Last weekend saw an army of architects take over the streets of London. It was the 20th annual London Open House, which unlocks over 700 buildings to public viewing, from The Bank of England and The Royal Courts of Justice to The Gherkin and Heron Tower. As the unsuspecting partner of a budding architect I was dragged along.
As first time Open Housers our number one building to see was Norman Foster’s 30 St Mary’s Axe, also known as The Gherkin. Unfortunately we underestimated the queue, which according to our Open House volunteer reached an incredible 13,000 people by 10am.
Heavy security measures saw the line plod along as the weather accelerated from bad to just plain awful. We toughed it out for a couple of hours but when the heavens opened with still another 3 hours’ wait ahead of us, we decided to sack it off and visit some of London’s other gems.
One of these was Richard Rogers’ Lloyd’s building, or as you more likely know it, the Inside-Out Building. At 88 metres with 14 floors it’s one of London’s tallest structures: if you stretched out the glass, stainless steel cladding, painted steel and concrete it would go from The City to Milton Keynes. We arrived to a 30 minute queue, which gave us a chance to ponder how the building had managed to avoid rusting in its 25 years, despite sitting in the middle of London’s financial hub.
Inside is dominated by fluorescent yellow escalators which connect the fourteen floors and could have inspired the Harry Potter staircases. On the main floor is ‘The Room’, a mix of new and old with a rostrum and historical documents dating back to the 18th century, surrounded by the modern imposing steel structure. In here the world’s insurance and reinsurance industry sit and insure and then presumably reinsure to be sure.
Next we headed up fourteen floors in the clear glass elevator, which offered a view of St Paul’s Cathedral, London Eye and the BT Tower.
After the acrophobic in our elevator had recovered, there was more to enjoy with a wealth of Lloyd’s history that traced their 300 year story and included an 18th century dining hall.
London Open House sees so many renowned buildings open its doors it really does provide a rare insight into some of London’s most incredible and inaccessible architecture.
Our advice for next year is to grab an umbrella and arrive far earlier than you’d ever think you need to. You don’t want to spend the whole day queueing, if possible.
Words & Photos: Cezar Rozmus
