Experiencing London and its architecture... a slice through its architectural history: what is now, in context.

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• LondonTour
  Click on the arrows to take a tour backwards through time and you will get an idea of how London's streets give you some 1000 years of history. You won't find this in neat pockets, but intermixed – and this means that getting about and finding places is invariably an exercise in meeting something unexpected. Our aim is to help you define your own kind of London by exploring its architecture – the delightful and good, the ugly and bad, the new and the old. The new architecture is from notable London architects such as Foster and Rogers, as well as Grimshaw, Parry, Allies & Morrison and others. But you will also find international names such as OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, Nouvel and Piano. And, right next door to many of these works, you will find buildings of note by now forgotten architects. Flip through these pages to touch upon the principal periods.
• view-west
  London Through Time
  London is a unique European city – once the capital of a global empire controlling one third of the world's population and now the heart of Europe's international finance markets. Over one half of the population has been born abroad and the ethnic mix is very diverse. All of this is reflected in London's urban character, its cultural life and its architecture. A visit will expose you to world-class works by international architects such as Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Herzog & de Mueron, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano and OMA. You will also experience a rich and vibrant mix of works by local architects of every age and size of practice. Above all you will experience the London's peculiar urban intermixture of new and old, side by side – a city of contradictions and contrasts, of discontinuities and strange conjunctions, of wealth, poverty and a remarkable number of parks and open spaces. There will be something for everyone to love and dislike, prompting ideas and debate. Your guide will take you on journeys that 'slice through' London's disparate districts, exposing you to its diversity and encouraging you to find places most tourists never get to. Click on the image to go to the 'London through time' site.
• ad-logo3
  London is an unusual mix of the new and the old, of extensive ethnic variety intermixed with English traditions, of former villages absorbed into a metropolis. This is how you should accept it: ordered and disordered, pristine and decrepit, old and new …. And yet London's urban geography is simple, layered and easy to understand once it has been pointed out and experienced as such. Most visitors never get beyond the West End of palaces, shops, theatres and galleries. But there is much more to London, especially if you want to experience its current vitality and newer buildings. This content is not 'hidden' except in the sense that, as in any metropolis, its places and spaces are a mix of the public, the private and the privileged – often in locations tourists don’t go to. In searching out quality architecture AD seeks to also disclose this other London to you: places, buildings, people ...
• londonnow_1
  London has buildings such as the Foster’s Gherkin, SOM’s Broadgate Tower, a building by Jean Nouvel at St Paul's, an OMA building at Bank and quite a few by Richard Rogers – although not as many as by Foster's office. On a different keynote you can enjoy changes to the galleries at London's museums, such as the medieval, sculpture, jewelry galleries at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Foster’s Sackler at the Royal Academy, Dixon Jones at the Portrait Gallery or Venturi at the National Gallery. (Let us take you on such an exploration.) The works that best capture what is going on belong to housing, education and health. For example, David Adjaye's Idea Store in Whitechapel, AHMM's Westminster Academy, Hadid’s Brixton Academy or dRMM's Wansey Road housing. As always, the overall picture is mixed and varied – the last thing you will find in London is consistency (except, that is, in its inconsistency!). But this is what makes it so interesting: architecture that complements a rich ethnic and cultural diversity.
• lonodnasasmorgasbord
  Think of London as a smorgasbord. It's not like the row of chocolates on the left … well, you can find this, but London is like the smorgasbord on the right. Feast yourself!
• Lloyds_1
  The Lloyds '86 building remains one of London's more iconic works and a monument to the Po-Mo / Hi-tech struggles of the '70s and '80s (which ended abruptly in the early '90s). The building has now been complemented by two neighbours designed by the office of Lord Foster – the Willis building and 30 St Mary Axe (aka the Gherkin). However, immediately across the road, is a new Rogers Stirk Harbour office building that totally overshadows these others (literally as well a metaphorically). Where these tall buildings are located has much to do with ‘viewing corridors’ to St Paul’s Cathedral, lending a peculiar contemporary planning relevancy to a building completed over 300 years ago.
• National_G-_stair
  Post-Modernism and beyond. The later 1980's were a boom period in British architecture – one characterised by the famous Post-Modern / High-Tech debates (about which we can be nostalgic). The former approach to architecture is best seen in the works of Terry Farrell (such as Alban Gate, Embankment Place, Comyn Ching and MI6), but the enthusiast is encouraged to go to the work of one of the fathers of Po-Mo: the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery, by Robert Venturi’s practice (believe us: gets more interesting with time).
• Keeling_6
  Work of the '60s and '70s was dominated by social housing and the contrasting work of so-called 'commercial' architects such as Richard Seifert. The outstanding architect of the period is Denys Lasdun, who worked with Tecton as a young man and designed the Keeling and Sulkin blocks of social housing in the East End at about the same time that he designed a notable block of private housing just off St James'. Lasdun was also responsible for what remains of one of the most notable buildings of the period: the National Theatre. Perhaps his best work is the Royal College of Physicians building in Regents' Park. Other notable architects of this period include Sir Basil Spence, YRM, the Smithsons (especially their Economist Group), Chamberlin Powell & Bon (the Barbican), Patrick Hodgkinson (the Brunswick Centre), Colin St John Wilson (the British Library), Eric Lyons (Span housing in south-east London), Darbourne & Darke (the Lillington Gardens estate, near to the Tate Britain), and Gollins Melvin & Ward (buildings in the City).
• London terraces
  London may be very mixed, in every sense, but one architectural feature is predominant: the shoulder-to-shoulder terrace (or 'row') house. With its medieval roots, this family home type was enshrined in the C18th building regulations and dominates huge swathes of London, right up until the 1920s brought in a fashion for suburban detached and semi-detached houses. Nowadays – when we build flats rather than houses – the older terrace houses, with their gardens at the rear, are increasingly values – or divided up into flats!
• RFH
  Post-war optimism. Like WWI, WWII changed many social attitudes and resulted in an outburst of optimism called the 1951 Festival of Britain. Deliberately Modernist (in a rather Scandinavian manner) the impressive complex has left us only one building: the Royal Festival Hall, refurbished by Allies & Morrison and re-opened in 2008. The complex of which it is a part is called the Southbank and is largely a product of the 1960's, exhibiting a different kind of enthusiasm for Brutalist concrete. Adjacent to the complex is the addition to the Hungerford Bridge, the IMAX theatre and the London Eye – which, together, sum up the last 60 years of London architecture in one location. It’s usually a cheerful and busy area, especially during the summer, with free live music being played in the National Theatre and the RFH.
