Open House London: Architecture Up Close
This weekend’s entertainment was a little more unusual as it was the annual turn of the Open House London event (www.londonopenhouse.org/)*. Basically what happens is that a large number of properties and buildings are opened their doors to the general public to allow their architecture to be admired and appreciated. Each year the programme of buildings open to the public has expanded, and for 2008 this figure stood at 690. So where do you possibly start?
For me and Neil, our weekend began shortly after 7am as we had to catch a bus and then the Jubilee underground service to the other side of the city to Neasden for a guided tour of a war-time underground bunker.
Even though it was not the one used by Winston Churchill and his government during the Second World War, it was really fascinating to visit a place that could have been humming with parliamentary activity if the cabinet had not insisted on remaining inside central London. The bunker was built to be fully bomb-proof and was even constructed secretly unbeknownst to residents nearby as the site was excavated at night and the earth apparently removed within bread vans.
After a wake-up coffee, it was back on the Jubilee line and to the Royal Courts of Justice on Aldwych. Although this building by law is open to the general public, it surely cannot be often that the public got full access, the opportunity to take photos within, and even for those lucky enough to get there at the right time, the chance to participate as a member of a jury in a mock trial. Unfortunately, we were not able to do this as I had a pre-booked appointment on the tour around the Home Office…
…which I rather wished I hadn’t bothered with. On the booking confirmation it stressed that I needed to present photographic identification on arrival but it transpired that this was needed just to enter the waiting area – the inner atrium of one of the three conjoined buildings – where we all had to wait for 20 minutes with only a small fact sheet to read (no toilet trips as they were in a restricted area). After that wait, the tour guide (a member of staff with a bit of paper to read off) took us all outside into the street where other members of the public were able to join the back of the group without a problem.
The tour focussed solely on the external art of the building. I have to admit that I was rather unimpressed with it, but I did like the work of Liam Gillick whose colourful glass awning certainly adds much-needed colour to the area (see photo below).
That afternoon I queued to take a look around Bush House, opposite Kings College’s Strand Campus, and current home to BBC Worldwide until they move back into Broadcasting House in 2010. Considering the whole place is grade 2 listed, the BBC have done a fantastic job to adapt the building to their needs and therefore possesses a distinct character which will undoubtedly be missed when the BBC’s tenancy of the site expires.
On the Sunday morning, we both had a look around Charlton House, which I pass everyday on my route in and out of London. It looks wonderful from the outside and it is even better on the inside and I believe it is truly the best use of council property in Britain (see photo below).
The building is owned and maintained by Greenwich Council who run language and other part-time courses in some of the upstairs rooms, a café in the main hall, a local library service in the library, whose ground floor also doubles as a community centre hall used by many local clubs and organisations. Each teaching room (and its impressive fireplace) has been maintained to a very high standard and it would be a great learning environment. In fact I might have to take a closer look at the courses provided…
The final act of the weekend for me was a rare behind the scenes look at the everyday operations of the Government Art Collection (www.gac.culture.gov.uk/)*. From a relatively small office space off Tottenham Court Road, the GAC is responsible for acquiring, managing, storing, maintaining, restoring and redistributing more than 13,000 pieces of art that are owned by the Government.
The tour, which lasted much longer than billed, featured a talk on a couple of the collections latest additions and their placement history and an interesting insight into how pieces of art are chosen to the displayed in each of the embassies and government buildings around the world. It was a real eye-opener into the work of a government department; a department that I was unaware had such an important role, after all, the right piece of art in an embassy can apparently have a big effect on diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Unfortunately, they said they could not loan out one of the collection for me to display on my wall. Instead I was given a poster for the Open House Weekend - better than nothing I suppose…
For me and Neil, our weekend began shortly after 7am as we had to catch a bus and then the Jubilee underground service to the other side of the city to Neasden for a guided tour of a war-time underground bunker.
Even though it was not the one used by Winston Churchill and his government during the Second World War, it was really fascinating to visit a place that could have been humming with parliamentary activity if the cabinet had not insisted on remaining inside central London. The bunker was built to be fully bomb-proof and was even constructed secretly unbeknownst to residents nearby as the site was excavated at night and the earth apparently removed within bread vans.After a wake-up coffee, it was back on the Jubilee line and to the Royal Courts of Justice on Aldwych. Although this building by law is open to the general public, it surely cannot be often that the public got full access, the opportunity to take photos within, and even for those lucky enough to get there at the right time, the chance to participate as a member of a jury in a mock trial. Unfortunately, we were not able to do this as I had a pre-booked appointment on the tour around the Home Office…
…which I rather wished I hadn’t bothered with. On the booking confirmation it stressed that I needed to present photographic identification on arrival but it transpired that this was needed just to enter the waiting area – the inner atrium of one of the three conjoined buildings – where we all had to wait for 20 minutes with only a small fact sheet to read (no toilet trips as they were in a restricted area). After that wait, the tour guide (a member of staff with a bit of paper to read off) took us all outside into the street where other members of the public were able to join the back of the group without a problem.
The tour focussed solely on the external art of the building. I have to admit that I was rather unimpressed with it, but I did like the work of Liam Gillick whose colourful glass awning certainly adds much-needed colour to the area (see photo below).
That afternoon I queued to take a look around Bush House, opposite Kings College’s Strand Campus, and current home to BBC Worldwide until they move back into Broadcasting House in 2010. Considering the whole place is grade 2 listed, the BBC have done a fantastic job to adapt the building to their needs and therefore possesses a distinct character which will undoubtedly be missed when the BBC’s tenancy of the site expires.On the Sunday morning, we both had a look around Charlton House, which I pass everyday on my route in and out of London. It looks wonderful from the outside and it is even better on the inside and I believe it is truly the best use of council property in Britain (see photo below).
The building is owned and maintained by Greenwich Council who run language and other part-time courses in some of the upstairs rooms, a café in the main hall, a local library service in the library, whose ground floor also doubles as a community centre hall used by many local clubs and organisations. Each teaching room (and its impressive fireplace) has been maintained to a very high standard and it would be a great learning environment. In fact I might have to take a closer look at the courses provided…The final act of the weekend for me was a rare behind the scenes look at the everyday operations of the Government Art Collection (www.gac.culture.gov.uk/)*. From a relatively small office space off Tottenham Court Road, the GAC is responsible for acquiring, managing, storing, maintaining, restoring and redistributing more than 13,000 pieces of art that are owned by the Government.
The tour, which lasted much longer than billed, featured a talk on a couple of the collections latest additions and their placement history and an interesting insight into how pieces of art are chosen to the displayed in each of the embassies and government buildings around the world. It was a real eye-opener into the work of a government department; a department that I was unaware had such an important role, after all, the right piece of art in an embassy can apparently have a big effect on diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Unfortunately, they said they could not loan out one of the collection for me to display on my wall. Instead I was given a poster for the Open House Weekend - better than nothing I suppose…
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Your opne house link is wrong...
Posted by
Neil |
September 24, 2008 11:24 AM
Ah so it is, well spotted. Surprised it was wrong as that was the website link as printed in their programme... Btw, you spelt open wrong (!)
Posted by
Andrew |
September 26, 2008 12:44 PM