Open House London - the capital’s greatest architectural showcase

Another reason to wish we were in London at the moment (despite the glorious early summer days here in Sydney and a beach weekend beckoning...) - it is Open House time again.

Open House London celebrates all that is best about the capital’s buildings, places and neighbourhoods. Every September, it gives a unique opportunity to get out and under the skin of London’s amazing architecture, with over 700 buildings of all kinds opening their doors to everyone – all for free. This year it takes place over the weekend of 17 and 18 September.

With architects' homes, eco and retrofit buildings, tours of major regeneration projects, landscape projects, government buildings, historic landmarks and towers, major infrastructure sites and more all available to explore over one weekend, it’s a great way to find out how good design makes more liveable cities. The full programme has details and opening times of all buildings and events and can be found on the Open House website.

For help with choosing where to start, check out Wallpaper magazine's list of 12 must-see buildings  The groove-sters at Wallpaper have delved deep into the programme to find the most startling recent additions to the Open House.  The picture below shows the interior of the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington.  Regarded by English Heritage as the second most important modern building in London, its striking hyperbolic paraboloid copper roof reflects the architects' desire to create a 'tent in the park'.  It will soon be the new home of the Design Museum and this is a unique opportunity to get inside before building work starts.

It's nearly time for 100% Design!

It is not often that we wish we were still in London, but come September every year the e-mails about 100% Design start to flood in and, well, it would be fun to be there...

The UK’s first and leading contemporary design show is a hub of creative talent from the UK and around the world and a key event for interior designers and architects in the international calendar. 100% Design is the ultimate living sourcebook. There is no other event that attracts such a range of designers, architects, manufacturers and design hungry visitors. From China to Chile, the most innovative and creative designers have made their way to London

If you are in the vicinity, register now for a free pass via the 100% Design website

Fab floors at the Saatchi Gallery

We loved the 450mm wide Douglas floorboards at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea by Danish firm Dinesen  The firm sources its Douglas Fir, which is stronger than other pines with fewer knots, from fully sustainable sources.  The boards come in lengths of up to 15m and are finished in lye and white soap to give the beautiful pale finish.

It's Peter Zumthor this year at the Serpentine

This year's wonderful pavillion at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens is best described by photos and journalist Florence Waters article in the Telegraph:

The erection of the Serpentine summer pavilion in Hyde Park is the sure sign in London that summer has arrived. But as you approach this year’s modest, austere black box quietly tucked between the bright leafy trees, you begin to wonder.
From the outside Swiss architect Peter Zumthor’s pavilion is a mere shadow of a structure, and will attract the attention of only the most curious of park-goers. Yet those that do venture inside will be richly rewarded because this, the 11th commission in the Gallery's annual series, is one of the most confident and successful yet.
“It was my dream project,” Zumthor said yesterday as he stood admiring the wild bed of grasses and plant life bursting forth from the center of the peaceful haven he has created. That is precisely the objective of the Serpentine’s brilliant commission: to provide a leading architect who has never designed a work in the UK before with a generous budget, a busy public plot of land, and absolute freedom to build their fantasy summer hangout.
Taking the cap off creativity can prove a difficult challenge for architects. Last year French architect Jean Nouvel clearly relished the freedom. His bombastic red structure, complete with bean bags and Ping-Pong tables, was a cacophony of different materials and clashing styles. The result was a loud and showy caffeine-friendly social club-like space where its strong colour attracted its public like bees to a big bright flower.
In stark contrast then, this year’s structure feels incredibly restrained and sophisticated. The building itself is a modernist take on a medieval monastery, with four symmetrical open-aired corridors providing just enough space to sit and contemplate the nature contained within. It obeys classically elegant long thin proportions and, in reverence to light, the roof opens up at a gentle slant so that sun feels like it is pouring in, rather than being blocked out by the dark walls.
Zumthor designed Kunsthaus Bregenz, a cubic concrete building that overlooks Lake Constance in Austria and a cave-like thermal baths in Vals, Switzerland. He’s a master at inverting our expectations of dark spaces and austere clean lines, making them feel remarkably cosy, cooling and calming.

But what I love most is how generous the design feels. It celebrates everything within and around itself: Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf’s centerpiece, a meadow of cow-parsley and mixed wild grasses (he was given free reign by Zumthor) becomes the focal point. The neat square of sky above is, strangely, another highlight: how often to you see a patch of sky gloriously framed like a giant oil painting above your head?
All possible weather forecasts have been thought about. The seating area has a roof, but the angle of the building is such that there will always be sun on one side and shade on another. On a nice day the sun creates dramatic shadows across the walls, and spotlights the flower bed. The garden is a trap for flies, bees and butterflies, of course, but above all it feels like a secret garden just for you, an escape from the noisy city park. Once inside nothing else matters, not even architecture.