London boasts a dense concentration of architectural talent, and recent projects by designers based there ingeniously contribute to the city's noble historic streetscapes in ways that respect and reference centuries past while simultaneously bolstering the metropolis's reputation as one of the world's most modern and progressive capitals. London 2000+ portrays twenty-eight projects completed since the millennium, representing a broad range of design styles and scales. Prominent structures such as Sir Norman Foster's iconic "Gherkin," the London Eye by Marks Barfield, Daniel Libeskind's addition to the London Metropolitan University campus, and Herzog & de Meuron's Laban Dance Center are featured alongside lesser-known buildings of merit by innovative, emerging designers to provide a superb representation of the many lively firms active in the city today. Author Sam Lubell also features projects that illustrate creative examples of adaptive reuse and renovation in compact urban quartersa library that incorporates outdoor gathering spaces to revitalize a formerly depressed neighborhood, a primary school that insulates students from street noise while providing rooftop play space, a Victorian-era train maintenance station reconfigured as a popular performing arts venue, a vibrant modern addition to an Edwardian townhouse, and elevated footbridges that facilitate pedestrian traffic in the city's congested center, among others. Prominent structures covered include: Sir Norman Foster's Swiss Re building, dubbed the "Gherkin" The London Eye by Marks Barfield Daniel Libeskind's addition to London Metropolitan University Herzog & de Meuron's Laban Dance Center

Introduction
By Sam Lubell

London's recent buildings are some of the most vibrant in the world. From the daring shape-making of Norman Foster's 30 St. Mary Axe, more familiarly known as the Gherkin, to the cool, layered artistry of David Adjaye's Rivington Place, these projects are internationally admired and have played an important role in the city's conversion from an architectural backwater to a world capital of contemporary design.

Economic growth, resurgent popular interest in architecture and design, heightened political and nonprofit support and funding, and London's relatively new status as Europe's creative and financial melting pot have all contributed to this radical shift. Taking advantage of this climate, a group of talented firms are creating unique, artful projects that derive inspiration from contemporary forms and technologies, the city's glorious urban chaos, its fascinating collision of history and modernity, and its palpable energy. They range in scale from tightly-fit house additions to skyline-altering towers.

As recently as the 1980s and early 1990s, the architectural situation did not seem promising: government support was declining, development funds were low, and traditionalists were railing successfully against innovation. As architect Peter Barber confesses, “At cocktail parties, London architects were not proud to tell you what they did.” But in the mid-1990s a perfect architectural storm began to brew. England's economy began to recover and then to thrive, spurring an unprecedented level of building and a phalanx of cranes to rise high above London's historic spires. Popular interest in, and acceptance of, innovative architecture reached new heights as sleekly designed consumer products gained cachet, as architecture began being covered in the mass media—bestowing celebrity status on architects—and as controversial buildings became popular conversation starters.

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Excerpted from London 2000+: New Architecture by Sam Lubell
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