• St Judes
  The major figure in British Architecture before the First World war was Edwin Lutyens. He had made his name doing remarkable, free style country houses, but as his fame spread he received city centre works and shifted to a neo-Classical style that was labelled 'Wrenaissance'. His output was huge, but perhaps two of the most notable London buildings are a church in the new Hampstead Garden Suburb – serviced by the Northern Line Underground line – and a literally memorable work at the heart of Westminster: the Cenotaph memorial to the dead of the War (in Whitehall). The church is St Judes (Hampstead Garden Suburb) - not special on the outside, but revealing the wit of Lutyens on the interior. (It now sits adjacent to a recent Michael Hopkins school building.) In contrast, the Cenotaph bears esoteric geometric pretensions that far out-scale the actual physical presence of the work; however, there is something about it that has, from its completion in 1919 to today, made it one of the most popular work in the country.
• Queen-Anne-Style
  A neglected interlude. The inventor of the so-called Queen Anne style that was so fashionable in the latter part of the C19th was Norman Shaw (1831-1912). His red-brick housing work is best seen in Knightsbridge, but its derivatives are all over London, particularly as blocks of apartments constructed from about 1880-1910. That period – when the Empire was arguably at its height – gave London some remarkable architecture that gradually became more baroque. Other architects of this period included men such as Webb, Godwin, Ernest George, Newton, Ashbee, Waterhouse, Bentley and others – mostly now forgotten. But look around Marylebone and the the rear area of Harrods – you will find Edwardian adaptations of Georgian housing in the former, and streets of earlier, 1880s, red brick housing in the latter.
• Royal Courts of Justice
  The mid C19th is epitomised by buildings such as the Royal Courts of Justice, on the Strand, and the splendid All Saints church, off Oxford Street. The courts (1871-82), by George Street (1824-81), are on the same scale as the Palace of Westminster, and in the spirit of Butterfield's work, but was on a budget that will draw the empathy of contemporary architects suffering such constraints. Like Parliament, the plan is essentially classical, but given a Gothic dress. William Butterfield (1814-1900) exhibited wonderful planning skills at All Saints (1858), and also gave us an exhilarating interior.
• Nash terrace
  London has no grand urban boulevards that compare with Paris, but it does possess one quite amazing speculative work from between about 1812-30 that is quite marvellous – carving a 'royal mile' from the Mall to the royal park (Regent’s Park) that lay much to the north, alongside the Regent's Canal that wound its way from the East End docks to west London and the north of England. Between these two focal points lies what is now Regent Street and Portland Place. Most of the original architecture has gone, but the terraces designed by John Nash (1752-1835) at Regent's Park remain. Originally, the park was to be filled with grand villas. It didn't happen, but five recent neo-Classical villas designed by Quinlan Terry now complement Modernism to be found in London Zoo and the splendours of Sir Denys Lasdun's work for the Royal College of Physicians.
• Somerset Hse
  The Rule of Taste. By the late C18th Great Britain already had a burgeoning empire and needed buildings in London to fit its role. The expansion was to the west – now the West End and the area’s first major public building was Somerset House (1776-1801) by Sir William Chambers (1722-96) – a marvellous compound of 'town houses' and courtyards, now housing museums, galleries, etc. – scene of winter ice-skating rinks and summer fountains (recently done by Dixon Jones). It was in this period that Burlington House (the Royal Academy, where you will find Foster’s Sackler Gallery) and Chiswick House (where there is a Caruso St John cafe building) were constructed.
• Wren
  Wren’s St Paul's Cathedral was officially completed by 1710 – just after England and Scotland were joined together by an Act of Union and a period began when this small island became the heart of the world's largest empire. Ironically, the Cathedral – which remained London's tallest building until 1962 – was already in a style ill-suited to the temperament of this new era and one has to look to churches such as St Martins-in-the-Fields in order to savour the spirit of something more refined that was to typify a period characterised by the so-called ‘Rule of Taste.’ However, taste was not entirely consistent and it was during the early C17th, whilst neo-Palladianism emerged, that London saw the construction of notable Baroque works by Nicholas Hawksmoor. Three of these – one in St Alfege in Greenwich, Christchurch in Spitalfields, and St George's, Bloomsbury – have been restored. The most idiosyncratic – St Mary Woolnoth – sits quietly among the notable grouping of buildings at Bank, in the City.
• CG_St-Paul's
  The beginnings of architecture as we know it: St Paul’s Covent Garden (a marvellously theatrical design), and the northern colonnade of the square, marking the beginnings of ‘regular’ street architecture in London, designed Inigo Jones (1573-1652), arguably the first architect who is recognisably modern. There are only five surviving London buildings designed by Jones: the Queen's house (at Greenwich), the Banqueting House (in Whitehall), the Queen Mary Chapel (in St James’), Lindsey House (Lincoln’s Inn) and St Paul's (in Covent Garden, completed in 1633). The latter is perhaps the most intriguing because it is distinctly peculiar and, to gain the King's permission, a local landowner had Jones foisted upon him as architect. The developer asked for consideration: only a barn-like building was required. Then, said Jones, you shall have the finest barn in England.
• Staples-Inn
  You will have to search hard to find anything much of medieval London and this building at Chancery Lane (an area of lawyers, on the edge of the City) is about as close as one can get to the character of London buildings at the time that Inigo Jones – who was patronised by Charles I – introduced his radical, neo-Palladian and 'regular' style of European architecture to what was then a city of about 200,000 (1600) and growing to 350,000 (1650). Most of these people lived in or around the old Roman walls, in what is now the City of London. This kind of ‘half-timbered’ construction characterised the whole of London and its suburbs, even as Jones designed the Banqueting House in Whitehall that was intended to be the first part of a grand palace. Since the context of the latter has utterly changed, it is difficult to realise how radical it once was. The other aged location is the Tower of London, begun not longer after the Norman conquest of 1066.
• St Barts
  St Bart's is one of London's delights – and again a rare example of architecture from the later Middle Ages. Its fabric was constructed between 1123 and 1543, when half of it was demolished by Henry VIII. What we see now is the remaining parts as restored around 1900 as a fascinating mix of architectural styles and perhaps the most romantic architectural edifice in the capital. The church is adjacent to Smithfield Market, London's traditional meat market and is a part of the Clerkenwell are that houses the offices of many architects, interior designers, furniture companies, etc. The Barbican and Exmouth Market are also nearby.

