Architecture - Archive Articles

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.

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.

Euston Station to be Refurbished

Euston Station, that unloved 1960s slab of a railway station is to be tarted up, a little bit.

Tours inside West Ham Bus Garage

Just as this weekend offers a chance to see inside one of the post-war bus garage icons, there is a chance the following weekend to see inside a very different, yet kindred structure.

Book free tickets to see around some building sites

As part of their support for this year's London Festival of Architecture, Berkeley Group are offering the opportunity to see behind the scenes at a number of their key development sites across London.

Plans to revamp the riverside walkways in the City of London

If you were to walk from London Bridge towards Charing Cross along the riverside, there really isn't much doubt that the South side of the river has the more developed and cultural route to walk along.

30th anniversary of the “monstrous carbuncle” speech

This will make some of us feel old -- it has been 30 years since Prince Charles stepped into the controversial limelight and made his famous Carbuncle speech.

Brixton’s Burdensome Barrier Building

If you travel by train through Brixton, then you might have noticed through your windows just to the East of the town, a massive brick barrier.

BBC archive of old London programmes

It's a boring Bank Holiday, so what better than to watch a load of old BBC programmes about London's buses, buildings and tube tunnels?

TfL’s Head Office to be turned into residential flats

Transport for London has decided to convert its listed art-deco headquarters building into residential flats as it prepares to move east to newer offices.

Photos of the closed part of the Olympic Park

There was a chance the other night to take a brief look at part of the sealed off Olympic Park that is due to open to the general public on Saturday.

Visit the Prefab Museum — while you still can

A post war relic is soon to be swept away. A hidden flatland in a sea of multi-story buildings soon to be elevated by construction. A community rent asunder by a local council.

London Street Views from 1840

Long before Google drove around in camera wielding cars, or Charles Booth's poverty mapping, or Phyllis Pearsall (didn't) walk the streets of London, there was John Tallis.

Open Days Announced for the “Middlesex Cathedral”

Open rarely during the summer months over the past couple of years, what was once coined the Middlesex Cathedral is open even fewer days this year, and those dates have been announced.

See the Astonishing Interior of Two Temple Place

A rather eclectic collection has gone on display inside an equally eclectic building that is worth a visit in its own right if you haven't been before.