Visit City Hall
City Hall is one of London’s ‘new’ landmarks, a curvy blob on the South Bank that houses the London Assembly.
Designed by Foster & Partners, the building is a tilted glass globe, which purposely has no ‘front’ or ‘back’ - it’s a democratic shape, which can be seen from any perspective. Equally, it’s an energy efficient shape which minimises the surface area, thus reducing the building’s heating needs as there’s less opportunity for heat to leak out of the building.
The dominant feature in the interior is the spiral ramp that works its way up to the top floor. As with the outside, curves replace straight lines, and there’s a sense of airiness to the building.
Now if you want to see inside City Hall, you have the opportunity - just one weekend a month. And you’ll be able to see views of London from the top floor that are, I think, almost as good as from the London Eye - and much more user-friendly if you happen to suffer from vertigo!
Open weekend dates are:June 14th and 15th,July 5th and 6th,August 2nd and 3rd, September 20th and 21st,October 11th and 12th, and November 8th and 9th. The building is open 10-5, but don’t leave it too late - you won’t get in after 430 in the afternoon.
Photo credit - Steve Cadman on Flickr
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POSTED IN: Attractions, Events
2 opinions for Visit City Hall
Richard Callaby
Jun 12, 2008 at 1:49 pm
It is certainly a different kind of building that reminds me of some of the “new” architecture you see pop up here in America now and again. The Guggeheim museum in California is similar to this one. I am not going to remark on whether this is a nice boilding to look at and keep that opinion to myself.
Pierre
Jun 18, 2008 at 3:13 pm
A most unusual building which, apparently, has been described both as an onion and a glass scrotum ;-) Seems opinions differ - thanks for sharing the great pic and informative comment!
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