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Shard echoes classic design

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Lovely design echoes picture here of the Shard from @adders on Twitter.

Makes you realise just how well Sellar Group's building sits within the London skyline.

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Picture courtesy of Adam Tinworth. www.onemanandhisblog.com
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All things nautical and nostalgic last night at the RICS London awards last night, as some 250 guests took over the top floor of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich writes EG's Jo Bourke.

Agents and architects tucked into a meal of duck with potato spring rolls and miso (I had to google the latter - a fermented soy bean paste for those interested), while being surrounded by lots of historical artefacts and trinkets.

RICS UK director Luay Al-Khatib opened the awards with a Winston Churchill quote: "We shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us." 

The sentiment was echoed around the room as agents were heard discussing just what will happen post Olympics.

EG had the pleasure of handing out its own 

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London awards: London property company of the year went to Land Securities, and London property adviser of the year went EA Shaw. 

Unfortunately our pictures taken on mobile phones after several vinos were not great, but perhaps if you squint your eyes, you may make out Colette O'Shea of Land Sec and below Charlie Killen and Lisa Holland of EA Shaw both with yours truly. 

As soon as the official pics are out of the developing room we'll add them to the post.

Well done to all the winners.

Back in February we launched a London Forum to discuss the hot topics affecting the capital as part of our (almost) monthly EG London Focuses.

This morning we moved the forum into a TV studio on Millbank and filmed the discussion. EG's editor Damian Wild posed questions on the Mayoral election, planning and economy to Julian Barwick of DevSec, Faraz Baber of London First, Simon Ricketts of SJ Berwin and Dan Bayley of BNP PRE who sponsor the Forum. The results will be online over the next couple of weeks and there will also be a feature in next weeks EG London.

I popped along to see how things were done and took a few pics:


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Another skyscraper is going up in London. Six months after saying they'd commit to the Walkie Talkie the first steels are actually going in at 20 Fenchurch Street (to give it it's grown up name). Another 4,499 steels will follow.

At the start of the month developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group said they were close to signing up the first tenant (£) in the 675,000 sq ft tower with insurer Markel thought to be close to taking 80,000 sq ft. There's been no official confirmation, now that would be something to celebrate.

Team EG was pretty lucky this week to get a tour inside the Olympics site, and, as if that wasn't enough excitement, we also got taken into the Velodrome. Here are some of the pics from behind the hoardings.

Wrenbridge and its amazingly knowledgeable Richard Arnold - who will head up the developer's specialist sports division from this summer - took us around, so big thanks to them. The factoids below are all courtesy of Arnold.

Sadly the bus that ferried us around had blue tinted windows and while I've done my best to correct the worst it has given all our pictures a slight green hue. 

Olympic facts:

* At the start of building there was a construction delivery every 15 secs
* 500 acre site the equivalent of hyde park
* Had to deal with rubble dumped on the site from central London after the Blitz
* Planning restrictions say that no earth can go off site 
* 5 soil washing machines are placed around the site to clean the earth so it can be put back on site.
* The O2 arena will become the north Greenwich arena because Olympics marketing is so strict 
* 70% of games spectators will pass through Stratford and through the doors of  Westfield 
Oda own planning auth. Build control all 4boroughs tog to form 1 centre
* It's just been announced that there will be Park Passes for the Games which will allow you to get onto the park without event tickets
* There are dentists and doctors on site for the as you can't have people nipping on and off site 
*The basketball venue will probably be sold to Rio for the 2016 games - the first time a venue has been taken up and sold on
* Purple boxes on the side of the main stadium are loos 
* Landscaping has been a big job and the authorities worked with Sheffield university to find a wild flower that would be at it's peak in July and is a golden colour
* Aquatic centre structure was designed to move 3 metres and sunk into it's final position
*Public art is starting to get installed around the park including a set of enormous children's wax crayons in the river 
* There are 30 bridges
*Infrastructure cost two-thirds of the budget
* The Velodrome's Pringles crisp shape is the most efficient roof shape engineering wise
* It went from waist height to full height in 40mins because of its cable net roof
* During the race the velodrome will be kept at  28-30o so the air is rarefied for perfect racing 
* Chris Hoy asked for a toilet right by the track for the athletes  
* Velodrome track is made from Siberian pine which grows very tall and straight with the minimum amount of knots. 
* 20 000 journalists will descend on media city
* The elevation of the broadcast centre is 1.5 times the size of canary wharf's main tower if it was laid on its side 

EG's Question Time heads for London

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Ever wanted to take the leader of the London Legacy Development Corporation to task? Find out what RBS really thinks of the property market, or hear British Land and Lend Lease's chief exec slog it out over the state of the market? Well, now is your chance, and it's free.

