Open House Opens Minds

Ask most people what the most exciting thing happening this weekend is and you’ll get a fairly unanimous answer: the X Factor. That annual months-long torment where would be popstars get the chance to mumble, stumble and bumble their way through pop classics under the watchful eyes of Simon, Louis, Cheryl and Dannii in the hope of releasing a hit single. However, tens of thousands of Londoners were opening their minds- and not their wallets- as hundreds of the Capitals most striking and innovative buildings opened for free as part of the Open House weekend.

One of the iconic buildings being shown off to the public was the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on Whitehall. Designed by George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1868, the building originally held the department in charge of India during the British Raj and the palatial interiors mirror the wealth and extravagance of British rule in India. Part of the building that was open to the public is the Locarno Suite, where the Locarno Treaties were formally signed. Unfortunately, the building fell into disrepair after World War II and was scheduled for demolition in the 1960s. But thankfully it was saved and restored in the 1980s at the cost of £100 million, a worthwhile investment for such an historic building.

10 kilometres away is the brand new National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. My journey there took me past the site the Chelsea barracks, the site where Prince Charles controversially vetoed a design for a new development incorporating steel and glass, as well as the Alton estate, a concrete eyesore built in the style of Le Corbusier in the 1960s.

The National Tennis Centre was built to satisfy the needs for more home grown stars in tennis. When the centre is open for tours on Open House weekend, the public can see the budding players of the future practicing, as well as the state of the art features including 22 courts of all the different grand slam materials, player accommodation and a modern sports science building. To top it off, the building looks fantastic with its sleek glass panels and curving roof.

I came away from both of the buildings I visited with a feeling of the importance of both the functionality and aesthetics of architecture, and how both relatively modern and ancient buildings have a place in our city. There has to be a good middle ground between the brutalist ideology of Le Corbusier and the despotic, backward looking Prince Charles with regard to architecture, and London seems to have managed that perfectly. So next year, if you’re around on the 18th or 19th of September, why not explore the hidden side of London’s buildings. And if you time it right, you might even be back in time for the X Factor.