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Book Now: London Festival of Architecture

It’s still three weeks away, but you’d better book now for some of the more popular-sounding happenings at this year’s London Festival of Architecture. From 20 June to 20 July over 600 events will celebrate the capital’s buildings. Here’s our pick of one-off events. We’ll …

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Mayor Wants Room For More Views

It was just last week that Londonist speculated our new mayor might not be so enthused about the skyscrapers redrawing London’s skyline as his predecessor was. Now we have confirmation from the blond-barnetted one himself: he is to demand tougher rules on high rise buildings. …

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Book Review: Derelict London by Paul Talling

There’s nothing shabby about Derelict London, a thoughtful compendium of unloved and forgotten buildings, the necrotic ulcers in London’s hidden underbelly. Photos from the author, some taken in locations where we wouldn’t want to risk an expensive SLR, are backed up with illuminating research and …

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The London That Never Was (Fortunately)

At first glance, this looks like a rather pleasant alternative to the Millennium Bridge – a verdant, undulating span like nothing else in London. But look at what’s written along the side and you may feel your gorge begin to rise. The Diana Memorial Bridge …

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Surfin’ Silvertown

Crowd-surfing in a mosh pit down the Astoria or Brixton Academy is the closest most in London can readily get to the waves and Waikiki lifestyle. That could be about to change: plans are afoot for a permanent outdoor surf machine in East London. As …

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Bulky Buildings Are Us

Earlier this week, the Trinity project got the go-ahead from the City of London. You might not have heard of Trinity. It’s a cosy threesome of office buildings set for construction in that obscure corner of the City known as Minories. Just shy of 100 …

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Dome Was Destitute From Day One

It’s tempting to bask in the success of the re-branded O2 and write off the building’s seven year existence as useless white elephant de nos jours as a bad dream. Unfortunately, that was no nightmare, and it seems that financially the Millennium Dome never stood …

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House By Famous Architect Demolished

A Putney cottage designed by Erno Goldfinger has been illegally destroyed. Arbus Ltd, of Croydon, applied for permission to pull down the building in 2002, but was refused. Living up to his surname, Director of the company Rajiv Laxman paid little heed to the order …

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Book Review: London Atlas of Architecture By Alejandro Bahamon

There’s plenty of tomes on the market describing our city’s buildings. A search on Amazon for the term ‘London architecture’ yields 1070 results. Into this crowded marketplace – one of the few not designed by Horace Jones – steps the London Atlas of Architecture. It’s …