BATTERSEA POWER STATION

is a decommissioned coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames,
in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power
Company (LPC) to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the LPC, and CS Allott & Son
Engineers. The architects were J Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. The station is one of the world's
largest brick buildings and notable for its original, Art Deco interior fittings and decor.

The building comprises two power stations, built in two stages in a single building. Battersea A
Power Station was built between 1929–35 and Battersea B Power Station to its east, between 1937-41,
when construction was paused owing to the worsening effects of the Second World War. The building
was completed in 1955. "Battersea B" was built to a near identical design to "Battersea A" which provided
the iconic four-chimney structure.

"Battersea A" was decommissioned in 1975. In 1980 the whole structure was given Grade II listed
status; "Battersea B" shut three years later. In 2007 its listed status was upgraded to Grade II*. The
building remained empty until 2014, during which time it fell into near ruin. Various plans were made to
make use of the building, but none were successful. In 2012, administrators Ernst & Young entered into
an exclusivity agreement with Malaysia's SP Setia and Sime Darby to develop the site to include 250
residential units, bars, restaurants, office space (occupied by Apple and No.18 business members club),
shops and entertainment spaces. The plans were approved and redevelopment started a few years later.
As of 2019, the building is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors.
RIZAL PARK AND THE PHOTOBOMBER

High court OKs construction of Rizal Park ‘photobomber’

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday voted to allow the construction of the Torre de Manila residential
condominium that has ruined the skyline of the Rizal Monument, lifting a temporary restraining order
that halted the DMCI Homes project for nearly two years.

In an en banc session, the high tribunal junked the petition against the construction of the P3.6-billion,
49-storey
high-rise condominium project on Taft Avenue in Manila.

The 15-man court voted 9 against 6 to dismiss the petition filed by the Order of the Knights of Rizal in
September 2014 and lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued on June 16, 2015.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio wrote the decision.

“The court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter; the petitioners have no standing to sue; and they
(petitioners) stand to suffer no injury. Furthermore, the court also found that there is no law that prohibits
the construction of the challenged Torre de Manila,” the ruling said.

A court insider said majority of the magistrates found no grave abuse of discretion when the City of Manila
allowed the construction of the building.

Siding with Carpio in the majority were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Justices Presbitero Velasco
Jr., Mariano del Castillo, Lucas Bersamin, Bienvenido Reyes, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Marvic Leonen and
Noel Tijam.

The dissent was led by Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza. Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Diosdado
Peralta, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Jose Mendoza and Samuel Martires joined him.

The court source said the dissenters recommended to remand the case with the Manila City Hall for the
reevaluation of the licenses issued to DMCI Homes, since the high court is not a trier of facts.

The DMCI Homes project had drawn flak from netizens, who branded it the Rizal Monument
“photobomber” for ruining the park’s skyline.
In a statement, DMCI Homes president Alfredo Austria thanked the high court for the favorable decision.

“The waiting game is over and we can now service the needs of our customers,” Austria said.

The Knights of Rizal said it would follow the SC ruling, as it thanked the public “for carrying this issue with
us and for making the same as a test case for Philippine heritage for whatever the outcome would have
been.”

“The public support that was expressed in favor of our stand was an indication not only of the importance
of the National Monument but also to the continued relevance and reverence our National Hero, Jose
Rizal still enjoys.

Beyond this, may we preserve the value of our national cultural treasures and remain to live the Rizal
Way,” it pointed out.

In the previous administration, the Office of the Solicitor General accused DMCI Homes of violations of
national and local laws.

In the zoning permit of the City of Manila issued on June 19, 2012, Torre de Manila was indicated to have
a proposed floor area of 97,549 square meters (sqm) and a land area of 7,475 sqm

The building permit issued on July 5, 2012 granted by the Office of the Building Official of Manila allowed
DMCI to construct a “Forty Nine (49) Storey (building) w/ Basement and 2 Penthouse Resl/ Condominium.”

The solicitor general however said that under zoning rules of the City of Manila for areas near Rizal Park,
buildings have a limit of seven stories.

TORRE DE MANILA CONSTRUCTION

In June 2012, DMCI managed to secure a zoning permit that allows the company to build the Torre
de Manila in a lot along Taft Avenue. The planned location of the building is behind the lot previously
occupied by the Manila Jai Alai Building. The following month, the Manila city government under
Mayor Alfredo Lim, granted a building permit to DMCI. In November 2013, the Manila City Council
suspended the building's construction citing zoning violation. The city government by that time is now
under Mayor Joseph Estrada.

After the Manila Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals granted DMCI a zoning regulation exemption,
the construction of the Torre de Manila continued in January 2014. In the same month, an online
campaign against the construction of the high-rise condominium project was launched by tour guide and
activist Carlos Celdran, who said that the structure would mar the view of the iconic monument of national
hero Dr. Jose Rizal at Luneta.

