107. The Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects Lecture

Earlier this week I was one of 34 Livery Company Master’s who attended the 2017 Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects lecture. This was an impressive turnout for what was a fascinating lecture entitled “Designing London”.

The venue was City Centre in Basinghall Street – immediately adjacent to the Guildhall Art Gallery. This was my first visit to the Centre and I was truly “blown away” by the scale model of the City of London in the basement – see photograph. This model is constantly updated as new buildings are developed.

The lecture was in three parts – the first by an architect, the second by a city planner and the third by the City of London Corporation. It was fascinating – not least the understanding of protecting “sight lines”. There are three of these in the City and they relate to St Paul’s Cathedral dome, the Monument and the Tower of London. Protecting these has meant that all large new development has been clustered at the eastern end of the City close to the Gherkin Building.

A very interesting evening – many thanks to the Master Chartered Architect for the invitation.