Booking Details for London Open House Weekend 2010

It’s that time of year again as the catalogues are posted out for the London Open House Weekend (18th-19th Sept) and I peer through it for all the juicy properties that need pre-booking when the website goes live on Monday 9th August at 10am.

Update: The exact page of their website to locate properties and book tickets looks like it will be http://www.londonopenhouse.org/public/london/find/

As with last year, quite a lot of the properties are booked by making a phone call or sending an email – and the chance to visit the BT Tower will be by email ballot.

There is also a chance to go inside the iconic London Underground HQ building, which I am fairly sure hasn’t been available before.

As last year, for your convenience, I have trawled through the catalogue and below is the list of all the venues you need to book tickets for. I have also though put the data into a Google Map to make it possibly easier to plot routes between properties.

Note – the map/list below is only for pre-booked properties, the full list of venues you can just turn up on the day and go inside is vastly larger and will be on their website, or you can pick up one of the catalogues.

Click for map

The full list of pre-booking properties:

Barking and Dagenham

• Castle Green (Sat)
  • Brand new PFI school and community facility in the heart of the borough, opened Sept 2005. Design encourages imaginative teaching methods. State of the art facilities have been developed in line with new pedagogy focusing on importance of communication.
• The Broadway (Sat)
  • Original theatre recently modernised with striking but sympathetic new double height foyer space, preserving the original façade which now forms part of the interior. H Jackson and R Edmunds 1930/Tim Foster (refurb) 2004.

Bexley

• Hall Place (Sat & Sun)
  • Grade I listed early Tudor three-sided mansion built for a Lord Mayor of London c1540-1650 with later extensions. Set in formal gardens on the banks of the River Cray with splendid 18C gates. Entry: great hall, minstrels’ gallery, new exhibition galleries.

Brent

• Brent Museum Collection Store (Sat & Sun)
  • Housed in the modernised Library, Brent Museum pioneered community involvement in building the collection and holds hundreds of objects relating to the history of Brent since around 1800.
• Underground Bunker, Neasden (Sat)  [I’ve been there]
  • Underground 1940s bunker used during WWII by Winston Churchill and the Cabinet.

Bromley

• Bromley and Sheppard’s College (Sat)
  • Founded to house the widows of clergymen, the original building consisted of 20 houses built around a classically-styled quadrangle. Captain Richard Ryder – one of Sir Christopher Wren’s surveyors – was in charge of design and construction. Captain Richard Ryder 1666. Entry: grounds, quadrangle, chapel.
• Camden Place (Chislehurst Golf Club) (Sat & Sun)
  • Early 18C mansion and home of Napolean III 187080. Brick façade, early 18C Dutch wall paintings and breakfast room with sxquisite origianl plaster ceiling by James Steuart. Golf club from 1894
• The Berresford House (Sun)
  • Set in woodland on a sloping site its cedar clad timber framed construction was ahead of its time. Restisting radical change, the house is used for photo-shoots and has recently been listed “perfect house” – Grand Designs. Ivor Berresford 1957-58
• The Churchill (Sat)
  • Wonderful example of a repertory theatre in style of European opera houses, with vast stage, sub-stage workshops and auditorium seating 785. Ken Wilson 1977. Entry: auditorium, stage, wings, dressing rooms, rehearsal spaces.
• The Odeon, Beckenham (Sat & Sun)
  • Art Deco cinema with proscenium arch, stained glass windows and typically Deco mouldings. Robert Cromie 1930. Entry: main foyer, auditorium, projection room.

