One of London's most recognizable landmarks, the Gherkin, has been put up for sale and is expected to be snapped up by an overseas buyer. The 40-storey City of London skyscraper was put into receivership in April, and the agents appointed to sell it are hoping for offers in the region of US1 billion to US$ 1.1 billion. Savills and Deloitte Real Estate have been jointly instructed to sell the 46,900 square meters office building, which was designed by Lord Foster and opened in 2004. The two firms said marketing of the Gherkin - including an advertising campaign and a dedicated website - was about to begin, "with interest expected to come from all corners of the globe". Built at St Mary Axe on the site of the Baltic Exchange shipping market, which was badly damaged by an IRA bomb attack in 1992, the Gherkin quickly became a London landmark, featuring in TV programs and films. Perhaps its most prominent role came in the 2006 erotic thriller Basic Instinct 2, in which the building doubled up as the office of a criminal psychiatrist. The building currently has about 20 tenants, including the insurer Swiss Re, which originally owned the building, and is also used as a wedding venue. Stephen Down, head of central London investment at Savills, said several parties had already registered their interest, and added that he anticipated they would be looking to close the deal by the end of September or the beginning of October. He said the building had been well looked after: "It's in very good order." Potential buyers could include a sovereign wealth fund from the Middle East or Asia, or perhaps a large pension fund or private equity house. Deloitte, which was appointed to take control of the tower, previously said that the Gherkin's co-owners - a Mayfair-based investment bank and a German property investor, IVG Immobilien - had run into problems related to currency issues, rather than any difficulties with the wider property market. Read more about the Gherkin ,

Faced with rising sea levels, would you consider a move onto the water? Soon, a community of Londoners will have exactly that option. DRMM Architects has won the Royal Docks competition to design England's first floating village. London Mayor Boris Johnson revealed a consortium including Carillion Igloo Genesis and Buro Happold who will together transform 60 thousand square meters of water just east of the Emirates Airline. Floating villages are a new idea for the UK, but already popular in Europe, especially in Holland where designers have long considered sea levels in relation to housing and city planning. The Royal Docks scheme borrows expertise developed at the floating prefab village of Ijburg near Amsterdam. In Scotland two schemes are already planned, including a solar powered floating community for Edinburgh and a £30 million development directly adjacent to the Glasgow Science Center. The water site at the Royal Victoria Dock, just east of the Emirates Airline, will be transformed into a community with 50 custom-built homes, plus restaurants, bars and offices. There will also be a blue-water square framed by a market square, a floating cornice and an events space. Plans for additional facilities, such as a lido and ice rink, were also proposed as part of the bid. The winning scheme will be 100% floating with the walkways, residential and non-residential units anchored in place using a series of piles located within the dock and connected to the dock by bridges. Future inhabitants will be able to play a part in the design of their property. Chris Brown, director of Carillion Igloo Genesis said: "Living in a floating home you've helped to design is a dream lots of us have. By combining the floating home experience of our Dutch collaborators with our custom built business we hope to make these dreams come true in Royal Victoria Dock... East London's place on the tourist trail is growing fast. It's about to be joined by Europe's largest floating village, with floating markets, creative workspace, events and watersports." Alex de Rijke of DRMM recently presented his studies on floating villages to the Venice architecture biennale. The prefabricated floating water-homes will use the same type of concrete foundations that are already in use at the Ijburg development in Holland. The construction of the homes - including the bases - will be carried out off-site and then transported by water to site. The scheme is due to enter the formal planning process with Newham council in Spring 2015, and it is expected to address the need for affordable housing to avoid opposition from local authorities and residents.

