The project, known as The Meadows, is the first development on the University’s major Knowledge Gateway site. The £22 million complex, designed by Lewis & Hickey, comprises 12-bed town houses, accommodating 228 students and a further 420 en-suite study bedrooms in clusters, along with ’The Hub’ an eye-catching  pavilion that will house a student common room, a launderette and a ‘grab-and-go’ retail facility.  The project, which also includes the refurbishment of some existing student accommodation known as the Quays, is due to start on site in Q2 2012, with handover scheduled for Q3 2013.

On 30 January 2012 Brockley Primary School in Lewisham successfully completed the second of the project’s three phases, comprising the new school building along with one third of the external areas.  Phase 1 – the temporary playground – had been handed over in January 2011.

Brockley Primary School caters for 510 pupils from nursery to Year 6 (3-9 years old).  The £7.7m new school will be larger – boosting the school from a one-form to two-form entry – with an intake of 60 reception pupils a year instead of 30.  The building also includes a children’s centre and crèche.

The teachers and pupils will move into the new school on 27 February; to celebrate the move, the school will have its name changed to Beecroft Garden.

Trefor Marsh Headteacher at the school said:

“Moving into Beecroft Garden marks the next exciting chapter for our school, and we can’t wait”.

The final phase of the project involves the demolition of the existing school once the pupils and teachers move to the new building, and the remaining external works.  Final handover is scheduled for late July 2012.

The exhibition is part of the ‘Start Imagining’ programme which is a sustainability initiative inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales, Cool it Schools, Craft Club and Freecycle and designed to get everyone to get creative at schools, youth centres, libraries and at home. Its focus is on inventive ‘upcycling’, encouraging the transformation of junk like empty cereal packs into fabulous crafts.

The pupils’ work has been exhibited in two different ways. Firstly, sections of the exhibition have been professionally photographed and reproduced onto giant weatherproof PVC hoardings surrounding the school’s Bow Road location which, being en route to the 2012 Olympic Park, is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the pupils’ work to a huge passing audience. The hoardings will be in place until September 2012.

The hoardings were installed by Bouygues UK, one of the co-sponsors of the ‘Junk City’ exhibition and the construction company responsible for the school’s £7 million remodelling and refurbishment programme which is part of Tower Hamlets’ Building Schools for the Future programme. The construction project commenced in July 2011 and will complete in August 2013.

The second part of the exhibition has seen the miniature city displayed throughout the school on 10 February, attended by staff and pupils of the school as well as the exhibition sponsors which comprise the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, construction company Bouygues UK, Terrell and PCE. Following the ‘Junk City’ exhibition, all the materials used will be recycled in the spirit of ‘upcycling’.

Phoenix School is one of the lead schools in the ‘Start Imagining’ programme and Expressive Arts

Co-ordinator and Drama teacher Paula Manning spearheaded the ‘Junk City’ exhibition at the school. Speaking of the exhibition she says:

“As a learning environment for children and young people with autism, Phoenix School follows the curriculum with an emphasis on multi-sensory learning so the ‘Junk City’ exhibition has been a fantastic way to support our aim to deliver learning through interactivity.

“Every subject is reflected in the exhibition, from ‘Science City’ through to ‘Poetry Tower’ and every single pupil has been involved in the final display. Using everyday objects in such inventive ways has been a great way to enhance learning and encourage recycling and our pupils have enjoyed the experience tremendously”.

Cllr Shahed Ali, Tower Hamlets Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, says:

“This is a really inspiring project which encourages young people to think about their environment in a different way. It’s important to make sustainability interesting and enjoyable for children in order to develop their awareness around environmental issues.”

Bouygues UK Deputy Managing Director Arnaud Bekaert, says:

“The ‘Junk City’ exhibition is a brilliant way to highlight the importance of sustainability in a really creative and engaging way and the miniature city the pupils have produced is amazing. The creative flair it displays is everything an initiative like this seeks to encourage and we are particularly proud that the Bouygues building site has made an appearance in this spectacular cityscape!”

