London welcomes a new wave of residential developments

The army of cranes dotting London's skyline almost makes the financial crisis seem like a distant memory.

The capital has always been a city on the move and now, in response to its growing population and subsequent housing needs, the city seems to be in the midst of a residential (and not only) construction boom. London is growing.

Whole new areas are being transformed to the west, east, north, south and central, with large chunks of the city's formerly neglected fabric being taken on and converted into glossy new homes. Some of the city's most high profile developers, such as Land Securities, Native Land, Ballymore, the St James Group, the Canary Wharf Group and Argent are all in the game.

The Battersea and Nine Elms developments are prime examples, covering over 200 hectares of the city's South Bank and including the revamp and repurposing of the historical power station, as well as new homes by the likes of Frank Gehry, Foster + Partners and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

More centrally, parts of Kings Cross may appear almost finished, but there is a lot more coming up in housing, office and outside space. Victoria is another part of the heart of London experiencing intense growth, with major commercial, as well as residential complexes currently on the go by architects such as Patrick Lynch.

Meanwhile, East London is getting a key luxury high-rise offering in the shape of Manhattan Lofts Gardens in Stratford; new luxury towers are popping up around the City Road Basin (by none other than UNStudio, Foster + Partners and SOM); and even further east, whole areas like the Royal Docks and the Greenwich Peninsula have turned into vast building sites, aiming to create brand new neighbourhoods for Londoners.

Derwent London, a developer mostly working with commercial space until now, has joined in with its very first residential development about to receive its first inhabitants. The Queens at Bayswater, designed by Stiff and Trevillion is a beautifully redeveloped old cinema, about to set new standards for the area's housing stock. The Saint Martins Lofts development on Charing Cross Road is another luxury residential development springing out of a London landmark; its 13 apartments were created out of the capital's iconic former Central Saint Martins building.

Here, we tour a selection of London's key upcoming residential developments, set to change the face of the capital.