Fahad Al Tamimi presents a selection of some of the best architecture London has to offer. These buildings vary in age and purpose and many are famous all around the world! Upon any visit to London you can easily find all of them and have a look for yourself!

1. London’s Best
Architecture

2. Ravensbourne
College

3. Ravensbourne College
• This college for design and communication was designed by
Foreign Office Architects, and it comprises a façade of 28,000
anodised aluminium tiles. These are all different shapes and
colours to give the building a textured look.
• Round windows offset the geometric style of the tiles, and
these have been balanced from the north to south sides to
provide maximum light levels.
• The building is 17,000m² and contains open-plan working
spaces over four storeys, which are interconnected by stairs.
• Steel girders have been used to create a public and private
atrium, and the building has deliberately been constructed to
be as open as possible.

4. London
City
Hall

5. London City Hall
• This unusual-looking building has received mixed votes on
popularity from the public, with some of its comparisons
including Darth Vader’s helmet, a woodlouse, a misshapen
egg and an onion.
• Its most striking feature is probably its internal walkway, a 500
metre helical structure which is similar to that of New York’s
Guggenheim Museum. This feature was designed to promote
clarity and transparency.

6. Royal Albert
Hall

7. Royal Albert Hall
• This beautiful building boasts an Italianate architectural style,
with a large glass and wrought-iron dome covering the top,
which is 41 metres high.
• Externally the Hall has a striking mosaic frieze, which is an
illustration of “The Triumph of the Arts and Sciences”. It
surrounds the building entirely, and is a reference to Royal
Albert Hall’s usage throughout time.
• It is also decorated with terracotta letters depicting bible
descriptions.
• It was built with Fareham red brick, and was opened by
Queen Victoria on 29 March 1871.

8. Lloyds of
London

9. Lloyds of London
• Occasionally known as the “Inside-Out” building, Lloyds’
headquarters is an example of Bowellism architecture – all of
its services, such as ducts and lifts, are on the exterior façade
of the building.
• It is the youngest building to ever be given the Grade I Listing
status, and is hailed as one of the modern buildings of the
current era.
• It was designed by Richard Rogers, and the glass lifts were the
first in the United Kingdom.
• It boasts a barrel-vaulted glass roof, and a large open atrium
space.

10. London
Metropolitan
University

11. London Metropolitan University
• The Graduate Student Centre of this university is quite
distinct, and was designed by Daniel Libeskind.
• The 10,000 square foot building was opened in 2004, and is
made up of three intersecting sections.
• The exterior façade is covered in embossed stainless steel
panels.
• Windows are made up of large geometrical shapes, allowing
natural light into the internal space.

12. The Shard

13. The Shard
• This astonishing building has also been referred to as the
“Shard of Glass”, due to its shining exterior and pointed top.
• It is the tallest building in the European Union, and the second
tallest freestanding structure in the United Kingdom.
• It contains 72 habitable floors and an open air observation
deck at 244.3 metres high.
• Renzo Piano, an Italian architect, is responsible for its design.
• It is one of the first in the world to be build following the US
National Institute of Standards and Technology’s guidelines to
avoid tall building collapses such as that of the World Trade
Centre.

14. The Gherkin

15. The Gherkin
• This strange-looking building is actually called 30 St. Mary Axe,
but is colloquially referred to as “the Gherkin”.
• It was constructed by Skanska, and opened in 2004.
• It has special energy saving methods, such as a natural
ventilation system and a double glazing effect, which leads to
energy usage of a building half its size.
• The unusual structure is slightly convex to look at, but the
only curved piece of glass is the lens-shaped dome at the top
of the building.
• It has won prizes such as the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize, the first
to be won by a unanimous decision.

16. One
Canada Square

17. One Canada Square
• Situated on Canary Wharf, this imposing building was the
tallest in the United Kingdom from 1990 to 2010 and is 235
metres tall.
• Principal architect Cesar Pelli designed the building to reflect
the style of the World Financial Centre and Elizabeth Tower.
• The pinnacle of the building is a distinctive pyramid shape at
the top of the building, which has a flashing light to warn
aircraft of its presence due to its height.
• Approximately 27,500 metric tonnes of British steel was used
in its construction.