With a new government now up and running, what can we expect to see for the built environment industry and for London?

We asked that question of a large group of individuals our Viewpoint section this time, with many citing the new alignment between central government and London and the need for more action on climate and housing, while Professor Yolande Barnes uses her column to address some of the key elements of Labour’s outlook. We also talk to two of the key people shaping London’s response and nurturing investment into the city, with deputy mayor for business and growth Howard Dawber and London and Partners’ Laura Citron grilled by Peter Murray about Opportunity London and beyond.

As LREF gets ready to open its doors at Guildhall, NLA’s Nick McKeogh charts the event’s history and looks forward to a ‘reimagined’ show, while Yoo Capital’s Lloyd Lee offers
a different kind of reimagining at Olympia to designs by Thomas Heatherwick and SPPARC. The scheme features in our Project Preview, while another reawakening figures in our Building Review, with Marylebone House reborn through Fletcher Priest Architects’ scheme for Beltane Asset Management.

One of the key developers at the forefront of shaping London’s similarly high-quality developments for the past 40 years is Derwent London. The firm features in our Q&A piece, with boss Paul Williams answering the questions.

I talk to Avison Young’s Nick Walkley — another LREF speaker — and Kat Hanna as Avison Young gears up to undergo an emblematic move of its UK offices to the Met Building on Tottenham Court Road about how they think the capital will shape up over the coming years with a new attitude to housing and development.

Roger Hawkins lifts the lid on how much Hawkins\Brown’s own move to new offices has fostered creative collaboration, Westminster shows us the next positive steps on Oxford Street, and in a new feature Connie Hatt brings the first of a series of Neighbourhood Stories — tales from community figures shaping the city. Finally, there’s a look back at the Paris Olympics from one of its key participants, WOO architects, and a look forward to the next in LA.

London is emerging into a new era. Here’s hoping it is a fruitful one, backed by strong and consistent decisions and policy. 

David Taylor
Editor