For further information, inquiries and quotations please contact: lrobinson@architecturaldialogue.co.uk

News about recent buildings ...

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• News
  Click on the arrows in order to move to pages with news about recent London buildings of note. Click on images to be taken to a relevant web site or simply let the images roll forward ...
• New-35
  Ironmonger Row Baths
  Tim Ronalds is surely one of London's better architects. How about enjoying his work by going to the spa at the Ironmonger Row Baths, in Clerkenwell, a new (late 2012) conversion of former Turkish baths that still offers swimming pools, gyms, and that spa. It's a perfect way to enjoy a break when in London … and it is right on the northern edge of the City and near to Hoxton.
• Chipperfield building at KC
  Kings Cross / Argent
  One of the more exciting of large-scale London developments is the Kings Cross area. It has taken about 25 years to get here, but the Olympics spurred on works at the main station and now Argent (having completed Central St Martins art school) are steaming ahead with offices and housing. dRMM is one of the notable architects on residential buildings, but the offices going up immediately behond the station include one by David Chipperfield (who has more work abroad than in the UK). Yes, those 'woven' column facings are cast-iron. Click on the image to get to the Argent KC site.
• New-30
  metaphorm
  There's quite a bit of new Housing around the Elephant & Castle area in south London. Two of the best schemes come from a small firm called Metaphorm who have done two schemes: Brandon Street and Library Street. This is the Brandon Street scheme – all affordable housing set around a small access courtyard that sits between two apartment blocks, and with a street facade that picks up on some local themes and manages to provide some real architecture for £1500 per sq.m. How? They're clever at handling costs and they people who spend the money (design & Build contractors, etc). Click on the image to go to the Metaphorm site.
• Metaphorm Library Street
  metpahorm 2
  This is Metaphorm's larger scheme of housing, at Library Street (Elephant & Castle area). Same costs as at Brandon Street, but now a larger scheme of an apartment block, terrace block and community garden.
• New-29
  studi egret west
  Clapham, in south London, has a new library-housing complex designed by Egret West. It won't be to everyone's tastes, but it's certainly upbeat and is a welcome positive note on the London architectural scene. Go to http://www.thenewclapham.com/ (A rather nice dRMM school extension is not far away.) Click on the image to go to Egret West's site.
• New-27
  rsh Neo
  Rogers' NEO housing sits outside the Tate Modern, adjacent to Allies & Morrison's Bankside 123 buildings. I suspect you'll love it or hate it, but I'm definitely on the warm side – I find it refreshingly different, (although firmly within the well-established Rogers Stirk Harbour tradition of detailing, etc.) sticking its neck out and cleanly detailed ... even if some of the leaseholders appear to be living in a goldfish bowl. Click on the image to go to the RSH site.
• Cannon Place
  foggo associates
  The mega-structure has arroved back in London: Cannon Place, the offices above the new cannon Street station, in the City, designed by Foggo Associates. The entire front of the eight-storey office part of the building is cantilevered some 21m, along a frontage of 67.5m (the building is about 87m deep – this equals huge floor plans of some 4600 sqm. That's what the City wants: the office factory as a football pitch. Click on the image to go to the Foggo site.
• New-15
  Heathwerwick studio
  Thomas Heatherwick's replacement for London's wonderful old RouteMaster buses are now running around town as the nr.38. Click on the image to be taken to Thomas Heatherwick's web site. The first bus (as a no.38) started running at the end of February. The bus is hop-on / hop-off, as the old Routemaster buses, but there is no the possibility to close off the rear. There will be a conductor, but only as a helper and to make sure no one falls off the back (or fails to check their ticket, as they do now, on the long 'bendy' buses that have multiple entrances and are being taken out of service). Meanwhile, the big transport news is the improvements to the above ground rail system called – you guessed its: the Overground – and the massive engineering works going on for a cross-London system called Crossrail. The aim is to relive pressure on the over-crowded Underground system. (go to http://www.crossrail.co.uk/) Click on the image to go to the Heatherwick site.
• New-24
  city of lonodon
  AD recently took a group to the City of London's model, at the Guildhall’s Marketing Suite, where they were honoured to have the two most senior planners give them a talk: Paul Beckett and Peter Rees. Peter, not untypically, gave them his usual message: London is about the buzz, not the buildings, even among the bankers of the City of London. But he should know – he’s been in the City for many years and is attributed as being the man who gets quality projects moving forward. Click on the image to go the City of London site.
• New-2
  amanda levete
  Recent buildings include Piano’s 'Shard,' at 310m high, additional to his Central St Giles development (6). Koolhaas has a building for Rothschild (3) and Nouvel has a building near to St Paul's Cathedral (1). Other recent works include a school by Hadid (8) and a smaller gallery space in south London by 6A (4). Rogers has One Hyde Park and the Neo housing; Amanda Levete has an unusual facade off Oxford St, around the corner to O'Donnell & Tuomy's Photographer's Gallery. Maccreanor Lavington have the H10 hotel (6); dRMM have a school extension (7) and Foreign Office gave an arts building next to the 02 Dome. Click on the image to go to the Amanda Levete site.
• New-4
  grimshaw
  Thomas Heatherwick – one of London's brightest designers has provided a clever stainless steel wrap around some hospital plant just adjacent to the Shard (1). meanwhile, although the schools programme has come to a halt, there is (among quite a few schools) the interseting timber-framed Northbury school in Barking (2) by Greenhill Jenner and the King Solomon Academy (4) by Ian Ritchie. The latter was a famous 1960 school designed by Leonard Manasseh. Out west, in the grounds of Lord Burlington's rather wonderful neo-Palladian exercise, Chiswick House, is a new cafe addition by Caruso St John. Grimshaw has a new City office block at St Botolphs's (5) and the City has a new skyscraper called Heron Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox (6). Click on the image to go to the Grimshaw site.
• Shard
  Shard
  The 2012 Olympics received a lot of good press, but it is Renzo Piano's Shard, at London Bridge Station, that is now in the limelight. It belongs to that peculiar category of 'mixed-use' that, instead of being spread about a city block, is constrained into a tower block layering shops, offices, hotel, apartments, topped off with a public viewing deck (access £25 per head). This will be the tallest building in the UK (at 310m) and (for a short while) in Europe. It’s impressive, but possibly more so at a mid-distance rather than close up or very far away. Now complete, the building remains controversial, but that incredible view from that top gallery might bias your opinion. Click on the image to go to the Shard web site.
• Surrey Quays Library
  czwg
  CZWG may at last have given London a more serious work of architecture. A prolific (and 'cheerful') practice, their output is, to say the least, varied in quality (including a recent Carbuncle prize contender in Wembly). Their best works include a studio building called Westferry, adjacent to Canary Wharf, a bridge taking a park over the Mile End Road, and a small building in Notting Hill that adds a flower shop to some public lavatories. This library at Canada Water in Surrey Quays now complements the Adjaye Idea Stores, the Alsop Peckham Library, the Egret West Library and (least it be forgotten) Basil Spence’s not-to-be-improved-upon library at Swiss Cottage (refurbished by John McAslan; I recall taking Neils Torp to the latter and he loved it.) The CZWG effort is quirky and its typology possibly owes much to Peckham, but i's worth a visit. In fact, do them all … Click on the image to go to the CZWG site.
• Elephant&Castlehsg
  S333
