The initial design consisted of an open station that would allow passengers to enter from the ticket sales area, located on the upper floor and facing west, through a walkway suspended from the concrete roof by cables to both sides of the station. The location of this entrance allows views to the waiting platform that connects with the entrance area by means of two passenger escalators going up and down. (more…)

The need for an additional crossing between Rotherhithe and Wapping had been steadily growing, but the idea of building a new bridge must have seemed almost overwhelming. Not only would it have to be able to open in some way so that ships could pass, its construction would further constrict an already congested river. (more…)

When Joseph Paxton’s revolutionary Crystal Palace opened as the home of London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, it created uproar. Critics denounced it as little more than an overgrown greenhouse – or compared it to plumbing. But the new building won far more admirers than detractors: dappled with light and shadow, uplifting visitors with its vast vaulted concourse, this showplace of glass was an inspiring, ennobling space. (more…)

Since 1930 the Oxo Tower has been one of the landmarks on the banks of the Thames. In recent years the buildings has been renovated to house a diverse range of activities. The first three levels are used for commercial purposes, the five intermediate floors are occupied by 78 apartments, and, finally, on the ninth floor there are two places to eat and the Harvey Nichols bar. (more…)

A comic-book building that pops up in London’s snooty Fulham Road lie a Jack-in-a-box. A florid Art Nouveau design by the French architect F. Espinasse, the Michelin Building was a kind of strident and witty advertisement for the French tyre company. The exuberant facades are decorated with colourful glazed bricks, white faience tiles, a pot-pourri of flowery Classical references and, inevitably, representations of pneumatic rubber tyres. The corners are capped with the bulbous stacks of tyres that form the torso of the Michelin Man. (more…)

Britain’s national newspapers abandoned Fleet Street, their traditional home, at the end of the 1980s as new technology enabled them to separate journalists from printers. In 1989, the Daily Express deserted this glorious Art Deco headquarters, an unforgettable world-factory, with one of London’s most famous, popular and dazzling interior. (more…)