Camden

• 73 Chester Road (Sat)
  • Semi-detached late Victorian house, carefully transformed in 2006 to make it fit for 21C, reducing its carbon footprint by 70%. Sustainable features include walls internally insulated; sash windows overhauled and double glazed and draught stripped; high performance windows; solar panels; light pipe; wood burning stove; water saving techniques.
• BT Tower (Sun)
  • Infamous tower – what else is there to add?
• Centre Point (Sat)  [I’ve been there]
  • 34 story Grade II listed London landmark building. The structure is claimed to be the first in London to be
    erected not requiring scaffolding. Entry to reception, linkbridge, 18th, 33rd floors and viewing gallery.
• Government Art Collection (Sat & Sun)
  • Guided tour of premises and behind the scenes look at how the government art collection operates.
• Gray’s Inn (Sun)
  • 700 year old legal collegiate institution. Hall includes 16C screen. Much of Inn redesigned in neo-Classical style by Sir Edward Maufe after 1941 bombing.
• LSE – New Academic Building (Sun)
  • Originally constructed in 1915, this Beaux Arts building was dramatically transformed in 2008, retaining the original façade. Highlights include a soaring central atrium with art installation, a set piece theatre and roof top terrace.
• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Sat)
  • Drama school’s home since 2003, recently refurbished with plans to develop site into a world-class drama campus. Black box studio theatre and special student common room area. Niall McLaughlin Architects 2003.
• Royal Asiatic Society (Sat)
  • An original 1880 warehouse converted by architects Jestco+Whiles for their offices. Featuring an atrium with an up-and-over full height glazed screen fronting the mezzanine floor.
• The Coach House (Sat & Sun)
  • Victorian house retrofitted to save 70% carbon, features internal and external insulation, high performance double glazing, internal draught stripping and LED low energy bulbs.

City of London

• Barbican Centre (Sat)
  • A fascinating insight into the history, original concepts and designs for the Barbican by the architects of the recent refurbishment. AHMM will also highlight their new work to the public areas. Chamberlin Powell & Bon/Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (refurb) 1963/2006.
• Leathersellers’ Hall (Sat)
  • Post-war building in neo-Georgian style, this is the 6th hall in the Leathersellers’ Company’s history since its foundation in the Middle Ages. Louis de Soissons Partnership 1960. Entry: Assembly room, Reception room, Livery Hall
• Mansion House (Sat & Sun)
  • Residence of the City of London’s Lord Mayor, retaining its 18C character, with superb plasterwork and wood carving. George Dance the Elder 1739-52. Entry: public areas of house on ground & 1st floors. (NB, open to paid tours on Tuesdays anyway)
• Tower 42 (Sat)
  • City of London’s tallest occupied building – entry to foyer and floors 24 & 42.
• Watermen’s Hall (Sat)
  • Only remaining Georgian Hall in the City of London, and perfect example of domestic architecture of the period. William Blackburn 1780. Entry: parlour, freemen’s room, court room, hallway.
• Masonic Temple (formerly Great Eastern Hotel) (Sat)
  • Grade II listed grand Victorian railway hotel refurbished with contemporary interiors. Greek Masonic Temple with magnificent Grade II listed interior of marble and mahogany built 1912.
• St Bride Foundation Institute (Sat & Sun)
  • Built as printers institute in the Anglo-Dutch style in red brick with sandstone dressings, steeply pitched tiled roof and Dutch gables. Once home to a swimming pool, some of the original features can still be seen. Special display and guided tours.

Croydon

• Central Hall, Davidson Lodge (Sat)
  • Originally built as an asylum for “worthy, aged and decayed freemasons”, Grade II listed, the central hall is open for the first time in 50 years.
• Old Palace, Croydon (Sat)
  • Grade I listed manor house and summer residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury from 13-18C. Medieval Great Hall with original roof, Great Chamber & Chapel, Tudor bedroom and Long Gallery. Entry: Great Hall, Great Chamber, domestic chapel.
• Whitgift Almshouses (Sat)
  • Tudor almshouses around a courtyard, dating from 1596 and founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift. Chapel with original 16C clock. Entry: courtyard, chapel, audience chamber.
• St. Bernards Housing (Sat)
  • Twenty-one houses in three hillside terraces built by Swiss architects Atelier 5 for Wates. Pevsner wrote “a group with few equals in Britain”.

Ealing

• Zero Carbon Loft (Sat & Sun)
  • An eco-refurbishment project which crammed in just about every energy-and-water saving device known whilst highlighting the importance of retrofitting existing buildings.

Enfield

• Salisbury House (Sun)
  • Grade II listed gabled and brick 1625 Tudor Manor House restored by Enfield Council, the finest piece of late-Elizabethan architecture left in the Borough.
• Priory Hospital North London (Sun)
  • Grade I listed neo-classical villa designed for Walker Gray. Grounds laid out by Repton. Elegant trompe l’oeil breakfast room. John Nash 1797. Entry: main house, ground and 1st floors, ice house.