Terrell Ltd Managing Director Dan Conroy, says:

“We live our lives as part of the built environment that surrounds us all. Often enough, we fail to maximise the opportunity to recycle and reuse that this presents. ‘Junk City’ is a fantastic learning tool, but goes much further than that, reminding us all of our responsibility to imagine new ways to reduce waste and improve recycling to the benefit of everyone. Bravo!”

PCE Ltd Managing Director Mr Nickie Brown, says:

“We are delighted to support the Junk City initiative which is giving young people the opportunity to be inventive and imaginative, to learn new skills and become more involved in both community-based art and recycling.”

The award was submitted by AStudio Architects, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and contractor Bouygues UK.

The London Planning Awards, now in its 9th year, is organised in partnership with the Mayor of London, London First, Royal Town Planning Institute and London Councils, to recognise and reward best practice in planning in the Capital. The Best Built Project – Community Scale Scheme award is sponsored by Land Securities.

St Paul’s Way Trust School is a landmark new secondary school which knits together a diverse local community to an unprecedented degree and sits within the wider St Paul’s Way regeneration scheme. The building and school grounds have been designed to uplift and inspire those who use it, with public functions carefully combined to offer a grand scale civic facility to the neighbourhood.

Baroness Jo Valentine, Chief Executive of London First, said: “The London Planning Awards celebrate the best of what can be achieved in this great city of ours – they demonstrate what is possible when we work together to create great buildings, places and neighbourhoods. This year’s winners are once again outstanding and will no doubt strengthen London’s position as the best city in the world.”

Mayor Lutfur Rahman, Tower Hamlets Council, who officially opened the new building last year, said:

“St Paul’s Way Trust School boasts some of the best learning facilities in the country, whilst providing an unprecedented amount of new facilities for the local community.

“Winning a London Planning Award shows that the borough’s Building Schools for the Future programme is setting the bar for the teaching facilities of the future.”

The London Planning Awards, now in its 9th year, is organised in partnership with the Mayor of London, London First, Royal Town Planning Institute and London Councils, to recognise and reward best practice in planning in the Capital. The Best Built Project – 5 Years On award is sponsored by GVA.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: “Once again we have seen yet another stunning crop of entries that showcase the best in urban planning, architecture and design. From shopping centres and schools, to new homes, parks and museums, all of this year’s shortlisted entries demonstrate a wonderful ambition to make our city an even better place to live, work and study.”

The £600 million regeneration of Canning Town Centre has been given the go-ahead by the Planning Committee at the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation. The scheme, developed by Bouygues Development and its consortium partner One Housing Group, forms part of the London Borough of Newham’s £3.7 billion Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration Programme.

The six hectare site will reconnect the areas north and south of the A13 flyover – i.e. Canning Town Corner with Barking Road and Rathbone Market – to create a vibrant, accessible and safe Town Centre. Phase 1 of the scheme will comprise 179 residential units of private and affordable housing, 424 square metres of retail and a Morrisons supermarket of over 7,000 square metres.

Work will start on site in Canning Town during the final quarter of 2012.

The entire Town Centre scheme includes approximately 1,100 mixed tenure housing units, over 30,000sqm of leisure and retail space and over 5,000 sqm of space for community facilities. The whole scheme is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

Speaking of the planning decision, Stephane Slama-Royer, Managing Director of Bouygues Development, said: “This is a tremendous decision for Canning Town and for East London as a whole. The regeneration scheme will bring a much-needed sense of place to the area and a wealth of opportunity to the local community. 2012 looks set to be a monumental year for enhancing the economic prospects of the Olympic fringes in East London.”

Peter Andrews, Chief Executive of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, said: “The impact of this decision will be truly transformational. Canning Town’s regeneration did not happen when the DLR and Jubilee lines were put in place but this sustained effort by LTGDC and Newham Council will provide a truer platform for the area’s rebirth. With the Mayor’s new development corporation soon to be established, Canning Town may well be the last example of substantial regeneration outside of the Olympic Park.”

Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of London Borough of Newham said:  “This scheme is the real game-changer for Canning Town, and illustrates the scale of our ambition when it comes to delivering regeneration in Newham. More than that though, it is being delivered very much for the local community and with existing residents at its heart. They will benefit from a new Town Centre and all the opportunities that come with that – jobs, new homes and community facilities. It’s through initiatives like this that Newham is bringing together physical and social regeneration to form strong, prosperous and resilient communities.”

