Day 6 - Modern London: Bloomsbury, Finsbury & The City

Modern London, post Great War (WWI) and post WWII shows us the death of Victorian ideals and a move towards functionality and rationality in the architecture and buildings. As with most things, it was delayed coming to London by about 20 years. Since London was very poor after the two World Wars, they moved towards glass and concrete as materials due to their cheap cost.

Our first stop was the housing center, Brunswick Center. Built from 1952-1972 by Patrick Hodgkinson, these building were seen as monumental and awe inspiring for the time.

With its jutting out balconies, green room style coverings and diagonal features, people really loved these buildings. In addition to this, in the modernist style, they have huge ventilation towers, are very large in their scale and are bold and in your face.

Built in 1931, we then moved onto the Senate House.

Universally commissioned and built by Charles Holden, the Senate House is the culmination of a plan to centralize education in London. This is the Administrative center of the University and the Library as well. As you can see, the tower is staggered in an Egyptian ziggurat style.

We then moved onto the British Museum. The outside was built by Sir John Burnet in 1907 and is in a neo-classical style to fit in with the rest of the museum that was already standing.

Moving inside, we saw the Greater Court. Originally laid out by Robert Smirk as a public court, this neo-classical room shows the covering of the original library (circular building) and Norman Foster's genius architecture in the roof and rest of the court. The reason for the covering and expansion is because the museum got too big and expansions were required.

Our next stop was in Finsbury at the Charles Rowan House. Build in 1930 out of brick, this was a building for police housing and a move towards modernism.

After this, we walked deeper into Finsbury to take a look at the Finsbury Health Center.

Built by Lubetrin from 1935-1938, this free healthcare hospital was a flagship for the radical modernist movement. Although it doesn't look like much now, back when it was built it was something people hadn't seen or had before. And since it doesn't look like much now, there is much debate over whether it should be restored and used again or if London should leave it how it is and let it continue to rot away and die.

We then moved over towards the housing estate, Golden Lane Estates, build by Chamberlan, Howell and Bond from 1952-1962. This area was almost completely destroyed during the blitz, they removed the rubble and built this modernist style, cheap public housing.

Not only are they colorful and once vibrant, but it shows a move away from 1930's quaint architecture and a move towards multiple materials per building. This is pre-brutalism and in a new style with no true ground level since the ground was dug out and steps and floors were put below the traditional ground level.

Next to the Golden Lane Estates was our next stop, The Barbican. This is the upscale part of the construction effort in post blitz house planning. It is a very large area with the ground raised up. They were built with a bigger budget for higher class citizens and took much longer to build. With a lot of concrete showing, this is the brutalist style and although it is 10 years apart from the Golden Lane Estates, they are a world apart in appearance and style.

Our next stop took us to the Broadgate Estate. Built by Arup Associates after the deregulation brought trade to London, causing a boom in the economy and a rebuilding craze. Again, this has an amphitheater influence and was privately financed and built from 1985-1987. It is the main offices for many financial institutions and is made of granite.

Our last stop took us to two of the biggest and most recent buildings in London. The first one was the Lloyds Building. Build from 1976-1986 by Richard Rodgers and partners, this is in the high-tech style. All of the guts of the building and the technology like ventilation, elevators, etc. are actually on the outside. It is both innovative and deliberate. It is made of aluminum, glass and steel.

The final building, across the horizon line, was The Gerkin. Built in 2004 by Norman Foster and partners, this is the building for the private Swiss bank. It is clean, elegant and smooth. It has a streamlined feel and has a flawless glass exterior.

Day 5 - Victorian London: Kensington & Chelsea

From the 19th century until the Great War (World War I) London lived in the Victorian and Edwardian period. In contrast to the Georgian period, the Victorian era was one filled with turmoil, change and disruption. Also, with new transportation, the materials changed and terra-cotta, iron, steel were available via boat and train. Although there was turmoil, this was Britain's highest point as the world superpower due to trade bringing enormous wealth to individuals and the government. However, as a product of this massive wealth, poverty was at an all time high and at its worse. With all of their power, London went through a renaissance and gothic revival along with other stylistic revivals as well.

