Articles about (mostly) London architecture, heritage, new buildings, and refurbishments.
Unfurling ice-rinks onto the River Thames
An architectural practice has shown off a concept for an unfolding ice rink which can be installed in places along the river and unfurl like a flower when the weather is right to form a natural ice rink.
Ticket Alert — Lord Adonis and Norman Foster debate
Potentially interesting talk and debate at the LSE later this month with three significant figures, Lord Adonis, Norman Foster, and Deyan Sudjic.
Sitting alongside the marketing suite half-way up the main Canary Wharf can be found the estate's marketing suite, and in a side room, to show off the development, a gigantic scale model of the estate.
A decade ago, work started on refurbishing one of London's more famous derelict buildings, and a few years ago, it opened as a posh hotel.
The Festival of Britain’s clock tower in East London
A remnant of the 1951 Festival of Britain can be found in East London far from the South Bank, but is, for locals, as vibrant a focal point.
Photos from inside the derelict Millennium Mills
A monumental block of industrial heritage that has stood empty for roughly 35 years is about to be returned to new use.
London Underground HQ to be turned into flats
Westminster Council has given permission for London Transport's iconic headquarters building to be converted into flats. Permission was granted yesterday at the Planning Applications Committee meeting.
East London office gets its own private tube train
An office block with an entrance next to Aldgate East tube station has installed its own private tube train — as a waiting room.
London’s 50-meter high Great Pagoda to reopen to the public
It was one of the jewels in the crown of Georgian London: a building so unusual that a suspicious public were unconvinced it would remain standing when it was built in 1762.
Rare opening of a derelict Georgian house
A note for your diaries, as next month there will be a rare opportunity to explore a tiny jewel of secret London, a 1719 Huguenot merchant's house
Unbuilt London: The Victorian skyscraper taller than The Shard
Around 160 years ago, plans were announced for a skyscraper in London that would have a summit even higher than The Shard stands today.
Drinks and a talk on the roof of London Underground’s HQ
A summer's evening in June could be an ideal time to spend sipping drinks on the top of London Underground's famous art-deco headquarters before it is turned into luxury flats.
The Post-War Plans to Rebuild Shoreditch & Bethnal Green
As World War Two started to approach what seemed to be its final conclusion, city planners turned their minds to the aftermath, and the rebuilding of homes and factories damaged by wartime bombing.
Easier access to Brunel’s Thames Tunnel shaft planned
Plans to make entry to an underground chamber in Rotherhithe moved a step closer following the unveiling of the design of the new staircase that will sit inside the space.
London’s most significant modernist building
Just around the back of Belsize Park tube station, on an otherwise unremarkable suburban street can be found one of the wonders of London architecture -- the Isokon Flats.
Photos from inside the SkyGarden
After much anticipation, and recent complaints, the SkyGarden has accepted its first paying customers, and non-paying voyeurs and at last a chance for us mere mortals to see what the fuss has been about.
The time when London’s streets were paved with wood
London’s streets may be famously paved with gold, but more realistically, they were once paved with wood — quite a lot of streets and an awful lot of wood. As roads were increasingly paved to cope with carriages and later,…
Visit the Barbican’s garden conservatory
Although as much loved as loathed for its expansive use of brutalist concrete, the Barbican is a surprisingly green place, with lots of open spaces and gardens.
As the walkie-talkie prepares to open to the public…
Central London's highest garden opens to the public at some point shortly, depending on which newspaper you read, even though in reality it is less a garden than a waiting area for a nearby restaurant.
Guided tours of Two Temple Place
There is one more opportunity this year to have an extended private tour of Two Temple Place.
Stunning views from the top of the Cally Tower
150 years ago a meat market opened on the edge of London to cater to its growing population. To mark the location a mighty clock tower was built.
Inside the derelict Crystal Palace subway
Just under 150 years ago, a subway was built linking a railway station to a shopping arcade, but was closed 60 years ago, and has been largely sealed up ever since. Which is a pity as it is a true marvel of Victorian brickwork.
London Open House Weekend Bookings
The guide to the London Open House weekend will go live on Friday morning, and reveal the details of those venues that need booking in advance.
9 minutes of Canary Wharf in 1996
Some years ago, the BBC commissioned a series of short films to fill gaps in their schedules, each being 10 minutes long, including trailers, about architecture.
