NEWS Ikea LandProp development plans for London
Not content with having been announced Britain’s most popular retailer in a recent consumer poll by Verdict Research, Swedish homeware giant Ikea is now building a whole new neighbourhood in London. Ikea subsidiary LandProp recently submit- ted plans to redevelop 26 hectares of Stratford, close to the 2012 Olympic site.
Ikea are keen to distance the scheme, designed by Arc-ML architects, from their retail business, or any-
thing flatpack. There'll be no megastore and the 1,200 homes will not be built according to Ikea's BokLok concept – as seen in Gateshead. Strand East, as the development will be known, is set to be a place where mews-style townhouses sit alongside creative commercial space. Where public courtyards open up to piazzas, and waterways weave their way around hotels, restaurants, parks, water taxi piers and cycle paths.
A Budget to kick-start growth
The 2012 Budget Statement delivered by the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, highlighted the importance of new development and infrastructure in kick-starting growth in the economy. While the announcement of an extra £150million to go into the Get Britain Building fund on top of the £420million detailed late last year appears positive, RIBA Head of External Affairs, Anna Scott-Marshall warns that the government needs to ensure that developers and developments selected for funding meet the highest quality credentials so homebuyers benefit as well as house builders.
The new budget will also sees the Growing Places Fund (originally launched in November 2011 with £500million) increase by £270million to help local development. And the government has pledged to make up to £150million available in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from 2013 - 2014.
Osborne also announced that the government will consult on simplifying the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) energy efficiency scheme with the aim of reducing administrative burdens on business. He said that if significant administrative
Surprise listed
building VAT increase Responding to the news from the Budget Statement that VAT on permitted alterations to list- ed buildings will change from the current zero rate to the standard 20 percent, the RIBA has raised concerns that this will have a detrimental effect on the number of projects that are undertaken. RIBA Conservation Group chair Robert Franklin says: “There is a real concern that the planned increase from zero to twenty percent VAT for alter- ations to listed buildings could have a debilitating economic impact on development in the historic
environment. Whilst VAT may discourage some inappropriate proposals, I fear a 20 percent rate, so suddenly applied, will make it unaffordable for listed building owners to make necessary alter- ations to many of our cherished buildings. The economics of such schemes may increase the num- ber of buildings 'at-risk', through pressure to demolish and replace with new-build. “Due to the speed of the proposed VAT change we are particularly concerned that those schemes deemed viable based on the zero rate may suddenly become non-viable, and not go ahead.” The RIBA has said it will make a full assessment of the impact of the proposed changes and will respond to the government consultation in due course.
Design Council chief executive to step down
After nine years as chief executive of the Design Council, David Kester will step down this summer. The day to day running of the organisation will transfer to Madeline Denmead, the COO, until a successor is found. Kester says: “I have had an amazing time at the Design Council and am hugely proud of the talented team I have worked with and what we have achieved together. The last eighteen months have been some of the most demanding and also rewarding as we have re-launched ourselves as an independent charity, merged with the Commission for Architecture and the
Built Environment (CABE), and most importantly, delivered so many great projects up and down the UK.” Chairman of the Design Council, Martin Temple says: “David has helped place design at the very heart of public policy. He has been an inspiring advocate for design and a highly successful Chief Executive for the Design Council. Thanks to his leadership and determination the Design Council has survived and thrived and so has its ground- breaking work with industry, public services and the planning system.”
savings were not deliverable, then he would bring forward proposals in autumn 2012 to replace the CRC with an alternative environmental tax.
Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne outside 10 Downing Street.
MUST READS
CITIZENS OF NO PLACE
An Architectural Graphic Novel by Jimenez Lai
Architecture has become an increasingly interdisciplinary profession, and the language with which architects envision and articulate their ideas has radically diversified in recent years. Architect Jimenez Lai has pioneered an unexpected and wholly unique approach that moves beyond contemporary architectural renderings and models. Citizens of No Place is a groundbreaking graphic novel on architecture and urbanism. Inspired by the theoretical drawings of paper architects, Lai uses manga-style storyboards to explore the role of fantasy and storytelling in architecture. Available from June, priced £12.99.
CONVERSATIONS WITH PAOLO SOLERI
Edited by Lissa McCullough
The newest volume in this popular conversations series, offers timely thinking in response to our global environmental crisis. Drawn from the visionary architect's personal notebooks and sketchbooks, Soleri's most recently documented ideas respond to contemporary issues such as climate change, oil dependence, suburban sprawl, and overconsumption. Soleri outlines a detailed proposal for urban reformulation and renewal.
The book includes an introduction to Soleri’s key ideas by his long time editor Lissa McCullough and essays by collaborating architects Marco Felici and Youngsoo Kim covering the breadth of Soleri's care, making Soleri's work available for the first time. Available from May, priced £12.99.
LONDON
UNFURLED By Matteo Pericoli
This accordion-style book folds out to a length of 25-feet with elevations of London on both sides of the Thames. The book is accompanied with an essay on the north side of the Thames by Iain Sinclair, one on the south by Will Self, and an afterword by Matteo Pericoli. Available now, priced £25.
ArchitectNews.co.uk | Architects Choice | 7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52