Hackney

• 39 Parkholme Road (Sat & Sun)
  • Minimal and green remodelling of a Victorian terraced family house, incorporating exceptional thermal efficiency, solar heating and water recycling through the original structure and a new copper and glass box extension.
• 85 Great Eastern Street (Sat)
  • A new workplace within an existing industrial building that animates its elevation with coloured glass gins piercing the façade.
• Stoke Newington Town Hall (Sun)
  • Restored to its former Art Deco glory after extensive restoration project funded by Hackney Council. Stunning assembly hall with original sprung Canadian Maple dancefloor and renovated council chamber.

Hammersmith and Fulham

• 44 Stamford Brook Road (Sat)
  • Minimalist garden extension . Entry to the ground floor
• 7 Hammersmith Terrace (Sat & Sun)
  • The home of Emery Walker, printer, antiquary and mentor to William Morris. A unique Arts and Crafts domestic interior. Entry: main rooms, garden.
• Charing Cross Hospital (Sun)
  • Riverside wing with sculpture. Newly restored hospital chapel with stained glass and the West London Mental Health Centre.
• GlaxoSmithKline Clinical Imaging Centre
  • New clinical imaging centre, the result of a unique collaboration between GlaxoSmithKine, Imperial College and the Medical Research Centre.
• GlaxoSmithKline Clinical Imaging Centre
  • Tours of the buildings and art work.
• Lyric Theatre Hammersmith (Sat)
  • Beautiful gilt and velvet auditorium rebuilt inside concrete exterior of 1970s development. New striking glass and steel entrance extension illuminated at night to create glowing box. Frank Matcham/Rick Mather Architects 1895/2003. Entry: backstage, auditoria.

Haringey

• Dominion Centre (formerly Gaumont Palace Cinema) (Sat)
  • Grade II* listed, the former Gaumont Palace first served as a cinema and then bingo hall. Now being restored as a Church with much of the Art Deco interior still intact.

Harrow

• Grim’s Dyke (Sun)
  • One of Shaw’s best known ‘Olde English’ style country residences and once the home of WS Gilbert. Listed gardens. Richard Norman Shaw 1872.
• Sweetmans Hall (Sun)
  • 16C timber-framed house with smoke bay. Georgian and Victorian additions including interesting features.

Havering

• The Round House (Sun)
  • Grade II* listed late Georgian elliptical 3-storeyed stuccoed villa. John Plaw 1792-4.

Hillingdon

• 43 Holloway Lane (Sat)
  • Large Victorian 2-story end of terrace situated in a conservation area. Upgrading is part of a pilot scheme to train and educate developers in ways to improve the insulation qualities of houses when renovating.
• Ickenham Manor (Sat)
  • Four-bay timber-framed Tudor Manor House, connected to a Medieval hall. Later additions include 16C stair tower and two 18C brick wings. Entry: ground floor, gardens.

Hounslow

• St Mary’s Convent (Sat)
  • Convent in 18C Grade II listed house with original features. Various additions including west wing (1913-15) and harmonious care home facilities and chapel by PRP Architects (1998-2001). Entry: lobby, community room, chapel. Heritage room and Foundress’ room (no wheelchair access).

Islington

• 83 Calabria Road (Sun)
  • A vertical garden grows around a double height space to the rear of a remodeled Victorian house.
• Wesley’s Chapel and House (Sat & Sun)
  • Fine Georgian complex built by John Wesley as his London base. Entry: chapel; museum; John Welsey’s house; gardens.

Kensington and Chelsea

• Brick House (Sat)
  • RIBA award winning home – that stands amongst dense residential buildings. The constricted plot is shaped like a horse’s head surrounded by three taller buildings, and can only be reached by a carriageway through the façade of an adjacent Victorian terrace.
• Kensington Palace (Sat)
  • Originally a Jacobean house, Kensington was adapted for Stuart and Georgian monarchs between 1689-1715 by Wren and Hawksmoor.
• Trellick Tower (Sun)
  • Goldfinger’s 31 story tower built as social housing. Entry to lobby and 2 or 3 flats.
• Studios at Kensington Court Mews (Sat)
  • Two double height 19C stables, radically reconstructed to form two separate modern living spaces.
• The LuxPod (Sat & Sun)
  • Described as a luxury room on the rocket hotel to Mars, the LuxPod is an ingenious fully functional new build studio flat of 9 sq metres. It is urban living of the future perched atop a 19C building.
• Victoria Road (Sat)
  • Refurbishment of a 1950s modern terrace house with a spectacular garden, dramatic staircase and intriguing volumes.

