Opening up commercial and residential properties to the public for two days a year, Open House allows the public to see inside some of London’s most iconic buildings.
Open House started in 1992 as a small not-for-profit organisation to ‘promote public awareness and appreciation of the capital's building design and architecture’.
Living and working in a city, we are completely surrounded by buildings. The Open House ethos is that people need to engage with the space, structure, framework and composition of the buildings to truly understand it.
Stressing the ‘importance of direct experience’ they also believe that it isn’t something that can be taught in a classroom.
With the ‘aim to help change perceptions, break down barriers and inspire people to demand high-quality places for current and future generations’, they also think that ‘the urban fabric of our community has such a strong impact on us on an everyday basis’.
A Changing City
The London skyline is changing, and is undergoing rapid redevelopment and regeneration. Founding director Victoria Thornton states that ‘the city is expanding into previously underused areas, increasing density in others, and creating whole new residential and business districts.’
The Gherkin queue. Dedication for #commercialpropertypic.twitter.com/3AmkHFyQRC
— PropertySales.com (@FTPropertySales) September 23, 2015
We spoke to Abi Jones about the two day event and her own perceptions of the forever changing property landscape:
PS: How did it all start?
AJ: The intention was to open up London's splendid buildings to the general public who don't otherwise have access. We saw this as a way of helping the wider community to become more knowledgeable, engage in dialogue and make informed judgements on architecture.
We have now created several other programmes and Open House has become an event run by the Open-City organisation.
PS: How are the buildings selected?
AJ: The buildings are selected by a mixture of us approaching them and them approaching us but we always try and keep a good variety of buildings with new additions every year.
The main aim of the festival is to celebrate brilliant design so we are always looking out for particularly special buildings.
#StBotolphBuilding #OpenHouseLondon #Commercialproperty pic.twitter.com/eQeXjJdeFK
— PropertySales.com (@FTPropertySales) September 23, 2015
PS: How do you feel the commercial property landscape has changed in the last decade?
AJ: There is no doubt that the commercial property landscape has changed dramatically with higher amounts of people wanting to live in London and buy property, whether for investment or for living.
Whilst it is easy to feel pessimistic about what is happening in the capital (with house prices going through the roof and people being relocated all around the country) we must try and focus on creating a positive change.
This can be done through paying attention to the great design and creativity that architects and engineers are using in response to the challenges bought about by the housing crisis.
Open House London has plenty of examples. And of course the PropertySales.com team couldn’t resist the chance to snoop around some of London’s most iconic commercial properties.
#StBotolphBuilding #commercialproperty #london #art #openhouselondon pic.twitter.com/Ng3PLYyUjT
— PropertySales.com (@FTPropertySales) September 23, 2015
The St Botolph Building
Designed by leading national architects Grimshaw and with its trademark blue exterior, the St Botolph building is unmistakeable.
Commissioned by property developer Minerva and completed in 2010, the building was later acquired by Deka in 2013.
Boasting 560,000 sq ft (over 6 football pitches) worth of lettable space, the building is home to both office, exhibition and retail space (Eat, Tesco express and LAX Gym) and has a maximum capacity of 4,500 people.
The first two floors house flexible working spaces ‘with potential to become dealing floors’ and the upper 11 floors house high spec office space.
The St Botolph Building is also the first office space in the UK to use TWIN lift technology. Their innovative office design incorporates 16 lifts that operate independently in 8 shafts.
We've got some great images from our day at @openhouselondon ! Who else went and where did you go? pic.twitter.com/21J14R6cme
— PropertySales.com (@FTPropertySales) September 23, 2015
Sustainability
Sustainability has become an important part of the city’s infrastructure in both residential (Eco homes) and commercial properties.
The buildings blue tinted glazing system and spandrel panels provides solar control and limits solar gain.
BREEAM is the world’s foremost environmental assessment method. With its high level of sustainability and CO2 emissions at 11% less than the 2006 target rate, The St Botolph Building has been awarded a rating of ‘Very Good’.
Just some of its sustainable features are:
• Low energy lighting with sensors and daylight harvesting
• Energy saving escalators
• Passive design (solar control glazing made from 3 layers of bonded glass)
• Refuse and recycling facilities
Solar photovoltaic (PV) installation, directing solar energy back into the building and creating electricity.
Lastly, the famous #Gherkin. #London#openhouselondonpic.twitter.com/U7WOgN1Y0Y
— PropertySales.com (@FTPropertySales) September 23, 2015
30 St Mary Axe
Affectionately known as ‘The Gherkin’, 30 St Mary Axe is a pioneer of London’s contemporary architectural design.
Started in 1997, completed in 2004 and designed by Foster and Partners, the 180 metre, 41 storey office building is unmissable on the London Skyline.
Housing the headquarters for Swiss Re, the building also has 33 floors of offices amassing to an impressive 46,400 sq ft of office space.
The top 3 floors are home to the award winning Searcys restaurant and members club with its desirable 360 degree panoramic views of the city.
Sustainability
As London’s first ecological tall building, the buildings unconventional profile reduces wind deflections to a much better extent than its other more rectangular and less streamlined counterparts (ie. the Walkie Talkie, which recently won the Carbuncle Cup and is the culprit of creating a wind tunnel).
The energy conscious, innovative design consists of 7429 panes of glass and Foster and Partners liken its ‘resolving walls and roof’ to a ‘continuous triangulated skin’.
Their aim to create a synchronicity between nature and urban office space through its unique natural ventilation system.
Did you visit any of the Open House buildings? Let us know and inspire us for next year’s event!