Architecture sights in London
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Thames Barrier
The sci-fi–looking Thames Barrier is in place to protect London from flooding and, with global warming increasing the city’s vulnerability to rising sea levels and surge tides, the barrier is likely to be of growing importance in coming years. Under construction for a decade and completed in 1982, the barrier consists of 10 movable gates anchored to nine concrete piers, each as tall as a five-storey building. The silver roofs on the piers house the operating machinery to raise and lower the gates against excess water. They make a surreal sight, straddling the river in the lee of a giant warehouse. The reason why London needs such a flood barrier is that the water level ha…
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St Clement Danes
An 18th-century English nursery rhyme that incorporates the names of London churches goes: ‘Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St Clements’, with the soothing final lines: ‘Here comes a chopper to chop off your head/Chop, chop, chop, chop, the last man’s dead!’ Isn’t that nice? Well, even though the bells of this church chime that nursery tune every day at 9am, noon and 3pm, this isn’t the St Clements referred to in the first line of the verse – that’s St Clements Eastcheap, in the City. But we all know that historical fact needn’t get in the way of a good story. Sir Christopher Wren designed the original building in 1682 but only the walls and a steeple a…
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Battersea Power Station
Familiar to an entire generation from Pink Floyd’s 1977 Animals album cover, with the four smokestacks that somewhat resemble a table turned upside down, Battersea Power Station is a building both loved and reviled. It was built by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1933, with two chimneys (the other two were added in 1955). The power station ceased operations in 1983 and since then there have been innumerable proposals to give the building new life. In November 2006 it was sold to yet another group of developers; the previous ones, Parkview International, had owned it for more than a dozen years from 1993 and had wanted to demolish the chimneys and turn the ‘nave’ of the structure…
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Topolski Century
Within the arches below Hungerford Bridge is the lifework of one Feliks Topolski (1907–89), a Polish-born British artist who painted mural after mural on board and canvas (with Dulux paint, no less) more than 180m long, which trace the history of the 20th century from the artist’s early life in bohemian Warsaw to his death in 1989. The murals may not be everyone’s cup of tea and the artistic merits of much of the work is questionable, but it’s interesting to see how one man viewed the world during a lifetime of more than eight decades.
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Mansion House
Between King William St and Walbrook stands the grand, porticoed Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, which was built in the mid-18th century by George Dance the Elder. It’s not open to the public save on the weekly tour, which leaves at 2pm on Tuesday from outside St Stephen Walbrook, with a maximum of 40 participants; tickets are sold on a first-come-first-served basis. Inside there are magnificent interiors, an impressive art collection and a very impressive banqueting hall.
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St Pancras International
If you use the tube for any length of time, chances are you'll pass through King's Cross St Pancras station, in which case you should rise to the surface and check out this fabulously imposing Victorian Gothic masterpiece, which was built as a hotel by the renowned architect George Gilbert Scott in 1876.
The train shed behind the façade has been converted into the stunning new St Pancras International, now departure point for HS1 (or Eurostar) high-speed services to Paris, Brussels and Lille.
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Centre Point
The 1960s saw the ascendancy of the workaday glass-and-concrete high-rises exemplified by the mostly unloved 1967 Centre Point by Richard Seifert. But one person’s muck is another’s jewel; the once-vilified modernist tower has been listed by English Heritage, meaning that it represents a particular style, is of great value to the patrimony and largely cannot be altered outside (and in some cases inside as well).
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Michelin House
Even if you’re not up for dinner at the Bibendum restaurant in Michelin House, mosey past and have a look at the superb art nouveau architecture. It was built for Michelin between 1905 and 1911 by François Espinasse, and completely restored in 1985. The famous roly-poly Michelin Man appears in the modern stained glass while the lobby is decorated with tiles showing early-20th-century cars.
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Staple Inn
The 16th-century shop-front facade is the main interest at Staple Inn (1589), the last of eight Inns of Chancery whose functions were superseded by the Inns of Court in the 18th century. The buildings, mostly postwar reconstructions, are now occupied by the Institute of Actuaries and aren’t actually open to the public, although nobody seems to mind a discreet and considerate look around.
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Britannic House
In the period between the two world wars, English architecture was hardly more creative, though Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), whose work is sometimes classified as British art deco, designed the Cenotaph (1920) in Whitehall as well as the impressive 1927 Britannic House, now Triton Court, in Moorgate.
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Brixton Windmill
Built for one John Ashby in 1816, this is the closest windmill to central London still in existence. It was later powered by gas and milled as recently as 1934. It’s been refitted with sails and machinery for a wind-driven mill but is not open to the public at present.
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St George’s Bloomsbury
This Nicholas Hawksmoor church (1731) is distinguished by its classical portico of Corinthian capitals and a steeple that was inspired by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. It is topped with a statue of George I in Roman dress.
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St Olaf House
St Olaf House, a diminutive office block fronting the Thames, was designed by HS Goodhart-Rendel in 1928 and is one of London’s finest art deco buildings.
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BT Tower
The 1964 BT Tower, formerly the Post Office Tower and designed by Eric Bedford, has been given Heritage-listed status.
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Euston Fire Station
The 1902 Euston Fire Station opposite St Pancras New Church is a wonderful example of Arts and Crafts architecture.
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