Before this weekend's final Open House visits, two I sneaked to yesterday.
Open House:HTA Design (Hackney Wick) The One To Blame
Someone has to design the buildings and public realm we live in and for a lot of modern projects that's HTA Design, a 12 year-old architectural practice. Eden Dock at Canary Wharf is one of theirs, also Kidbrooke Park and Cane Hill, not to mention masterplanning Greenford Quay and Meridian Water. Three years ago they moved into new premises at 75 Wallis Road in at Hackney Wick, an iconic location because the main building was once a factory for making Parkesine, the world's first manufactured plastic. Brick and timber are more their thing these days, you'll be pleased to hear.
Last night they opened up their doors for Open House, technically after hours although some employees were still at their workstations polishing projects or finishing their online shopping. We did a circuit through their four knocked-through sheds, admiring the original brickwork and plentiful natural daylight through original windows. We climbed to the mezzanine, passed umpteen mini models and landscapes in progress. We observed the 3D printers, which one employee appeared to have used to make small dinosaurs in contravention of the clear desk policy, and descended to the sustainably well-used cycle store. And we ended in the capacious canteen where next week's free-to-employees vegetarian-focused menu kicks off with Leek & Potato Soup and Lemon & Herb Salmon.
It's always good to be reminded what a modern workplace looks like, also reassuring that a company which designs buildings has done such a good job of their own. I thought I'd best keep quiet about what I thought of Elephant Park, though.
It's always suspicious when an Open House venue is listed every day of the week as well as the adjacent weekends, suggesting the building's always open to the public and they're merely trying to increase visitor numbers. So it is here at Hounslow House, the six year-old council office and library complex, where the target is merely a display of 28 photographs on the first floor by the librarian's desk.
They're of seven locations around the borough, half old photos from 60-odd years ago, half much more recent. Think Chiswick Bus Works/Chiswick Park Campus, also Isleworth's United Biscuits Factory/Sky TV HQ. Feltham must be a tad dull because the only place of interest they could find was the shopping centre. And it's all worth a look, especially if you're local, but it's in situ for a month then on tour around the borough for a month, also easily reproducible as a pdf, so hardly worthy of its Open House listing. I'm hoping for better today.