EG Question Time tour hits London this week for a breakfast time debate. On 27th April the EG tour bus will pull up at Bafta on Piccadilly.

We've got a star line-up for the show with EG editor Damian Wild playing the part of David Dimbelby. 

The panel are: 
British Land chief executive Chris Grigg, 
Lend Lease chief executive Dan Labbad 
Brockton Capital joint managing partner David Marks 
Aubrey Adams, head of the property unit within Royal Bank of Scotland's global restructuring group
James Goldsmith, director of central London and international at Savills 
Andrew Altman, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation (formerly Olympic Park Legacy Company) also joins the panel.

We'll all be there so register here to be a part of it and add your questions to the list.
http://www.estatesgazette.com/questiontime/ but be quick because registration ends at 4pm today
Thumbnail image for IMG_0164.jpgBCO's Urban Affair's committee was greeted with placard wielding demonstrators outside it's meeting at Cathedral Group's HQ in South London last night.

The demo was a stunt by Cathedral staff, who were hosting the meeting about place making. Cathedral prides itself in its  initiatives to create communities at it regeneration projects and has even attracted the attention of celebrity-chef Jamie Oliver at one project in Deptford.

Creative Director Martyn Evan's told me yesterday that many developers think place making is just about making a place nice whereas Cathedral's approach is about creating a sense of place and attracting people to regeneration sites from the outset, before development has even started.

In Deptford the company paid for a disused railway carriage to be turned into a community cafe and has leased railway arches on peppercorn rents to local start ups. As a result the blossoming business community organised its own outdoor cinema which caught the attention of Mr Oliver.

Look out for music events at Cathedral Group and joint venutre partner Development Securities' North West London regeneration project on the site of the former EMI record factory in Hayes.   Who knows one of the Beatles might turn up?

EG London Focus June synopsis

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EG London

Published June 9, 2012


Working practices 

Analysis of working practices for property professionals in London

Contact: Nadia Elghamry, deputy regional editor, 020 7911 1849, nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com


Lewisham 

Analysis of the regeneration plans

Contact: David Thame, freelance writer, 01544 262 896 dthame@clara.co.uk


Waterloo

Analysis of the regeneration plans

Contact: Mark Simmons, freelance writer, 07787 561032, msimmons@sourceform.co.uk

Demand 

Analysis of the strength of the market and prospects for the rest of the year.

Contact: Helen Hamilton, freelance writer, 01568 709155, hamiltonhelen7@gmail.com


Please contact the writers directly for more details about their individual features by Monday 14 May, 2012



EG London Focus May 12 synopsis

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EG London 

Published May 12, 2012


City offices 

Analysis of current strength and future trends

Contact: Mark Simmons, freelance writer, 07787 561032, msimmons@sourceform.co.uk


Central London residential

Analysis of sector and future trends

Contact: Graham Norwood, freelance writer, 07779 595 964 grahammmnorwood@me.com


Please contact the writers direct for more information about their individual features by Monday 16 April


Pics: EG goes to Hogwarts, no really we do

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DSCN5332.JPGNearly two years ago American film company Warner Bros. was granted planning permission to build a permanent studio and visitors attraction at Leavesden near Watford where it filmed the blockbuster Harry Potter series. 

Back then when I posted about the decision, I put a tour on my Christmas list - I'm a teeny bit of a Harry Potter fan. Well it's a little bit late for Christmas but on Saturday I got my wish and together with EG's Multimedia Editor Nathan Cross, who is also a fan, we went for preview of what is officially called the Warner Bros Studios Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter.

Everything you see was used in the filming from the letter Harry was sent inviting him to Hogwarts in the first film to the entire street of Diagon Alley. The staff reckon on it taking about three hours to walk through but Nathan and I might have taken a little longer.

Local businesses, no doubt, will be rubbing their hands with glee as ahead of the official opening this Saturday, the tours are pretty much sold out until September. One enterprising local bus company has already got double deckers liveried up to run shuttle services from the station to the attraction.

It's an absolute must for Harry Potter fans - the Butter Beer is worth it alone but you can only book online.http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/


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