Day 7

First day of London's Open House event. I hadn't had the wherewithal to plan an agenda for these 2 days until last night although I had booked a tour of the London Library for mid-day. As the Library is at St. James' Square, I sketched out a route through The City to the south. Hit some real duds initially ("Roman Baths" which is a Tudor brick tub in a basement and an interminable tour of a boat with too many boat models and an enthusiastic guide). Paula et al. very sensibly headed on their own way to get Lion King tickets.

I actually saw a new school expansion earlier in the morning while Paula et al. had a leisurely breakfast at the apartment. The architectural firm drmm has made a bright, cheerful and child-friendly addition to the Clapham Manor Primary School. I had hoped to meet one of the architects at the firm, Michael Spooner, a friend of my most excellent former post-doctoral supervisor, David Severson, but Michael apparently was attending a different Open House event. Nevertheless, the school addition, short-listed for the RIBA Sterling Prize, was a treat as was the tour lead by the school's director and the architect from drmm.

The fun had just begun for me though - the London Library was the perfect nexus of two things I love: libraries and architecture. Truly exciting: a library that clearly takes pride in its excellent collection and service, and a superb building built in the 19th century and recently brought into the 21st. The architect was with us on the tour lead by Health O'Neill, Head of Reader Services, and I tried to ask as many questions of both will trying to avoid sounding like a library nerd or an architecture nob. Failed on both counts. This summary doesn't do the building justice but here goes: a 1890s library is renovated in a rich, sympathetic manner that brings the strong steel and woodwork and deep carpeting and high ceilings into a modern groove. Spaces are opened, steel stairs have exposed welds and bolts like the old framing and stacks, steel panels are given a patina to complement the old walls, and so on. No clash between old and new here; instead, it is an understated burnishing of the old into a sturdy yet refined new. The architect said he was clearly guided by the historical appearance of the place but influenced also but many buildings and people, including the Savoy Grand Hotel in New York and London's Royal Academies library for their dark opulence. The London Evening Standard gives a description of the renovation here. The pictures at this link are inadequate but they're all I could find: The London Library Development Project.

More cool things about the London Library: anyone can be a member of this independent, private library. Just pay the subscription or spend the day for £10, and sit in a seat earlier warmed by Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, George Elliot and many more.

Supper in a nearby pub and then off to join the 100s exploring the post-modern car wreck known as Lloyd's of London. It's London's answer to the Pompideau, and is sufficiently over the top to be fun to look at and wander around in. Nice view from 11th floor. Got a personalized lecture on brokers and underwriting from, David, a Lloyd's employee.


Home for a night in while the Mackay's hit The Strand for the Lion King. They reported that the it was a very good production - not the best they've seen but still very entertaining. Overall rating of the four plays on the Jenna Scale:

1. Wicked
2. Lion King
3. The War Horse
4. Billy Elliott