  Elephant &Castle 1. New housing is cropping up all over London in order to cope with population growth and a massive demand, despite the recession and banking issues (the average age at which people are purchasing a home has leapt up). The Elephant & Castle area in south London is quietly acquiring many new residential buildings. Some are rather peculiar (and celebrated as such). Others, as on the left, by S333, look odd but are actually rather good. Other schemes in this area are by Sarah Wigglesworth, Metaphorm, dRMM and Glen Howells. Click on the image to go to the S333 site.
• New-8
  sarah wigglesworth
  Elephant & Castle 2. These are two other examples of housing in the Elephant & Castle area. The one on the right is by the Sarah Wigglesworth (one of the brightest (no-longer-a-kid)-on-the-block). Click on the image to go to the Wigglesworth site.
• New-9
  one new change
  Jean Nouvel's One New Change, in the City, has not only given some football sized floor plates to the area – which it loves – and much needed new retail content, but has also given us a terrific new roof terrace looking toward St Paul's Cathedral. Now you can climb St Paul's and look down on New Change; then come down and do the reverse (well worth it). Apparently there is not a 90 degree angle in the building – 89.5, yes, but not 90! The scheme fills the allowable volume within the prevailing height codes and was supposed to have a glass cladding wrapping over the top - which it doesn’t quite do. But the building does sport three 45m cantilever service cranes that pop-up from the roof. Click on the image to go to the ONC site.
• New-11
  derek walker
  An office building is an office building … or is it? We like this one (Riverbank House). It is by David Walker and it's clever – fundamentally as simple as a diagram, but with all kinds of subtle touches and straight-forward branding that sets the building off against its neighbour (by Fletcher Priest). The latter goes for narrative content (there once were tiber wharf structures here; the cladding takes its colours from the Thames mud, etc., but, sorry, this rarely works – we want substance, the thing-in-itself, not a story that we can read – and that is what Walker delivers. Click on the image to go to the Walker site.
• New-12
  tom dixon
  Tom Dixon is one of London's best product designers and this restaurant / shop on the Grand Canal in west London is very good if you are that area. Give it a try: have lunch and purchase a souvenir. Oh, and also have a look at the home of Innocent Drinks, one of London's more energetic start-up who have been a big success. Click on the image to go to the Dixon site.
• New-13
  stanton williams
  Not many people know this one – an interesting sports building called the Hackney Marshes Sports Centre, designed by Stanton Williams – surely one of London's best practices (See their Central St Martins art school building at Kings Cross). It's had a problematic history and that shows, but it is still interesting. You can find it if you make an exploration of the always changing area around the Olympic Park. Click on the image to go to the SW site.
• New-14
  stanton williams
  This is by Stanton Williams: the Central St Martin's School of art, at Kings Cross (se the new concourse by John McAslan) – the first new building there, now being supplemented by others from dRMM, Chipperfield, Niall McLaughlin, etc. Again, it has its problems (SW were not responsible for the fit-out), but this place will only get better as new buildings are completed all around it (including landscaping works). SW have used some old warehousing and taken parts away, added new parts and generally transmogrified the entire place, leaving 'scarring' here and there as indicative of an historical reference. Their work is gritty yet refined, chunky and robust ... Unlike the fit-out, which was done by people more used to corporate offices. Regrettable, because if SW had been allowed to do the whole place it would have been knock-out. But its still something very worthwhile to see! And the Caravan restaurant at the base of the Granary Building is a good place for lunch … or, alternatively, you can go to the nearby Filling Station (an old garage converted by Carmody Groake). Click on the image to go to the SW site.
• New-16
  allies & morrison
  London seems to have new housing projects all over the place, coping with its growth, and despite the economic conditions. This scheme (St. Andrews, Bromley-by-Bow) is one of the better ones, designed by Allies & Morrison and Maccreanor Lavington. However, it does have a single-aspect / corridor planning concept which the Mayor of London is currently discouraging – new schemes have to be dual-aspect. Otherwise this is not a bad piece of urbanism, located near to the Olympic Park. Click on the image to go to the A&M site.
• New-18
  MAKE
  Allies & Morrison pop up in West London at the Grosvenor Waterside development (not far from Foster's Albion scheme of a few years ago). Other architects such as EPR and MAKE are also there, all with apartment blocks set around an old dock. The place makes quite a contrast to most East End schemes. Click on the image to go to the MAKE site.
• New-19
  one hyde park
  If you really want to see how the 1% live you have to go to the Rogers scheme at One Hyde Park: the most expensive apartments in the universe. Upon completion a Ukrainian purchased three apartments for £140m and added in another £60m for converting them into one larger apartment. Which is all very strange, given Rogers left-wing leanings … but then one should also see the Rogers Stirk Harbour scheme of housing at the Tate Modern (Neo). Click on the image to go to the One Hyde Park site.
• New-20
  caruso st john
  A few years ago a cafe pavilion was added to Lord Burlington's quite wonderful Chiswick House – a peculiar neo-Palladian pavilion that reads as if it were his 'den', set away from the main family house (now demolished). The cafe is designed by Caruso St John and, together, these make a terrific summer trip to a more suburban west London. Click on the image to go to the Caruso St John site.
• New-21
  FAT
  Looking for oddities outside central London? This could be one. It's a new extension added to an Edwardian building about 100 years old, designed by FAT – whose work lingers on as a up-dated Venturi-esque endeavour that is always full of wit. If this is what you like, try and find it, because the only other London work by them is a house in Hackney (designed for one of the firm's partners). Click on the image to go to the FAT site.
• New-22
  ian ritchie
  When the conservative government came in they killed off a huge schools building programme that also included some refurbishments and extensions to old schools – such as this school by Leonard Manesseh (1960), recently reworked by Julian Wickham. The refurbishment took much of the budget, but it's good to see such a place restored rather than demolished. And if it’s schools you are interested in, then London has lots and lots. They are invariably economic schemes pushing the budget as far as it can stretch, but they make a good exploration (warning: schools are not easy to get into.) Click on the image to go to the Ritchie site.
• New-23
  maccreanor lavington
  This is another Maccreanor Lavington scheme that might interest those of you who are challenged by the way old and new can harmonise. In this instance the new is an addition to a C19th Peabody social housing block that, interestingly, sits adjacent to the famous Churchill Gardens Estate designed Powell & Moya (1846-62, as well as the Grosvenor Waterside (and, across the road, is the Foster Albion scheme). Click on the image to go to the Maccreanor Lavington site.
• Olympics
  AD / some buildings
  London got rather excited about the 2012 Olympic games (area in yellow, top right) and the construction of its three principal venues: the Stadium, by Populous (now undergoing alterations); the Velodrome, by Hopkins; and the Aquatic stadium, by Zaha Hadid. It's all surprisingly close to the heart of London and parts should be open again by summer of 2013 (for example, athletics in July). But instead of getting a train to Stratford Station why not experience the area in context? Take the walk from a convenient Underground station, along the canal to the Olympic site, a visit to the ViewTube cafe, and then onto the DLR to other areas and a return to central London ... or take the train to somewhere you can pick up a boat straight back into central London.