Our first stop was at the Albert Memorial.

This was built in the 1860's and early 1870's as a memorial to Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria. Although not initially popular, Prince Albert gained fame and respect from the people due to his philanthropic involvement with the people and the city. He was a progressive mind and brought universal education and welfare to London. Done by George Gilbert Scott, this is a gothic revival and is meant to look like a medieval shrine. The sculptures around depict the four continents England had power over: India, America, Europe and Africa.

Across from this is Royal Albert Hall. It is a public concert hall that seats 8,000 people and was inspired by the roman amphitheaters and is made of terra-cotta and brick in a way to resemble the Italian Renaissance.

Our next stop in "Albertropolis" was Albert Hall Mansions. These are housing flats built to surround Royal Albert Hall. They are a transition from the old style terraced house to the new flat model. At the time they were built, 1870-1880, they were a novelty in London. Built by Richard Shaw, they housed the wealthy middle class.

Stylistically, they have some of the Queen Anne model with bright red brick and tall windows with curved heads. They are also influenced by 17th century Dutch housing by being tall, narrow with big gables.

Our next stop took us to school - The Imperial College of Science and Music.

The college is a baroque revival with its big bold pediments and fine details. The red building is part gothic as it stretches into the sky ending in a point and part French. This is a good example of the many styles architects could choose from when building in the Victorian period.

We then walked over to the Natural History Museum. Build by Alfred Waterhouse in the 1870's. It is terra-cotta and you can see all the different colors on the building which is a sign of the Victorian period. They loved colors built into their buildings. Also, there are byzantine and romanesque styles with a little bit of a gothic influence in the spires. The Romanesque touches are on the German side and can been seen in the round arches over windows.

Our next stop was a museum as well. The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A Museum).

This is the museum for the applied arts and crafts from London and the rest of the world. It truly is a storehouse for artistic ideas and the actual concepts that the artists dreamt up. The facade was built in 1900 and is by Anstin Webb. It is Victorian and has a mixture of different styles including: Italian Renaissance, English Renaissance and bits of gothic.

Inside you can see the cafetera and it shows all the colors typical of Victorian architecture and art. It is made of terra-cotta, painted tiles, rococo styles and is very busy.

We next headed over to the Brompton Oratory. When it was built in the 1880's it was the biggest Roman Catholic church in London. Constructed by Herbert Gribble, this building is in an Italian style and is an example of the Baroque revival movement.

Next we went to the Samuel Lewis Trust Housing. This was the public housing of the time and was built in the slum area's to give the poor a better way of life. They were made to be affordable so people could pay for their own way off the streets and are slightly Queen Anne style and slightly Baroque style. They were built in an attempt to improve the social conditions in London.

We then moved onto James Savage's St. Luke's Church, built in the 1820's.

We then proceded to the Chelsea Townhall. Built in the 1900's in English baroque style, slightly resembling Christopher Wren's work, this municipal government building has a wonderful portico. It was the first time Chelsea had a building so the local counsel could have a meeting place to make decisions. Also, the library was here.

Our last physical location in the Kensington and Chelsea area were the Artist Studios. Because Chelsea had a large artist community, houses had to be made to accomodate their needs. The studios had very tall North facing windows and open upstairs areas for all their work. In addition to this, the studios were art themselves. They were asymmetrical, had the front in the back and vice versa and were unique and different by design. Webb and Morris were the big architects of this "arts and crafts" style of architecture.

The final thing discussed on this day was English Innovation. On the western end of the Thames, engineers built and embankment. They needed this because they wanted a road to run from the city to St. Paul's. Joseph Bazalgette, the engineer behind all of this, did an excellent job solving sanitation, population and traffic issues with one simple solution - an Embankment. 

Day 4 - Georgian London: St James's and Soho

The Georgian period, running from approximately 1714-1837, was a time of stability. This stability was not only shown in the monarchy, economy and politics, but in art and architecture as well.

