a muddy creek and two enormous roads (basically highways). It’s as isolated as Roosevelt Island in NYC, which is also an eerie and horrible place.

What they should have done (admittedly at much greater expense) is straighten the River Lea to make the whole area more cohesive, and then also redirected those rail lines to share a right of way (and crossing) with the A1020. Then you might have a neighbourhood.

But really, all of those postwar East London areas are pretty bad. Places like this (in Canning Town) are just irredeemable. If Chicagoans fret over whether they’ll ever be able to get rid of the Dearborn Park development in the South Loop and redevelop it into something more urban and connected to the street grid, imagine having dozens of square miles of this crap: https://goo.gl/maps/w6xRsjC3vTs
__________________
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #814  
Old Posted Nov 25, 2018, 11:28 AM
10023's Avatar
10023 10023 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: London
Posts: 21,146
Hopefully this thing is just a bad joke and not a real proposal. How ridiculous.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46259419



The FT as always has the most interesting take:
https://www.ft.com/content/e6855306-...0-9cf212677a57
__________________
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #815  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2018, 11:36 AM
nito nito is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,855
Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
London City Island is a horrible and disconnected environment. That’s my point. It’s not good urban planning at all. It’s surrounded by a muddy creek and two enormous roads (basically highways). It’s as isolated as Roosevelt Island in NYC, which is also an eerie and horrible place.

What they should have done (admittedly at much greater expense) is straighten the River Lea to make the whole area more cohesive, and then also redirected those rail lines to share a right of way (and crossing) with the A1020. Then you might have a neighbourhood.

But really, all of those postwar East London areas are pretty bad. Places like this (in Canning Town) are just irredeemable. If Chicagoans fret over whether they’ll ever be able to get rid of the Dearborn Park development in the South Loop and redevelop it into something more urban and connected to the street grid, imagine having dozens of square miles of this crap: https://goo.gl/maps/w6xRsjC3vTs
City Island does look isolated at the present moment, but that is before other neighbouring developments (Goodluck Hope, Brunel Street Works, etc…) have been delivered to create a more cohesive environment. It’s not a complete island like Roosevelt is.

Straightening the Lea would have been a non-starter on cost-grounds, and not paramount to delivering sustainable neighbourhoods. Realigning the DLR wouldn’t have worked either as it would have ruled out interchange with Canning Town which is a critical transport hub in this area.

I certainly agree though that there are swathes of East London that are outright dire (courteous of the Luftwaffe and/or post-war planners) but I’m cautiously optimistic. A lot of the post-war housing developments are being redeveloped, and there is a vast amount of land ripe for redevelopment to fuel London’s booming population growth.
__________________
London Transport Thread updated: 2023_07_12 | London Stadium & Arena Thread updated: 2022_03_09
London General Update Thread updated: 2019_04_03 | High Speed 2 updated: 2021_09_24
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #816  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2018, 11:38 AM
nito nito is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,855
The Tulip, 290m
Proposal by the Safra Group (owners of 30 St Mary Axe, aka the Gherkin) for an observation tower that resembles a flower and elements of the Gherkin’s design. Architect is Foster + Partners.


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...8&postcount=74


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...8&postcount=74


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23141


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23141


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...8&postcount=74


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...8&postcount=74


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...8&postcount=74


Canary Wharf
A quick photo by the as usual excellent chest at SSC who captured multiple skyscrapers rising in the Canary Wharf district in east London.


Image taken by chest: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...postcount=2614


The Coal Drops Yard
King’s Cross Central is a long-term redevelopment of a large triangular plot of land (of former railway yards) wedged in-between King’s Cross and St Pancras stations. It’s probably my favourite project in London due to the combination of new and old, and very well-articulated urban spaces, the recycling of the gas holders is a treat.

One of the latest parts of the development to open up are The Coal Drops Yard, which has transformed old railway coal drops into a new independent retail space with a Thomas Heatherwick arch using the two sides of the building. The attention to detail is exquisite, including sourcing slate tiles from the original quarry for the Victorian buildings.


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142


Image sourced by skyscrapercity.com forum member SE9: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showp...ostcount=23142
__________________
London Transport Thread updated: 2023_07_12 | London Stadium & Arena Thread updated: 2022_03_09
London General Update Thread updated: 2019_04_03 | High Speed 2 updated: 2021_09_24
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #817  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2018, 4:23 PM
colemonkee's Avatar
colemonkee colemonkee is offline
Ridin' into the sunset
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 9,093
Man, Canary Wharf is on fire! Would love to have more London updates here.
__________________
"Then each time Fleetwood would be not so much overcome by remorse as bedazzled at having been shown the secret backlands of wealth, and how sooner or later it depended on some act of murder, seldom limited to once."

Against the Day, Thomas Pynchon
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #818  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2018, 4:35 PM
mousquet's Avatar
mousquet mousquet is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Greater Paris, France
Posts: 4,556
^ It's like their Défense, but theirs has just been slightly faster than ours in recent years, I'll admit.

I hope their city bans/blocks that Tulip thing to mess up their skyline. It would be kind of ludicrous.
Tulips look greater in the Netherlands, that's about it.

You see, that's why it is actually convenient to have an established Eiffel tower sometimes.
We will be spared from such laughable proposals.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #819  
Old Posted Nov 28, 2018, 1:34 PM
The Best Forumer's Avatar
The Best Forumer The Best Forumer is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,774
Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
Hopefully this thing is just a bad joke and not a real proposal. How ridiculous.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46259419



The FT as always has the most interesting take:
https://www.ft.com/content/e6855306-...0-9cf212677a57
Why? I like it. It is a good thing for this good city.
__________________
The suburbs are second-rate. Cookie-cutter houses, treeless yards, mediocre schools, and more crime than you think. Do your family a favor and move closer to the city.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #820  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2018, 2:04 PM
mousquet's Avatar
mousquet mousquet is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Greater Paris, France
Posts: 4,556
^ Say it is risky, but they might be used to funky things over there anyway.

I think the problem could be that that (concrete?) light gray stem may look bland in real life.
An actual building this tall with a same type of amenities open to all by top floors would be better IMO.
If the local market didn't allow it at the moment, well, they'd have to be patient just like the rest of us.

Oh well, it's up to them.
I mentioned the Eiffel tower precisely because it is not a building at all.
It is only this type of landmark to entertain people, but has no actual use for locals, aside of course from being a very valuable tourist attraction.
From a local standpoint, it is mostly (if not only) valuable as a historic structural engineering showcase. That's it.
Can't tell whether this Tulip would stand for any engineering feat nowadays, though.
It might just be some tourist gadget.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > City Compilations
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 8:01 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.