Margaret Thatcher's former home is to go on the market for up to US$ 59.5 million after wealthy foreign buyers have been attracted by its "blue plaque effect". The house in Belgravia, London, will go up for sale after its current owners complete a major refurbishment project which will include two basement floors and a connection to a mews property behind. The new owners are thought to have arranged an extension of the lease and after initial renovation work. However, workmen are now expected to convert the house into a far larger "iceberg home" with a number of subterranean rooms totaling around 650 square meters. The extensive work being carried out by developers Leconfield Property Group is not expected to be finished until next year, but already potential buyers are interested in acquiring the property because of its historic association with the former Prime Minister. Estate agents in Belgravia say the connection with Lady Thatcher, who was Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990, will add to the property's value. It is expected a figure of around US$ 59.5 million could well be realized as trophy-hunter buyers from the US or Middle East bid against each other to own the home of such a famous figure. Lady Thatcher stayed at the five-storey house until December 2012 when she was unable to use the stairs. Blue plaques commemorate the link between notable figures of the past and the buildings in which they lived and worked. London's blue plaques scheme, which is run by English Heritage, was founded in 1866 and is believed to be the oldest of its kind in the world.

The Shard in London has secured the top prize for the world's most renowned prize for high-rise architecture - the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2013. The Shard, currently Western Europe's tallest building, was selected for first prize from more than 300 skyscraper submissions from around the world. The award, which is now in its 14th year, is issued by Emporis, the international provider of building data. To qualify, skyscrapers had to be completed in 2013 and reach a height of at least 100 meters. London's winning mixed-use skyscraper rises 306 meters and was designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano. The Shard crystallizes the skyline with its sharp, angled glass facade. Second place was awarded to "DC Tower 1" in Vienna, Austria, designed by Dominique Perrault Architecture. According to the architects, the facade's folds give DC Tower 1 a malleability which constantly adapts to the light, a reflection or an event. They said its shimmering undulated facade is a prominent part of the Vienna skyline; it now holds the title of Austria's tallest building at 250 meters. The skyscraper also impressed due to its comprehensive sustainability concept, including photovoltaics to generate energy, local plants with low water requirements in the green areas of the building, and electric car chargers to save on CO2 emissions. China's unconventional Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort by MAD architects took third place. The hotel skyscraper reaches 102 meters and echoes the shape of a giant ring. This enables all rooms to have balconies and views and absorb daylight from all directions. An impressive 19,000 LED lights illuminate the facade at night, imposing reflections on the building of it's Lake Tai location. Last year's top prize went to the curvaceous Absolute World Towers in Canada, while Frank Gehry's stainless steel skyscraper marvel New York by Gehry secured top honor's the year before. In 2010 Prestigious architectural award Emporis Skyscraper Award won the Hotel Porta Fira in Barcelona.

London's biggest and most expensive office building, HSBC's global headquarters, is up for sale at what would be a record price for the British market, in a sign that the capital's -commercial property market is booming again, reported The Financial Times. The 44-storey, 102 thousand square meters building in Canary Wharf, east London, is being -marketed by the estate agents JLL and GM Real Estate for offers above US$ 1.85 billion, say sources with knowledge of the property. The HSBC tower became the most expensive building in London when it sold for US$ 1.83 billion at the height of the UK property boom in 2007. HSBC has a 13-year lease on the building and is 0committed to annual upward-only inflation-linked rent reviews, according to sources familiar with the tenancy arrangements. This would make it an attractive proposition for investors seeking a hedge against inflation. Last year, HSBC ruled out the possibility of relocating its headquarters to Hong Kong, opting to stay in the UK despite stricter European restrictions on bankers' bonuses. The building was designed by Foster + Partners and built in 2002, and HSBC raised almost US$ 1.85 billion by selling it to the Spanish property company Metrovacesa, only to take ownership back in-house in late 2008 when Metrovacesa hit financial difficulties. The South Korean national pension fund NPS then bought the building - whose address is 8 Canada Square - from HSBC the following year for nearly US$ 1.34 billion. NPS, which is being advised by JPMorgan, is seeking to sell in order to free up funds to take advantage of other opportunities across Europe. The London market has seen just two deals at higher prices than NPS's US$ 1.85 billion target; but both involved multiple-building estates rather than single assets. Late last year Blackstone sold its 50 percent stake in the City's Broadgate office -complex to Singapore -sovereign wealth fund GIC, and Armenian billionaire Dikran Izmirlian sold the More London estate to the Kuwait state property company St Martins. Both deals were reportedly priced at about US$ 2.85 billion.