For further information, inquiries and quotations please contact: lrobinson@architecturaldialogue.co.uk

London Slices ... some ideas for approaching London's architecture ...

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• Kenatcorner2
  The simplest way to benefit from Architectural Dialogue is to decide upon simple commitments. A half-day tour can show you some key projects. A full-day allows much more scope. The cheapest option is to use public transport. This also gives you a feel for London – which is possibly why you want to be there. However, a coach or people-carrier enables a group to get about over larger distances. At its most simple choose a half-day, with public transport and as a general tour - trust us to make it enjoyable and informative. Let us know if you are happy to leave matters to us, whether you prefer contemporary, modern of historical architecture – or simply good architectural quality, from whatever historical period. For any special requirements and internal visits please talk to us and we can advise you on what is possible.
• coat-hanger
  There are many ways to approach experiencing London and its architecture. The easiest option is simply to tell us of your interests and leave the rest to us – we will then make suggestions. Many visitors want to know about London's vitality – meaning its most recent buildings. Some want to touch upon its character – meaning older buildings, contrasts, social settings and the like. Some have very specific learning interests, such as schools or office interiors. Others only want to see the buildings of well-publicised architects. It all comes down to places, spaces, buildings. Selecting a theme can be useful because it becomes 'a coat hanger' on which to, more or less loosely, hang an itinerary. Whatever you do London itself will always be the framework and context of your visit.
• slices-one-B-Recovered
  We appreciate that students of architecture might want experience London in a different way. Why not take up the idea of a series of half-day 'cuts' through London's urban body? The point will be to record the varieties of experience as facets of London's urban life, spaces, places and architecture. Get in touch with us for our student rates.
• Square Mile
  City Tour. Do not be put off by a description of the City as London’s financial district – a place of some 300,000 office workers and only about 12,000 inhabitants. In fact, the City is not only London’s true historic core, but a ‘square mile’ that is richer in good architecture than any part of London. You can discover its mix of history and modernity in many different ways, but it is especially delightful to be able to wander in and out of the backlands, discovering its contrasts, high-lights and more quiet and hidden corners. History is not only Wren churches (mostly only open during weekdays) and old parts of the Roman and medieval walls, but the central area street pattern, where many of the old alleyways still survive. Modernity is everywhere, representing a strong dynamic of constant change. In between are quiet corners and small parks. Around the fringes are areas of a completely different character. It is easy to spend all day here. This is our favourite tour.
• West end tour
  West End Tour: The ‘West End’ only has meaning in relation to the ‘East End’ and ‘the Square Mile’ (of the City) and is an area whose character is largely the result of aristocratic land speculation from the late C17th and throughout the C18th to the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria in 1836 (just about the time the railways began to force their way deep into London during the remainder of the C19th). The background to its development includes what has been characterised as ‘the rule of taste’, resulting in a homogeneity to the ‘Georgian’ terraces and squares that were the typology of new West End developments: Lincoln’s Inn, Covent Garden, St James’ Square and the rest – up to the ‘royal mile’ that stretched from the Regent’s Park, down the current Regent Street to the Mall. This is not only the district of royalty and government, but of theatre and other entertainments, of museums and galleries.
• Two historic cores
  Two Poles Tour: There are two, twinned historic poles to London: the City of London (the financial district, or Square Mile); and the Westminster government area. The City is London is most historic heart and is a marvellous mix of history and modernity, with tall office buildings epitomising the latter and the Wren churches (particularly St Paul’s Cathedral) epitomising the former. Westminster has the government, the civil service, the monarch housed in Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey, founded in the seventh century. Making sense of these two areas – and the inbetween areas – can make a fascinating tour that defines contemporaneity as a mix of old and new, so long as it is a living part of the London metropolis. This tour is a ‘slice’ through these districts, beginning in its governmental heartland and stretching itself through the Holborn area to the outer fringes of the City (and, if time, into the former Docklands).
• Olympics area
