In November we met to plan our 2008 Architecture Rides (our fourth full year), and this year we have decided to rerun some of our old favourites as well as continuing with more new rides.
In February our ride will look at the architecture of libraries. Libraries have played a very important role in promoting education and knowledge from early times to the present day. The ride will examine the full range of libraries in London from the ornate architecture of the old libraries through the boom in library building in the nineteenth century to the ground breaking architecture of modern libraries such as Peckham Library and the British Library in Kings Cross.
In March we will ride on to Cinemas Reborn looking at the architecture of the many cinemas across London. Following the boom in the early-mid twentieth century many cinema buildings have now been converted to other uses but they still retain distinctive cinema features. This ride will look of some the most notable current and former cinemas across London. Further information on the rides can be found on the email group and on our website nearer to the time.
Friday, 28 December 2007
Thursday, 27 December 2007
Architecture rides lates 2007
Our monthly architecture rides continue to be well-attended, varied and inventive.
There was no running out of steam in November 2007 as we went on a tour of railway station architecture, inspired by the re-opening and re-invention of St Pancras.
As well as the great termini we examined lesser known gems like the lavishly Italianate Battersea Park Station and the disused Waterloo Necropolis Station.
Engineering necessarily took a more prominent place in this ride than in previous ones and as we assessed sheds, ribs, bowstring trusses and ridge-and-furrow glazing healthy debates were had about where engineering ends and architecture begins.
The 1960s built Euston had few defenders but it did offer a fine railway-centric pub for lunch. Testament to the interest of the ride were the numbers who stayed with it till after dark, finishing with a lament for the abandoned Eurostar terminal at Waterloo.
December offered a briefer jaunt on a tour of Christmas illuminations. On a Saturday afternoon we slid through the feverish crowds of shoppers in the West End, and finished with mulled wine at the Bankside Frost Fair. Top marks for lighting imagination went to South Molton Street, Covent Garden Market and the Oxo Building
There was no running out of steam in November 2007 as we went on a tour of railway station architecture, inspired by the re-opening and re-invention of St Pancras.
As well as the great termini we examined lesser known gems like the lavishly Italianate Battersea Park Station and the disused Waterloo Necropolis Station.
Engineering necessarily took a more prominent place in this ride than in previous ones and as we assessed sheds, ribs, bowstring trusses and ridge-and-furrow glazing healthy debates were had about where engineering ends and architecture begins.
The 1960s built Euston had few defenders but it did offer a fine railway-centric pub for lunch. Testament to the interest of the ride were the numbers who stayed with it till after dark, finishing with a lament for the abandoned Eurostar terminal at Waterloo.
December offered a briefer jaunt on a tour of Christmas illuminations. On a Saturday afternoon we slid through the feverish crowds of shoppers in the West End, and finished with mulled wine at the Bankside Frost Fair. Top marks for lighting imagination went to South Molton Street, Covent Garden Market and the Oxo Building
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