London's Blackfriars Tube station is on its way to becoming the world's largest solar bridge. Stretching across South Bank a stone's throw from the Tate Modern, the busy station, built by Solarcentury, has already reached the halfway point to completion. Construction on the world's largest solar bridge began on October 2011. Blackfriars Tube station is still fully functioning, ferrying Londoners and tourists from the popular South Bank promenade to areas all over the city. Yet construction is still underway across the bridge's rooftop. Heavy scaffolding is slowly being removed to reveal the 4,400 solar panels that will serve the station, pumping 900 thousand kWh of solar energy back into the grid each year. The solar powerhouse will also reduce CO2 emissions by 511 tons per year, all while promptly serving commuters with uninterrupted service around the city. The gorgeous Victorian bridge is the only bearing solar panels along the River Thames. With stellar city views, boats pass under the bridge's arches throughout the day, while the station serves 24 trains per hour. Pedestrians strolling along the South Bank walk way pass under the historic bridge, check out the progress of its solar modernization. The idyllic scene could be just a glimpse of London's future. With over 100 bridges crossing the River Thames throughout the city, adding additional solar arrays on any of them could drastically reduce the city's consumption of fossil fuels, and ensure a source of clean energy for generations to come, reducing emissions and overall carbon footprint.

Work on the world's largest solar bridge formally begins, as the first of more than 4.400 solar panels are installed above the new "Blackfriars" station platform, reported The Guardian. When complete in 2012, the "Victorian" bridge will play host to some 6 thousand square meters of photovoltaic (PV) panels, making it London's largest solar array. The historic London site is undergoing a multi-million pound refit, which includes extending the platform along "Blackfriars Bridge", a structure built in 1886. "Solarcentury", the UK company, managing the installation, expects the panels to generate around 900,000kWh of electricity a year, providing half of the station's energy and reducing annual CO2 emissions by an estimated 511 tons. "Station buildings and bridges are fixed parts of our urban landscape and it is great to see that this one will be generating renewable energy every day into the future. For people to see that solar power is working is a vital step towards a clean energy future," said "Solarcentury" chief executive Derry Newman in a statement. Other energy saving measures, such as rain harvesting systems and sun pipes for natural lighting, are also being fitted at "Blackfriars", as part of Network Rail's plans to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent per passenger kilometer by 2020. One other solar bridge is known to exist, "The Kurilpa" footbridge in Brisbane, Australia, although 16 thousand solar panels were laid on the top of a train tunnel in Belgium earlier this year.

One of Britain's top entrepreneurs has unveiled a new plan to build London's most expensive block of flats in Mayfair. "Audley Square House" is being billed as Britain's first US$ 3 billion apartment block. The previous records belonged to private projects One Hide Park and 199 Knightsbridge, which construction costs were US$ 2.2 billion. According to British publication Daily Mail John Caudwell, the founder of Phones4U, bought the five-story Audley Street garage in Mayfair, central London for US$ 230 million in order to knock it down and build a high-end housing complex. At first the site has consent for a nearly US$ 450 million scheme by Foster & Partners but John Caudwell has since added an extra building to the plot. After ditching the Foster's scheme he interviewed 30 "leading architects from around the world" before appointing New York-based Stern for its "ability to design high-quality buildings that do not stand apart from their surroundings but rather fit in comfortably amongst their neighbors". The 18,500 square meters scheme, known as "Audley Square House", will be 9 stories above ground, capped by large penthouses and duplexes, plus 5 underground - including 2 levels of car parking, plant and a leisure center. Each townhouse and penthouse will have its own gym and swimming pool, while the penthouses will have dedicated lifts to ensure their owners' privacy. The development's communal facilities will include a 15-meter swimming pool, a business center for holding meetings, a gym, spa and cinema and games room. At the first of April plans for the ambitious complex were submitted to Westminster Council. But as mentioned Becky Fatemi, director of Rokstone estate agents during her interview to Daily Mail, powerful locals might not be happy with the years of building works which would be likely to ensue in the area. The neighbors are powerful and include the Embassy of Qatar, the Dorchester Hotel and very wealthy apartment owners who will expect the site construction to be managed to the highest levels to ensure no noise or construction impact and they will expect constantly clean roads.