  Olympics 2012 Tour. With only a short time to go before the 2012 London Olympics begin there is a mounting curiousity. Architectural Dialogue can provide an architect-lead guided tour to those areas from which you can obtain an excellent view of the site. We shall then add to this taking you to other places in the area in order to provide the overall story of some 35 years of East End regeneration which is both the context of the Games and there ostensible raison d'etre in London: a legacy contribution to the area. We can do this tour by public transport or by coach, either as a half-day tour or extending this into a tour adding in other architectural projects in this part of London.
• Docklands regeneration
  Docklands Regeneration Tour. The regeneration of east London’s former dock areas that has now been going on for some thirty to forty years – and will probably take another generation to complete as a transformation of the working basis to London’s wealth. The River Thames was once the life-blood of the metropolis and the basis of its trading wealth, epitomised by its docks and associated warehousing, nearby factories, etc. When the docks closed around onward 1970 – killed off by containerisation – London was left with massive social and physical problems. How the area is being transformed can be discovered by exploring its manifold architectural changes.
• Classics tour
  Classics Tour. Why not try a tour of London's Modernist classics? This could include: the Daily Express (Owen Williams); Trellick Tower and Willow Road (Erno Goldfinger); Highpoint and Finsbury Health Centre (Lubetkin & Tecton); the Royal Festival Hall (LCC); the Economist group (Peter & Alison Smithson); the Royal College of Physicians and the National Theatre (Denys Lasdun); Brunswick Centre (Patrick Hodgkinson); the Media Centre at Lords (Future Systems); Lloyds '86 building (Richard Rogers) and the Gherkin (Norman Foster). Or you may have your own private list of quality works from this period.
• Contrasts tour
  Contrasts Tour. London is a mixed metropolis – architecturally, culturally, ethnically. These two buildings epitomise these contrasts: Foster's 'Gherkin' for City traders, and one of the twelve remaining black cab drivers' shelters, provided charitably at the end of the C19th. This tour will mix the architecture and the culture, offering contrasts that show architecture as a vibrant and vital aspect of London, especially in places on the edges of more known parts of the city.
• Foster and Rogers tour
  Foster + Rogers Tour. Fans of Norman Foster's work will enjoy this tour – from his studios in Battersea to the Sackler Galleries, the British Museum Great Court, and his work in the city area including More London and the Gherkin, as well as lesser known works such as those near Wood Street and at Tower Hill. The work of Rogers ranges from the recent Maggie centre, the Chiswick Business centre, the Lloyds '86 building and Lloyds Registry of Shipping, 88 Wood Street, 15 Broadwick in Soho, Channel Four, K2 at Tower Bridge, to Terminal Five and other works. Michael and Patty Hopkins have the Mound Stand at Lords cricket ground, the David Mellor building in Butlers Wharf, Bracken House in the City, the Gibbs building for the Wellcome trust, the Inn on the Part (St James) and others. You will see works by many other London architects en route.
• An Urbanistic-approach
  An Urbanistic Tour. Why not start with London and then see individual buildings in context, in different areas? Ask us to help you explore the character of the London metropolis, taking you here and there and finding one or two good recent buildings to find in each location (or older buildings if that is what you prefer). Let's use public transport and find out about London's streets. There are all kind of ways to do this: villages, parks, changing areas, established areas..... Try Richmond and Croydon and Barking and Dulwich and Peckham and Highgate .... Ride bikes, walk canals, take buses (London has a very good bus service).
• feetfirst2
  Walking Tour. Why not see architecture a different way? London is not just the West End, the City and the former Docklands. Why not come to London simply to walk? Bring your hiking boots, go to http://walklondon.org.uk/walk_finder.asp, and off you go. For example, walk from Camden Lock (where the famous market is)m all the way to the Olympic site. Then continues down to Canary Wharf and Greenwich ... or go off toward Limehouse, on the River Thames ... then take a boat back to the West End. Or have you thought of walking along the banks of the Thames, not just for a few hundred metres, but for kilometre after kilometre? Or why not save a lot of bother and get AD to guide you?
• RIB-boat
  River Thames Tour. Why not make more use of the River Thames? Fast Clippers run regularly between central locations such as the London Eye or the Embankment and Canary Wharf (about a 30minute journey). For something more exhilerating, try the even faster RIB tour boats: voted as one of the ultimate ways to enjoy London. You want more? OK, how about a helicopter flight over central London? Prices start with the public Clipper (£4.80 on an Oyster card), go up for the fast private boat (@£33 per person). Or try a slow boat, perhaps going up stream. Or how about a helicopter – at about £500 for a 4-seater, 1 hour ride? Prefer a bicycle? There are a number of central London places that will hire you a bike for a maximum of £20 per day (about £25 per weekend) and, from the summer of 2010 there is a London bicycling scheme available (6000 bikes for hire), like the ones in Paris, Barcelona, etc.

