Open House celebrates 25 years of unlocking London’s elusive spaces
Architecture aficionados and nosey parkers will pour through the doors of more than 800 less-accessible London buildings for Open House this weekend. Alongside favourite staples like Renzo Piano’s Shard, the 25-year-old Open House scheme has 200 newcomers on its books. These include a good number of homes, such as the Science Lab in Waltham Forest, a restored and reimagined 1930s building by owner-designer Carlo Viscione; and Barrett’s Grove in Stoke Newington, a slim apartment block with wicker balconies by Amin Taha Architects.
Inspiring workplaces are also on the menu. DSDHA’s HQ for jeweller-to-the-stars Alex Monroe is a Corten steel-clad infill on Tower Bridge Road; while the stylish refurbishment of Connock & Lockie tailors on Lambs Conduit Street is by Benedetti Architects. On a more corporate scale, the metropolitan police’s New Scotland Yard has moved back into its old home, a 1930s neoclassical building on the Victoria Embankment originally designed by William Curtis Green. It has been made fit for purpose by AHMM.
Some of the most intriguing workplaces are the ones that architects build for themselves. In Waterloo, Feilden Fowles has made a bucolic home for itself in the corner of a mixed-use site it developed, Oasis Farm. And up-and-coming firm Selencky Parsons has an entirely cork-clad office in Brockley.
This is the last year for Open House visitors to book a tour of Crossrail’s new stations, before they open for business as the Elizabeth line in December 2018. At £14.8bn, Crossrail is Europe’s largest infrastructure project, masterminded by its head of architecture Julian Robinson. Highlights include Hawkins\Brown’s new Tottenham Court Road station on Dean Street and Weston Williamson’s work at Paddington.
For a more historical transportation experience, there is the ongoing and painstaking restoration of the Old Waiting Room at Peckham Rye station – a high Victorian delight from 1865 by Charles Henry Driver, much of which has been bricked up and forgotten since the 1960s. Restoration is in the hands of architect Benedict O’Looney, a charismatic champion of Peckham’s neglected historic wonders.
This is the silver anniversary of Open House, which was conceived in the British capital in 1992, but now springs up in New York, Dublin, Galway, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Barcelona, Rome, Helsinki, Slovenia and Chicago.
INFORMATION
Open House London 2017 runs from 16-17 September. For more information, visit the website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UK
As A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
By Jack Moss Published
-
Eurovision unveils its 2024 stage, designed by Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour creatives
This year's stage design aims to bring the audience into the performance more than ever before.
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Ikea meets Japan in this new pattern-filled collection
New Ikea Sötrönn collection by Japanese artist Hiroko Takahashi brings Japan and Scandinavia together in a pattern-filled, joyful range for the home
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
London’s Reciprocal House complements an existing Norman Foster extension
Reciprocal House by Gianni Botsford replaces a north London Victorian structure, preserving its early Norman Foster extension and bringing the whole to the 21st century
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Stephen Friedman Gallery by David Kohn is infused with subtly playful elegance
Stephen Friedman Gallery gets a new home by David Kohn in London, filled with elegant details and colourful accents
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Henry Wood House’s postmodernist bones are refreshed by Nice Projects in London
Nice Projects breathes new life into the Henry Wood House in London, offering ample flexible office spaces for modern workers
By Daven Wu Published
-
‘Bio-spaces’ exhibition at Roca London Gallery celebrates biophilic design
‘Bio-Spaces: regenerative, resilient futures’ opens at the Roca London Gallery as ‘a call to action to stop designing nature out’
By Clare Dowdy Published
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2024: London’s bold, bright and boutique home renovations
Don’t Move, Improve 2024 reveals its shortlist, with 16 home designs competing for the top spot, to be announced in May
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Timber-framed Wimbledon house is a minimalist, low-energy affair
A new timber-framed Wimbledon house is designed to blend into its traditional surroundings with a neat brick façade, careful massing and pared back interiors
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
London Science Museum’s Energy Revolution gallery champions sustainable exhibition design
The Energy Revolution gallery opens at London’s Science Museum, exploring decarbonisation through sustainable exhibition design by Unknown Works
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This South Downs house stands as a testament to the value of quiet refinement
At one with the landscape, a South Downs house uses elements of quintessential country villas and midcentury gems with modern technologies
By Jonathan Bell Published