[London’s Regeneration]

The Rathbone Place Scheme

Rathbone Place will become one of the West End's most exciting new developments once it has been completed in 2014. The 2.3 acre site, currently occupied by the Royal Mail group, will undergo a £500 million redevelopment thanks to plans from Great Portland Estates (GPE).

Located at the East End of London’s Oxford Street, it will soon be transformed into 162 residential units, 217,000 sq ft of offices and 42,000 sq ft of retail space.

Rathbone Place will play a key part of GPEs sustainable development plan. Commenting on this, a spokesperson stated: “By driving efficiency in all that we do, we reduce both material consumption and long term costs, making our assets more attractive to investors, purchasers and tenants which consequently enhances the value of our business.”



Hackney’s Fashion Hub

Another development set for 2014 is Hackney’s £100 million fashion hub. This 75,000 sq ft concept, set at the junction of Chatham Place and Morning Lane, will make way for two eight-storey buildings that will contain a restaurant, cafe, retail space as well as a ‘stitching academy’ design studio.

These visionary plans from the Manhattan Loft Corporation will not only help to put this vibrant area on the map as a retail destination, but will also help create hundreds of training opportunities and jobs for the people within the local community.



The Crystal Palace Redevelopment

In addition to Rathbone Place and Hackney’s new fashion hub, an exciting concept has recently been unveiled to resurrect one of London’s most infamous structures – a £500 million plan by Chinese developer ZhongRong Group to build a replica of London’s Crystal Palace.

This world-class landmark, originally designed by Joseph Paxton in 1851 for the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, was the largest glass structure in the world before it burnt down in 1936.

The orginal design of Crystal Palace will be replicated and the redevelopment will also include restoration of the park, based on the original Victorian design.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London commented on the project saying; "Today's announcement marks an exciting new chapter for Crystal Palace Park. This is a vision that could not only see a world-class landmark building reinstated, of the quality of the original, but the restoration of the entire surrounding park, bringing jobs and growth".



Continuing with the theme of regeneration, glass as a building material allows for an increased flexibility in terms of design – giving architects the freedom to construct outstanding concepts such as the afore mentioned Crystal Palace.

Leading the way in glass innovation, Pilkington UK Ltd, offers an array of glass products that deliver an outstanding list of benefits that can include solar control, self cleaning and fire resistant properties. To explore the full range of glass products please click here