New London landmark for Legal & General and Mitsubishi estate company.
A new central London landmark is unveiled today as part of the regeneration of the Saint Giles area. Central Saint Giles, which is due for completion by the end of 2009, is the new groundbreaking 500,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme from internationally acclaimed architect Renzo Piano and joint developers Legal & General and Mitsubishi Estate Company.
Central Saint Giles, which replaces a redundant 1960’s office block previously occupied by the Ministry of Defence, is an environmentally friendly, sustainable, colourful development that comprises office space, retail, restaurants, cafes, residential and a new public piazza. The development, on which building work has already started, will be a pedestrian-friendly site, connecting five different regions of the West End.
On a 1.75-acre island site, the development sits in a strategic, exceptionally well-connected, location between Oxford Street and Covent Garden. The design consists of three buildings with 13 irregularly orientated, individually coloured ceramic & glass facades. When completed, Central Saint Giles will be 12 storeys tall and will comprise 393,000 sq ft of high quality office space with some of the largest floor plates (42,000 sq ft) in the West End, 27% of the site’s area is dedicated to open space and the development includes 109 residential units, 50% of which will be affordable housing.
World renowned architect Renzo Piano commented: “The architectural challenge was to create a development that brings heart and soul into a forgotten part of Central London’s urban fabric. A place that, by adding levitated, articulated and colourful buildings, physically expresses the people-focused and socially responsible credentials of modern corporate tenants”.
Bovis Lend Lease is building the scheme, Stanhope plc have been appointed as development managers and Bovis as construction managers. Fletcher Priest have been appointed as Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s executive architects to the site. The joint letting agents are Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield.
Benchmark buildings for London’s Olympic development
Icona, the first scheme overlooking the Olympic Park is nearing completion. Telford Homes’ residential-led, mixed-use development is one of the first schemes in the area to hand over. It will overlook the Olympic aquatic centre and is within 300m of the proposed stadium. Telford Homes acted as both developer and contractor and architects and urban designers, Stock Woolstencroft, designed and oversaw the construction of this high profile, landmark development.
Telford Homes’ brief was for the architects to transform a derelict and decaying Brownfield site and deliver a landmark building, to act as a key driver for long-term revitalisation of the area. Stock Woolstencroft suggested a scheme clad with a brightly coloured façade to cement its prominent status. Inspiration for the elevations came from studying the work of artist Donald Judd, particularly his use of bold, regular forms, strong colours and industrial materials to create art that emphasised purity of colour, form, space and materials.
Icona comprises 249 units of which 87 are affordable housing for East Homes. The affordable homes all use the same materials and style as the open market homes making it a tenure blind development. There are three buildings that make up the development, an 18-storey tower and two other buildings at seven and four storeys. Underground parking (with 70 spaces) is provided, as is over 920sq m of commercial space, which includes a residents’ gym.
Stock Woolstencroft partner, Derek Jay said: “It is unusual for a residential scheme to have pre-fabrication to this extent on the external façade, demonstrating how Icona pushes technical boundaries as well as architectural ones. The outcome is a high quality, benchmark development that local people and London can be proud of.” Icona has already collected a Silver Seal of Excellence at the NHBC Pride in the Job awards.
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- Tags: Architect, Architecture, Icona, London, Olympic Park, Telford Homes, UK
Previously presented to you by us, here is a closer look at the Nike Tier 0 Liberty Dunks, a very limited pack released for women.
Nike designers have applied quintessential British style to the purest of Nike. Fabrics from Liberty of London, draped on the Dunk, create a true clash of femininity and clean athletic lines.Liberty is department store set in a famous Tudor building in the heart of London’s West End. The Nike Design team selected two classic Liberty prints: Wilshire and Pepper, to create two limited editions of the Nike Dunk. Liberty fabrics are characterized by tender palettes, all over floral prints, and detailed movement, which is the perfect juxtaposition with the clean design lines of the Nike Dunk. These sneakers feature a gumsole and a heavyweight Liberty fabric for the upper which was chosen for its durability.
Nort Berlin will be releasing both sneakers on the 3rd of May. Check them out in detail after the jump.
