Comments update: Eric Parry Architects unveiled designs for the tallest building in London's financial district this week. Will it be an eyesore or a refreshing addition to the city's skyline? Read on to find out what readers thought, and explore our comments page to keep up to date with the latest discussions.
Growth spurt: the rectilinear tower, which is set to become the second tallest in London after The Shard, is to be capped by the highest free public viewing gallery in London.
"[It's] a fantastic piece of architecture," said Roberto Sideris. "The regular rectangular cube has been pushed out of architecture for its over-simplicity, yet here we see it re-imagined."
"Well designed, symmetrical and not too flamboyant," agreed Kay, while one guest commenter described the design as "sexy, sturdy, modern and masculine."
Others strongly disagreed with these assessments. "I feel absolutely nothing when I look at this," wrote Chris MacDonald. Anton agreed, accusing the city of becoming "boring". Read the comments on this story »
Don't move, improve: Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron hit the headlines after revealing its final design for Chelsea FC's revamped London stadium. By redesigning the club's home ground, say readers, Chelsea FC and the architects have rebuffed the trend in top-level football for building bigger stadiums in "soulless" locations.
"More clubs should redesign their original stadiums within local communities rather than build huge [stadia] miles from fans,"Â argued Sam. "Herzog & de Meuron and Chelsea seem to have shown it is possible."
"I couldn't agree more," wrote Benjamin. "Football is losing its character – designs such as this can help to move the game into the 21st Century while paying homage to its heritage." Read the comments on this story »
Disruptive tech:Â driverless cars resurfaced as a hot topic this week after our interview with a senior strategist at German manufacturer Audi went viral on social media platform Reddit.
In the interview, Audi's Sven Schuwirth said that self-driving cars could disrupt the airline and hotel industries within 20 years. Not everyone agreed.
"Experts predict that within 20 years the roadways in the US will have deteriorated to the point that they will be un-navigable," countered Machin. "Bridges will be at a constant risk of collapse and potholes will look like sinkholes."
"Poor infrastructure could put a massive spanner in the works for the [autonomous] technology," added a guest commenter. "But it wouldn't surprise me if companies like Google and Tesla took on the problem on and solved it."
Others pointed to potential security problems with a transport network that is reliant on computers rather than humans. "Surely the whole system would be a hackers wet dream?" posed Rae. Read the comments on this story »
Bunker living:Â a seemingly windowless concrete house in Mexico prompted a strong reaction after one commenter accused the design of being akin to "architectural autism".
"These houses effectively say 'f*ck it'", argued Sim. "[They] have no sense of their meaning in a broader sense, other than creating a comfortable coma-like state for the people who live in it."
Others criticised the home for looking too much like a "bunker", while also describing its interior as "sterile".
"I like the simple shapes," concluded Leo. "The garden will be even more welcoming when the trees are bigger." Read the comments on this story »