Lambeth

• Beefeater Distillery (Sat & Sun)  [I’ve been there]
  • Guide to the distillery which combines Victorian buildings with 1960s extensions. Includes a drink in their private bar.
• BFI IMAX (Sat & Sun)
  • Entry to ground and 1st floor foyers of the round cinema.
• Conservation Extension (Sun)
  • Existing building in a conservation area opened up to create a kitchen/dining/living area in an extension with glazed roof and sliding doors leading o a new terrace and garden.
• The London Eye (Sun)
  • Talk by David Marks followed by ride on the London Eye.

Lewisham

• The Capitol (formerly Forest Hill Cinema) (Sat & Sun)
  • Grade II listed rare survival of a complete 1920s cinema in Art Deco style, later a bingo hall and now a pub.
• Louise House (Sat)
  • Institutional Victorian building in te domestic revival style, built as a Girls’ Industrial Home and Laundry. Highly decorated externally and functional utilitarian interior.

Merton

• 31b St Mary’s Road (Sun)
  • One of a small number of Peter Foggo houses, single-storey, flat-roofed house, with skylights, two wings, mahogany panelling and floor to ceiling windows.
• Baitul Futuh Mosque (Sat)
  • Purpose built mosque (2003) and the largest in Europe, with 15m diameter dome and minarets and accommodating 13,000 worshippers.

Newham

• London 2012 Olympic Park (Sat & Sun)
  • Bus based tour around the Olympic building site
• Olympic Park Viewing Gallery at Holden Point (Sat & Sun)
  • See spectacular birdseye views of the Olympic Park from the viewing gallery, constructed for the International Olympic Committee’s visit during London’s bid to host the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Project team professionals on site to answer questions. NB. Site sits on 21st floor of housing block, please respect residents.
• Cass School of Education and Conference and Computing Centre (Sat)
  • The Cass school of Education is organised around a central atrium with café and exhibition area and theatre with flexible teaching spaces.

Richmond

• Richmond Theatre (Sat)
  • A typical Matcham design, this beautiful 840 seat theatre was exhaustively researched and then restored in 1989 to a fabulous crimson, cream and gold. All original mouldings restored and renewed. Frank Matcham 1899. Entry: auditorium, backstage, foyers.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – Architectural Tour (Sat & Sun)
  • Buildings highlighted inlcude: Nash Conservatory, Orangery, Kew Palace, Princess of Wales Conservatory, Davies Alpine House, Palm House, Waterlilly House and Museum No 1.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – Jodrell Laboratory (Sat & Sun)
  • Housing reference collections, the Laboratory fits in with the local environment – horizontal cedarboard cladding will mellow to similar colour of eucalyptus trees outside. RIBA award winner 2007.

Southwark

• Dulwich College (Sun)
  • Founded in 1619 and rebuilt in the 1860s, the buildings are large, symmetrical and ornate, in the Italian Renaissance style. Charles Barry Junior 1866-70. Entry: great hall, lower hall, boardroom, Masters’ library.
• Bolanachi Building (Sat & Sun)
  • Part of the Bermondsey Spa regeneration masterplan and one of the early medium-rise, high-density schemes. Uses naturally ventilated atrium to maximise dual aspect dwellings.

Sutton

• Parity Projects House (Sat)
  • Award winning Victorian semi-detached home, the building is a project to apply and test eco-principles for future use.

Tower Hamlets

• Tower Bridge Exhibition (Sat & Sun)
  • Access to the upper walkways and steam engines
• Tower of London (Sat & Sun) [I’ve been there]
  • Tour of the exterior of the White Tower to see the conservation work up close – will involve ascending scaffolding.
• Whitechapel Gallery (Sat & Sun)
  • Talks by archivist, Gary Haines on the gallery’s 109 year history through the archive of photographs and documents
• Metropolitian Works (Sat)
  • New building housing prototyping and digital manufacturing equipment for use by architects and others, conceived as a simple metal box echoing the semi-industrial nature of the materials used in the centre.

Waltham Forest

• William Morris Gallery (Sat & Sun)
  • Tour including restricted areas on history and future of the gallery

Wandsworth

• National Tennis Centre (Sat & Sun)
  • A new centre for young Tennis players. Three-dimensional grid shell, dome like roofs form the largest volumes covering six indoor courts.
• Pump House Gallery (Sat & Sun)
  • Grade II listed Victorian ex-water tower overlooking Battersea Park lake. Now houses a contemporary art gallery.
• Rafayel Hotel (Sun)
  • Architect led tours of a new ecologically intelligent hotel. Four distinctive linked blue-clad towers are constructed in steel/glass/timber.