By September 2014, the building was 23 percent complete with 19 floors completed. The turnover of the
building is planned in November 2017.
DEMOLISHED ADMIRAL HOTEL
Admiral Hotel demolished despite
National Museum hold advice

Heritage conservation issues continue to

hound the Manila City Hall under Mayor
Joseph Estrada as another important
structure is being demolished, apparently
with go-signal from the city government, to
give way to development.

The latest to fall despite the enactment of

the National Cultural Heritage law is the
historic prewar structure, Admiral Hotel on
Roxas Boulevard in Manila’s Malate district.

The building was one of the few to survive

World War II. But apparently it wouldn’t
survive the reign of greed and commercial
development.

Already, several commercial-development

projects are destroying the history and heritage of Manila: the erection of the Torre de
Manila skyscraper that would dwarf Rizal Park and Rizal Monument and spoil the Manila
skyline; the removal of the Anda Monument from Calle Aduana ostensibly to ease traffic in
Port Area; the demolition of the old Meralco building designed by Juan Arellano, and, with it,
the giant relief sculpture on its façade made by Francesco Riccardo Monti.

Completed in 1939, Admiral Hotel was designed by architect Fernando H. Ocampo in the
traditionalist mode, with touches of revivalist design.

Ocampo was one of the pioneers of modern Filipino architecture and one of the founders in
1930 of the University of Santo Tomas College of Architecture and Fine Arts, cradle of
modernist art movement in the Philippines.

Among his works are the UST Central Seminary, declared National Cultural Treasure by
the Philippine government; and today’s Manila Cathedral, reconstructed in 1958.
ADMIRAL HOTEL REPLACED BY ADMIRAL BAYSUITES – ASYA

DISCOVERING KILOMETER 0 IN MANILA CITY

Why is the Kilometer Zero significant? It’s a
reference point of kilometer markers you find in
any Philippine national highway. It’s like
the Milliarium Aureum of ancient Rome that
survives to this day — “all roads were considered to
begin from this monument and all distances in the
Roman Empire were measured relative to that
point.” But it has its practical purposes.

A kilometer marker was placed smack right in front of our old house, so I was aware of its existence at an
early age. I started asking questions about the meaning of the figures on that marker. It’s usually made of
cement, spaced one kilometer apart, that reflects a few important details (it’s different from the markers
of the Death March).
There are four pieces of information in a kilometer marker (except Kilometer 0, which has only 2). These
are:

“KM” — this simply means KILOMETER.

Number below the “KM” — the distance of the marker from the Kilometer 0 found in Luneta. A bigger
number means you’re further from Luneta. If you walk to towards the next kilometer marker and it reflects
a smaller number, that means you’re walking towards the direction of Manila (where Luneta is found).

Letter/s — the initial of the NEXT town in the direction you are heading.

Number — immediately under the letters is a number, which designates the remaining distance (in
kilometers) to the next town. It’s like a countdown. We love countdowns, from the New Year, the most
embarrassing moments on TV, and what-have-you. This might provide a welcome distraction for the
young ones when taking long drives out of town.

AIR RIGHTS
Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking,
owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and develop the space above the land
without interference by others.

This legal concept is encoded in the Latin phrase Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad
inferos ("Whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell."), which appears in medieval
Roman law and is credited to 13th-century glossator Accursius; it was notably popularized in common
law in Commentaries on the Laws of England (1766) by William Blackstone; see origins of phrase for
details.

United States

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has the sole authority to regulate
all "Navigable airspace", exclusively determining the rules and requirements for its use. Specifically, the
Federal Aviation Act provides that: "The United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace
of the United States" and "A citizen of the United States has a public right of transit through the navigable
airspace." The "navigable airspace" in which the public has a right of transit has been defined as "the
airspace at or above the minimum altitudes of flight that includes the airspace needed to ensure safety in
the takeoff and landing of aircraft." However, this does not authorize the United States Government to
operate aircraft with impunity in regards to "substantial impairment" of private property, which
constitutes a governmental taking requiring just compensation.

Air rights in development

The owner of the land has the exclusive development rights in the 'space' above his lands. Under
common law, building a 'hangover' that breaks the vertical plane of a neighbor's property is a trespass
and the property owner has the right to remove the offending structure. The airspace is property and
retains developmental rights which can be sold or transferred. Thus, in a dense downtown area, each
building in the area may have the right to thirty-five stories of airspace above his own property. In one
possible scenario, owners of an older building of only three stories high could make a great deal of money
by selling their building and allowing a thirty-five-story skyscraper to be built in its place. In a different
scenario, a skyscraper developer may purchase the unused airspace from an adjacent landowner in order
to develop a broader building. In November 2005, Christ Church in New York sold its vertical development
rights for a record $430 per square foot, making more than $30 million on the sale for the right to build in
the space over its building.
 NEW YORK AIR RIGHTS
WHAT ARE AIR RIGHTS?
The term air rights cannot be found in the New York City Zoning Resolution. The Zoning Code
uses the term “development rights” which is what people normally mean when they say “air
rights”.

