For Open House Day Two I zipped around the capital and visited seven different and quite varied properties. It was a long day. I therefore don't have the time or energy to write about them all, not right now, so instead I've prioritised selecting some good photos and uploading them to Flickr. There are 24 photos over there, not just the seven you can see here.
I will write them all up here eventually, maybe some of them later today, because it's only right to give everything a proper mention. But for the time being you'll have to make do with a couple of sentences and some notes, which will magically transform into proper paragraphs at some later date, which you may or may not want to make the effort to come back and read.
This stack of studios occupies a former veneer factory on the banks of the Hertford Canal in Bow. I made the mistake of going into the gallery first where some sparse buckets are masquerading as an exhibition until September, whereas the actual Open House bit was a warren of artists' hideaways arrayed across three floors upstairs. Notes: A bit like Bow Arts, born in the 1980s, small archive exhibition, long white corridors, buzzing, Kevin Harrison's narrative sculptures, he likes a good title, Sara Heywood's blankety camera obscura, two dance studios, deserted brewery underneath which the council won't/can't transform, long term future uncertain. Photos:three
Open House:City Hall (Royal Docks) The Relocated One
The original City Hall by Tower Bridge was always a good Open House draw with its looping staircase and 9th floor observation gallery, aka London's Living Room. The new City Hall overlooking the Dangleway feels more spacious but certainly wasn't attracting a crowd, which I guess is what happens when you make democracy cheaper. Notes: Security palaver, sorry I forgot my keys, London's Living Room 2, Olympic medal/torch cabinet, 4 low-slung committee rooms, a few moulting trees, recent winner of the Architects' Journal Retrofit & Reuse Award for Fit-out (£2 million and over), timber-edged council chamber, entry via the cafe, bank of raised seating, beats watching on Zoom. Photos:four
Open House:Flanders House (Cavendish Square) The Misjudged One
I don't think this Belgian trade outpost understood the Open House agenda, because reading some boards about modern architecture and watching a 3 minute video loop urging viewers to Invest in Flanders wasn't really worth the effort of turning up.
Just downstream from Tower Bridge is a four-armed pontoon where 19 historic vessels are moored, creating a houseboat hub with one of the best views in London. Open Weekends are held three times a year, one of which always coincides with Open House and the next should be in March. Notes: Down the ramp, central community room serving tea and cakes, unexpectedly wobbly, characterful wooden-masted barges, wonderful mini-gardens, the Shard lines up between the rigging, evidence of happy tidal living, visiting Dutch sloop with boarding opportunities, unexpected Lancaster bomber overhead. Photos:four
Open House:The Mission (Limehouse) The Centenary One
The British Sailors' Society Mission opened in 1924 on Commercial Road as somewhere for seamen arriving at the London Docks to stay between trips. As trade moved elsewhere the institution became unnecessary so was briefly used as a hostel for the homeless and then in 1994 was repurposed as private housing - even the chapel. A lush blue-tiled staircase climbs to a roof terrace with views of the communal garden and of local landmarks in an unusual alignment. For Open House we were allowed to see the the communal courtyard where residents socialise, the institutional staircase with its lush blue tiling and a model of the building on the fourth floor landing. The best part was being let loose on the roof terrace with views across Limehouse, particularly the unique combination of a Hawksmoor spire, the Canary Wharf tower and the building's maritime mouldings providing a new perspective on the East End.
Open House:RSA (Charing Cross) The Self-Congratulatory One
20 years ago, indeed 20 years ago today, I received a letter from the RSA inviting me to become a Fellow of their esteemed 232-year-old arts-focused organisation. Initially I was impressed, but when I asked why they'd invited me it turned out they'd scraped my address from an entirely uncreative source so I didn't bite. I still came back for a tour though, a very popular hour-long whizz round their labyrinthinely sociable HQ with all the historic bits pointed out. These included a bust of Prince Philip, an actual Wedgwood ceiling, a gilded list of former Chairmen and a bifocal chandelier to celebrate the fact that Benjamin Franklin used to be a member. The most extraordinary highlight might have James Barry's four-sided 'history of culture' mural in the Great Room which was 25 years in the making, it might have been the original 18th century cobbled street preserved at the back of the RSA's internal cinema or it might have been the huge subterranean brick vaults where a DJ was playing for a one-off art exhibition. We never did quite know where the next door or staircase might take us. Our guide proved strangely reticent to disclose the true cost of membership, despite banging on about it all the way round, indeed if this Open House jolly was meant as a recruitment drive then the coy revelation at the end really blew it. I still haven't bitten. But apparently anyone's welcome to walk in and use their Coffee House cafe, and if that's not up your street you can always come see the Georgian front door they often pretend is 10 Downing Street in TV dramas.
At the age of 20 Vincent Van Gogh's job brought him to London and he stayed for a year in Stockwell within walking distance of his Covent Garden office. That lodging house has recently been restored as a museum/art/creative space so you can explore inside, stand in the garden and see his bedroom at the top of the house - normally for £7.50 but for Open House it was conveniently free. Notes: Such an innocuous corner of SW9, memorabilia and letters from the time, everyone was young once, she called him "Van Go", winding wooden stairs, a fairly feeble amount of modern art dotted around, nice paint job on the landing, ooh the actual room he stayed in, the view out of the window is now of a school... and it's called Van Gogh Primary. Photos:four