We started off by going to Queen Anne's Gate.

This is a street named after Queen Anne who was the reigning monarch at the time. From top to bottom, these three pictures show the three different style in housing from early to late. As you can see, they are brick built, classical and common style houses.
As the years go on, the style gets more simple and the use of multiple colors is lost. Also, the color of the brick changes to a lighter tone.

After a brief walk through St. James's Park (pictured below), with its picturesque planning, we came to St. James's Palace.

St. James's Palace is the last remaining Tudor palace left. It still has some gothic features with spires and battlements. This is a perfect example of classical late medieval, early Tudor entrance. Also, it has late gothic windows. While the palace was built in the 15th century, there are some 18th century additions (last picture).

Our next stop took us to the home of the Spencer's. The most famous of them all is probably Princess Diana Spencer. The Spencer House, built in 1752 by John Vardi is constructed of portland stone and has tiers of levels and rustication.

The basement level has the stones look like they are old bricks to show it is the lowest level. The portland stone on the next level has clean cuts. Finally, the top level is smooth portland stone with pilasters and a classical style portico. The reason it is like this is because the first floor is the most important floor in the house and where most of the business took place.

Another very important facet of Georgian period life were gentlemen's clubs. These were a place where aristocratic young and old men could go drink, play cards and talk politics in a scholarly and dignified way. They were invite only and very hard to get into.

The first gentlemen's club we saw was Boodles. Built in 1765, this gentlemen's club has a big venetian arch window and very delicate details.

The next gentlemen's club, which is across the street, is Brooks. Built in 1778, it is younger than Boodles and has a slightly different style. It is a more neo-classical building with columns and pillasters. As well as being neo-classical, it is more greco-roman than its opposing club Boodles.

Next we headed over to St. James's Square.

This land was originally owned by Lord St. Auldbin and the layout for this square was done in 1665. However, it wasn't until the 17th and 18th centuries that it was actually completed. One of the most famous homes in St. James's Square is the Lichfield House. Build by James Stuart, this classical townhouse has many Greek details. This is because Stuart travelled to Athens before building it and was influenced heavily by the Greeks. It is a neo-classical building.

When John Nash was planning the city, he made a direct route from North to South. Palace to our next stop, Waterloo Place. It was named to commemorate the English victory of Napoleon at Waterloo.

After we saw this, we headed out of the St. James area and into Soho. Back during the Georgian period Soho was considered the slums and full of prostitution, poverty, immigrants and drugs. 

Our first stop in Soho ironically was Our Lady Church. 

This was one of the first Roman Catholic church's following the liberation from strict anti-catholic laws in London. Although it was destroyed in 1780 by a Protestant mob, it stands again today. On the outside it is very simple as to not draw attention to itself. However, once you walk inside it is greatly adorned just as you would expect a Catholic church to be. 

Next we stopped off at Dufour's Place. 

Originally, there were Georgian houses sitting where this monster of flats is. However, after they were destroyed during WWII London government decided to replace them with this 15 story flat. Its modern style and crazy scale are out of place and did not look very good in this setting. However, it stands there today as a reminder of the changes that London underwent post-WWII.

On the way to our next destination, we made a quick stop at Meard St. This street was constructed in the 1720's and it was named after the carpenter who made the houses - John Meard. This was the end of the rococo style of door and had multi-colored brick with flush windows. 

After making our way through Meard St. we arrived at St. Anne's Workhouse.

This is from the late 18th century and was a welfare state creation. Here the poor could get clothing and food and each parish had about one workhouse. This was the bare minimum poor relief but a starting point none the less in an effort to clean up the streets and give the poor a better way of life instead of letting them die in the streets of starvation, cold and disease.

The final destination on this trip was Soho Square. It was laid out in 1677 and all around it there are Georgian houses, 20th century office buildings and two churches (one Irish, one French). This really displayed the mixture of people and cultures that came to London and lived in Soho during this time.