Clive Dutton, Newham Council’s Executive Director for Regeneration and Inward Investment, said:  “To be delivering a new, £600m town centre scheme in the current market is a huge achievement and testament to the strength of Newham’s regeneration vision and our ability to work with private and public sector partners to deliver that vision. The Bouygues Development scheme will spur on not only the wider Canning Town and Custom House regeneration programme, it will also give momentum to the wealth of opportunities throughout Newham’s arc of opportunity running from The Royals through to Stratford. It is further evidence that East London and Newham in particular are at the heart of London’s future economic growth.”

Alan Williams, Group Director at One Housing Group said: “One Housing Group has a wealth of experience in delivering successful regeneration schemes and we are delighted to bring this experience into our partnership with Bouygues Development. The regeneration of Canning Town will build a diverse yet balanced community and creates much needed affordable homes.”

Richard Haynes, development executive at Morrisons said:  “It’s fantastic that we have been given the go-ahead to provide a flagship ‘store of the future’ Morrisons at the heart of such a significant regeneration and development scheme. We’re now looking forward to bringing our unique fresh food offer to Canning Town along with important jobs, training and investment.  This is another great example of how Morrisons can support regeneration and it’s another step forward in our expansion strategy for London and the South East.”

George Green School is a community school located on the Isle of Dogs; the project is 100% refurbishment.

Work is scheduled to commence in February this year and to complete in March 2014.

Beatrice Tate is a Special Educational Needs school and the project is 100% new-build.  The school caters for pupils with profound multiple learning disabilities, a large proportion of whom are in wheelchairs.   A hydrotherapy pool will be provided as part of the new facilities.

Work is due to start on site in January 2012 with completion scheduled during the autumn term.

Westminster City Council officially launched the new-look Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee School, in Kennet Road, Maida Vale, in a ceremony led by the school’s retiring chair of governors Gordon Slater and the council’s strategic director for children and young people Michael O’Connor.

Pupils have been enjoying the school’s new state-of-the-art facilities since contractor Bouygues UK completed construction of the new 1600m2 building space in May.

The improved facilities include a hydrotherapy pool with full sensory capabilities, which can stimulate pupils in the water through light, sound and touch; a specialist suite for pupils with profound and multiple disabilities with additional sensory room; a physiotherapy suite; a medical and nurses’ room; staff training rooms; a post-16 suite; a students’ gym and a fully-managed ICT service.

Cllr Nickie Aiken, Westminster City Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said:

“This ambitious building project has given QEII a new lease of life and the pupils are already enjoying its fabulous new facilities. The sensory room and post-16 suite add another dimension to the pupils’ learning, while the new hydrotherapy pool, physiotherapy suite and student gym are helping to improve their quality of life and learning environment as a whole.”

Norman Stromsoy, executive headteacher at QEII, added:

“Queen Elizabeth II School is now very well placed to become an outstanding organisation and we are very grateful to the Building Schools for the Future team, Westminster City Council, our builders Bouygues UK, voluntary organisations and numerous individual donors who have made this project possible.”

Lionel Christolomme, managing director of Bouygues UK, said:

“It is a real achievement to have built a school that is having such a positive impact on the learning potential of its pupils by enabling them to experience different sensations in a really stimulating environment. Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee School is now a fantastic education facility and one we are very proud to have built.”

The 2011 Waltham Forest Design Awards are run in conjunction with the Guardian group of regional newspapers and are designed to celebrate good quality design of buildings in the borough.

The entries were judged by six panellists including Waltham Forest Councillor Saima Mahmud, cabinet member for Housing & Development; Ruth Richards of the Royal Town Planning Institute and Judy Allen from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Councillor Mahmud said:

“… we have had an exciting number of entries this year which proves that good design is alive and well in Waltham Forest.

“Good design is important to us – we know the value of design in creating attractive places, improving quality of life and promoting civic pride.

“I’d like to offer my personal congratulations to all those involved in this year’s winning entries”.