AIR RIGHTS NYC DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS

Air Rights or Development Rights are the unused floor area that can be developed on a property.
The unused floor area can be added to the property or sold to a neighboring property. In New
York City Air Rights can be transferred to other properties with restrictions of course. There are
2 ways to buy and sell air rights.

1. Zoning Lot Merger

2. Development Rights Transfer

HOW TO CALCULATE AIR RIGHTS?

Air rights are what you can build on a property as per zoning regulations. If you have a property
where you can build a total of 100,000 square feet, your air rights are 100,000 sq ft. If that
property currently has a 60,000 sq ft building, then your unused air rights (or unused
development rights) are 40,000 square feet. You can either add 40,000 sq ft to your building or
you can sell it to your neighbor and they can add it to their development.

NYC AIR RIGHTS CALCULATIONS

Every property in NYC is governed by a very specific set of zoning regulations. The NYC
Zoning codes will determine and restrict many variables on a building. The zoning code provides
an FAR or Floor Area Ratio. This determines how many square feet you can build on any given
property. The allowable square footage determine the Development Rights or Air Rights.
Development Rights are determined by calculating the allowable floor area.

In this example we will use an FAR of 10 this would be for example an R10 Zoning Lot. The FAR
varies depending on what zoning district you are in. We will also use a property that has a lot size
of 100 x 100 which equals 10,000 square feet (that is the Property Area).
Allowable Floor Area = Property Area x FAR
Allowable Floor Area = 10,000 sq ft x 10

Allowable Floor Area = 100,000 sq ft This number is the development rights of the property
The owner of this property has the legal right to build a 100,000 square foot building. Therefor
the development rights are 100,000 square feet of air rights.
The FAR calculation determines the development rights. In this case if the lot is empty you have
100,000 sq ft of Air Rights.

AIR RIGHTS NYC & DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS IN NYC ZONING.

In NYC Air Rights means Unused Development Rights. A Development Right is the right to develop
a property and the extent of that development in square feet. The unused development rights
(AKA air rights) are whatever allowable square footage is not used. If not all the allowable square
footage has been used, one can allocate that square footage to an adjacent property by merging
the zoning lots.

AIR RIGHTS IN NYC = UNUSED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS

The Department Of City Planning uses the term Unused Development Rights more commonly
referred to as Air Rights or Unused Air Rights. Personally I think unused development rights
makes more sense and is easier for people to understand, but everyone calls it Air Rights in NYC.

Air Rights – Development Rights NYC Zoning definition –

“Development rights generally refer to the maximum amount of floor area permissible on a zoning
lot. When the actual built floor area is less than the maximum permitted floor area, the difference
is referred to as “unused development rights.” Unused development rights are often described as
air rights.”
Hotel Is Planned Over Racquet and Tennis Club
In a display of architectural one-
upmanship, the RadNet and Tennis
Club of New York has told city
officials it warits, to build a 38‐story
luxury hotel abovelts famous
clubhouse on Park Avenue between
52d And 53d Streets opposite the
Seagram Building.

The proposed hotel would not alter

the facade of the 60;Siear‐old
clubhouse, but it would hlbck most
of the Park Avenue views of a major
skyscraper planned for the vacant
site immediately behind the club.

Development of the hotel plan

seemed likely to put, pressure on
the deVelopers of the skyscraper,
Fisher.. Brothers, to revise their
designs, since views are major
selling point in leasing. The scarcity
of large :blocks of new office space
in prime locations in New York City
and a shortage of superior hotel
accommodations, however,. tend to
mitigate the importance in the
Marketplace of architectural
niceties, according to many
realestate experts.

A Galleria Is a Key Factor

Fisher Brethert Had ‘been negotiating for several years to buy the Racquet Club's. air ‐
rights and a Park Avenue entrance: Negotiations were halted, how. ever, when the office
of the Borough President- recently granted the Fisher Brothers’ midblock site a “Park
Avenue Plaza", address and when the city Planning. Commission introduced special
“public galleria” legislation that would grant it‐more:than 200,000 square feet—the
equiyalent of about‐10 floors of office space—as a bonus for building a 60-foothigh
galleria.

The club's plans for the new hotel were informally presented earlier this week to Robert
F. Wagner Jr., the chairman of the City Planning Commission. Jonathan Morse of the
architectural firm of Morse & Harvey: which has‐been named as the architect for the
project, said that it was estimated that the hotel could cost about $24 million and would,
contain about 340 rooms priced at about ‐$100 a night. Mr. Morse is also a‐principal of
the Cowperwood Interests, which has been‐appointed by the club as the project's
developer.

John Souter, a vice president of the club; which has .about 2,000 members, said’ that the
‐peoiect was “economically feasible and would fulfill “our requirement for permitting the
club to stay where it is for theAreSeeable future."*The club, he said, is losing’ money on
an operating basis. “If- it is not possible for the club to make some constructive use of‐its
undeveloped asset, that is the air rights,"he said, “the long‐term future of the facility is
certainly in question.”