For further information, inquiries and quotations please contact: lrobinson@architecturaldialogue.co.uk

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• Pavement drwg

A good way to be introduced to London is to listen to a talk about the city, its places, character, history and recent buildings. You might find this a better preparation for hitting the pavements – knowing where you are, where you want to go and what you want to see. We can do this on the street itself, but sometimes it is easier in a room, as you sit and we talk ... Ask about how we can do this and how it will fit into your programme.

Clients and comments

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• groupone3
  "… thank you for the very enjoyable and informative architectural tour that you gave us over the three days from the 15th to 18th October. The variety of projects that we saw and the opportunity to hear from many of the project architects was appreciated by the whole office, and gave us a good insight and understanding of the commercial, contextual and planning issues that affected the architecture. The walking tours that you took us on through the city gave a great contrast between the old and the new, and it was enjoyable to hear your informative explanations and views on the projects, and also your explanations and reasoning behind the historic urban growth of London." (Neils Torp)…“As a group of architects being taken on an architectural tour of London we were always going to be a rather cynical crowd; however upon returning from their tour my colleagues were in raptures about what a fantastic afternoon they had been given. Ken (Allinson) had entertained them, shown them nooks and crannies of London they had never set foot in before, and their knowledge of the city had been thoroughly tested. This tour delivered exactly what we had hoped for. Many thanks for an absolutely superb afternoon" (TP Bennett)
• grouptwo
  "It was a very good arrangement you made for us last week...So good that I want you to do it again if its possible!"; MANL, Norway…..;"Thank you very much for organizing such an interesting visit this morning for Mr [...] and [...]. I know for a fact that they found it very enlightening and a great source of inspiration for their project." (Attachée aux Affaires publiques, Délégation générale du Québec à Londres)…"After a wonderful weekend in London we would like to thank you and especially many thanks to Ken who did a wonderful guided tour on Sunday." (I.G, Museum of contemporary art, Schaffhausen, Switzerland)..….."I’d just like to thank you for providing us with such an interesting and informative view of the river; it gave us all a different perspective on how London has developed. (Holder Mathias, London)……."Everything went really well, Thanks to you!" (Kingshill, Moscow"……"Thank you very much once more for your great support and the interesting tour that you provided together with your colleagues." (Hansgrohe, Germany)

AD has had many clients over the years. These include:

Aargauer Kinsthaus Aarau; Agency for Real Estate and Urban Renewal, Municipality of Oslo; Agence Culturelle pour la Promotion de l'art Contemporain; All In One Tours Ltd; AEA; Allies and Morrison; Alukonigstahl; Aker Kværner AS; Aktion; Akershsus Eiendom; Akershus fylkeskommune; ARCASA ArkitekterAS; Arcadia University USA; Architecture Academy of Norway; Archus Arosia Arkitekter; Architekten and Ingenieurverein e.V Koln (AIV, Arkitektene Astrup; Architektur Lokaa; , A-tre Arkitektur; Arkitekt Senteret; Architecturmanagement; Arkitektgruppen Heineman; arkitektgruppen lille frøen as; American Institute of Architects; Architecture Academy of Norway; Armstrong; Art Institute of Chicago; Asahi Chemical Company; Association of Building Physics Denmark; Association Genovoise D'Architects (Alicante); Arhitektenkammer Baden-Wuttenberg; Architekturburo WGK; Associazione Ingegneri e Architetti di Modena; Austin State University; Austrian Trade Mission (London); Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB); BASE Arkitekter ANS; Bank of Moscow; Bauforum GMBH; Bauhaus-Univeristat Weimar; Beat Rothen Architektur; Bennett; Berning Schulter Hald;Biesterbos Planontwikkeling bv; Bond van Nederlandse Architecten; Bordeaux Label; British Broadcasting Corporation; British Council; British Steel, BUWOG; Building and Real Estate Department of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Building and Equipment Life Cycle Association of Japan, Bund Deutscher Arkitekten; Camden Arts; Carlstedt Arkitektkontor; CAUE de la Dr&ocircme; Cellcom; Chapman Bathhurst, London; Chicago Architecture Foundation; Chang-Jo Architects; Circolo Trentino per l’Architettura Contemporanea; College of Global Studies, Arcadia University, USA; Collegi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya; Conseil National de Ordres des Architectes Bourgogne; Consideritdone; CoreNet Event, City of London Festival; Contekton; Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst; Contemporary Arts Society; Danish Embassy, London; DKA Business Solutions; Department of Trade &amp Industry, Design Net Works; Designfunktion; Eiffel Construction Metalique; Dulux Australia; Enerhaugen Arkitektkontor AS; EPF PACA; Fondation de L'Architecture et de L'Ingenierie; FFNS; Claudio Forti Architetto; Dutch Ministry of Housing; ENOSH Systems; Fondazione Architetti della provincoa di; Formica Taiwan; Fulton travel Ltd.; German Press Group; Global-Link; Greenwich Decorative and Fine Arts Society; Giuliani Architect; HADFAS; Halmstad City Council; Hansgrohe; Heidrick &amp Struggles; HJS Arkitektkontor AB; Hofbauer Architectsa-Tre; Hahn & Holder Matthias; Hong Kong University; Hopten; IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs; HWR architects, Norway; Interface Deutschland GmbH; Interoper; Johnels & Kingshill Media Group (Moscow); KIINKO Real Estate Education; KLC School of Interior Design; Immobilien, KOW Architectuur; InterfaceFLOR; Kunsthaus Aarau; Kuntsthogskolen I Bergen; LAFRATTA S.r.l.; Leonardo da Vin Amsterdai; Link-Akitektur; Locum (Stockholm); LPO Architecture & London Ladies Club; LS Arkitekter; Lusparken arkitekter AS; Maison de L'Architecture Drome; Malmo City council; Mirk Architects BNA; Municipality Promotion Association of Hokkaido; Moberg Sodera; Neils Torp Architects; Neumann &amp Partners; Milliken; Museum of Modern Art Switzerland; Norske Arkitekters Landisforbund; Nyborg CoHAV Eiendom AS; mmune; Ø KAWAS Arkitekter MNAL; Odd Slyngstad Sivilarketekter AS; Opsal & Gabrielsen, Oslo; Oslo Planning Department; Orag Osterreichische Realitaten AG; Ordine degli Architetti; Ordres Des Architectes Luxembourg; Osterreichische Realitanten-Arkteigesellschaft; Oxford Brookes University; Øystein Thommesen AS; Queens University Belfast; Parallel Architects; Paumier; Premium UK; PROMOSEM Paris; Ramboll Danmark; db Redaktion; Royal Institute of British Architects; Riverside Business Centre; Rockwell Luxury travel; Rotary Club of Southampton; Royal Institute of Australian Architects; Royal Society of Ulster Architects; SAI (Tokyo); Sandoz, Savvy Club; SBS Copenhagen; Scancoming Ltd; Stedebouw & School of Architecture, University of Zaragoza; Strasbourg City Council; SCHUCO, Sovereign Tourism Ltd.; SCET Network; SERS Ville de Strasbourg; Silja Tillner; Skjern technical College; Soddergruppen Norway; Sohne GmbH; Institute of Spanish Architects; Steele & Co.; Swiss Engineering Corporation; Swiss Institure for Art Research; Suter & Suter; Steelcase Strafor; Tampere Council; Tectum (Antwerp); Tentrup Pflanzen GmbH; Tidee Amsterdam; trans/touring production ; Tyrens Sweden; Ukranian Architectural Academy; Unisor Sacilor; University of Agder; University of Bonn; University of Michigan; Vaardal-Lunde AS; van aken architecten; Verantwoordelijke protocole, Verantwoordelijke De Vrienden van de Mutn; Venera; Viaggi Piu; Vieler; Viajes Orienta; VM Trade; Vrienden van het Nederlands ;Architectuurinstitut; Ian Walton Associates; Welsh Opera House Board; WDR; Weickenmeir Kunz &amp Partners; Westdeutscher Rundfunk K&oumlln; White Arkitekter AB; and many others, including individuals.

