City of London introduces tougher rules for skyscrapers

Our daily round-up of news from the art world 

City of London introduces tougher rules for skyscrapers | Fears that the continued development of high-rise buildings in London might result in fierce wind tunnels that could potentially knock over pedestrians and cyclists have led the City of London to implement stricter building guidelines for skyscrapers in the city. Developers will be required to produce more thorough assessments of how buildings will affect conditions at street level, while the City is also reclassifying average wind speeds of more than eight metres per second as ‘uncomfortable’.

Kiluanji Kia Henda chosen for 1–54 courtyard commission | The Kameel Lazaar Foundation has named Kiluanji Kia Henda as the winner of its 2019 sculpture commission, which is installed annually in conjunction with 1–54 Contemporary African Art Fair in the courtyard of Somerset House in London. Based in Luanda and Lisbon, Kia Henda was chosen from a pool of more than 100 artists from 21 African countries.

UK-based curator loses appeal against prison sentence in Iran | Aras Amiri, a curator and employee of the British Council who was jailed last month in Tehran, lost her appeal against a 10-year prison sentence earlier this week. The British Council has said that it will continue to reject accusations that Amiri, who has been based in the UK for ten years, was conducting espionage on behalf of her employer.