Westminster

• Jimi Hendrix Flat (23 Brook Street) (Sat )
  • Rare opportunity to see the flat where Jimi Hendrix lived between 1968 and 1969.
• London Underground HQ Building (Sat & Sun)
  • Famous 1929 headquarters building for London Underground
• Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum (Sat )
  • Now restored to its 1928 condition, the laboratory tells the story of the discovery of penicillin.
• Dover House, Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (Sat )
  • Elegant Whitehall facade and domed entrance commissioned by the Duke of York. Interesting original interiors. J Paine & H Holland 1754-8/1787. Entry: Ministerial rooms only.
• Former Conservative Club (HSBC offices) (Sat)
  • Grand and monumental building with rich carvings and spectacular decorated saloon at its heart. Conserved and refurbished to replace 2 wings and provide new glazing to atrium at junction of new and old sites. Grade II* listed.  Entry: Grade II* listed areas.
• Grosvenor House (Sun)
  • Guided tour of the 1926 hotel.
• Park Lane Hotel (Sat & Sun)
  • London’s finest monument to Art Deco features original marble bathrooms, fireplaces and recently restored Grade I listed ballroom. Henry Tanner 1927. Entry: rooms selected on day.
• Reform Club (Sat & Sun)
  • Built as a Whig gentleman’s club and inspired by Italian Renaissance palaces. Lobby leads to an enclosed colonnaded courtyard with ‘complementary’ glazed roof and tessellated floor. Tunnelled staircase leads to upper floor. Sir Charles Barry 1841. Entry: ground & 1st floor principal public rooms.
• St Martin-in-the-Fields (Sat)
  • One of Britain’s finest churches, built in the Italian Baroque tradition. Currently undergoing multi-million pound renewal project. James Gibbs/Eric Parry Architects (modernisation) 1726/2006. Entry: nave, porches, crypt, other areas on specific tours only – include special access to roof space, bell ringing room and royal box. OR close-up of Walker organ and liturgical aspects of church
• The Dorchester (Sun)
  • Behind the scenes tour of the 1931 Hotel.
• The Naval Club (Sat & Sun)  [I’ve been there]
  • Grade II listed Georgian town house c1748-1750 reputed to have been 18C residence of William Pitt the Younger. First floor suite decorated in ornate white and gold ‘Louis XVI’ style. Dark stock brick building with Ionic porch and moulded architraves to sash windows. Entry: ground, 1st, 2nd floors & public rooms.
• University of Westminster (Sat)
  • Tours of the former entertainment hall and polytechnic and home of London’s oldest cinema.
• Benjamin Franklin House (Sat & Sun)
  • Grade II listed Georgian house that was the home of future US President.
• Gap House (Sat)
  • Architect led tours of new family home built on a plot that is just 8ft wide.
• Home House (Sun)
  • Built 1776 by Wyatt with very fine interiors by Adam. Was the London base of the Countess of Home abs is probably the greatest surviving Georgian town house. Entry to drawing rooms.
• St Mary’s Hospital (Sun)
  • Tour of original entrance foyer, chapel, Queen Mother wing and Sporborg Link Bridge.
• St Marylebone CE School Performing Arts Centre (Sat)
  • School in the heart of the Marylebone Conservation area with new underground gymnasium and classroom block.
• The London Library (Sat)
  • Tours of the world’s oldest independent lending library.
• The Royal Society (Sat & Sun)
  • Tours of the Grade II listed nash designed classical building next to The Mall
• The UK Supreme Court (Sat & Sun)
  • Architect led tours of the refurbished neo-gothic Grade II listed building that is now the home of the UK’s highest court of law. Entry to courts, reception area, lobbies.
• Two Temple Place (Sun)
  • Finished in 1895 for the First Viscount Astor and sits on reclaimed land overlooking the Thames. The house embodies mushc of the outstanding workmanship and architecture of the late Victorian period.

Hampstead Garden Suburbs

• Wrotham Park (Sun)
  • A privately owned Grade II listed Palladian mansion with grand interiors restored in 1883, set in 300 acres of parkland. Entry to entrance hall, dining room, drawing room, saloon, staircase and hall