"My husband and I had the pleasure of having you show us around the contemporary architecture of London [...] It was a wonderful experience." LS, New York City.

"Many thanks for organising the visits yesterday; another very valuable programme for the BBC which led to some terrific discussions." Head of Design, BBC Property.

"After a wonderful weekend in London we would like to thank you and especially many thanks to Ken who did a wonderful guided tour on Sunday." I.G, Museum of contemporary art, Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

"I was about to write to you to thank you for the great two days in London. Everybody enjoyed the projects, the guiding, the historical input and all the funny and interesting stories. Our best guiding / study trip ever — thank you so much!" Soddergruppen, Norway

"Thanks again for the great tour last week. We all enjoyed it very much. The editors were very positive." Armstrong

"My warm regards again from Finland and many thanks for your excellent guidance yesterday. We were very satisfied." KIINKO

"Thanks so much for a lovely tour of London a couple of weeks ago. Everyone from Byens Netværk loved your talk." Dansk Arkitektur Center

"I just wanted to thank you the magnificent tour of Tuesday and your comprehension and permission to do the tour longer than fixed and make possible us to see Highpoint and Alexandra Road. I think these two examples were great for the students (and for me also)." School of Architecture, Zaragoza

"Once again thank you very much for the tour [...] We have enjoyed it very much. My colleagues and I were very impressed with the way you could in a simple scheme tell us the history of London." SAB Amsterdam

For further information, inquiries and quotations please contact:lrobinson@architecturaldialogue.co.uk

Architectural Dialogue's tours are usually customised to your requirements, no matter how simple, and are always half-day and full day contracts (for as many half or full days you need).

We quote standard prices, for what we term 'regular tours' and those that are premium, calling for special access, meetings, etc. which are usually reliant upon our contacts, good will and the like. We'll advise which category a day event is in. We have the option of using public transport or travelling by coach. Wherever possible, we will use the smallest vehicle possible so as to facilitate getting about, easy parking, etc. lrger groups will be offered a hearing system as an extra service.

Please use the contact form below to make an enquiry (use the 'submit' button on the bottom right). Tell us about the number of people, interests, preferred mode of transport, etc.We can give you a guide price and the guide will then contact you to discuss your requirements and propose a programme and itinerary. We can advise you on hotels, restaurants, transport links etc., but we have no special arrangements with any other organisation.

Travel agents please note: we will be as helpful as we can in quoting for speculative tours you are organising, but there is a limit to the advice we can offer for such events. You may be asked to pay a research fee that tailors a programme to your proposed market or interest group. Where you are acting on behalf of a client we may ask for permission to contact them directly concerning their programme requirements.

Or, directly email our administrator: lrobinson@architecturaldialogue.co.uk

Please note: Architectural Dialogue Ltd., acts only as agent for the client in acquiring transportation, hotel accommodations, sightseeing and other privileges, or services for the clients’ benefit, and on the express condition that Architectural Dialogue Ltd. shall not be responsible for any loss, accident, injury, delay, defect, omission or irregularity which may occur or be occasioned, whether by reason of any act, negligence or default of any company or person engaged in or responsible for carrying out any of the arrangements, or otherwise in connection therewith. Architectural Dialogue Ltd. shall not be liable for any injuries or any damage to any client or be subject to any claim, demand, injury, or damages, whatsoever, including without limitation, those damages from acts of passive or active negligence on the part of Architectural Dialogue Ltd., its officers, employees, or agents. Client does hereby expressly release and discharge Architectural Dialogue Ltd. from all such claims, demands, injuries, damages, actions or causes of action. Client acknowledges that he/she has carefully read this paragraph and fully understands that this is a waiver and release of liability