Top late summer London Events

Open House London Weekend 21 & 22 September ‘19

Some of London’s best buildings showcasing our capital’s period and contemporary architecture open to visitors, free of charge, during this two-day event in September.

Our choice of architecturally unique and iconic London buildings includes:

• Portcullis House, Westminster, for a light-filed, glass covered  courtyard of an office building recently commissioned for the members of the parliament.

• Royal College of Physicians by Sir Denys Lasdun (Southbank), for the most important post-war modernist architecture influenced by Le Corbusier. Take a tour through the amazing medicinal plant garden too.

• Union Chapel (Islington) by James Cubit, for the cutest all-inclusive church cum music venue interior filled with the sound of a magnificent organ.

There is a list of the most attractive buildings to view, but with access by public ballot.

On this list are: 10 Downing Street, Bloomberg European Headquarters, Bt Tower, New Scotland Yard, The view from The Shard and the US Embassy London. The ballot closes on 9 September ’19.

For more details see the OHL WEBSITE

London Design Festival

London - the design capital of the world is promoted during the London Design Festival which is packed with events, programmes, forums, special projects & installations and commissions.

Installations have always been the most popular with the design crowd, and ‘Take the Plunge’ is one such event that promises obligatory queues before glimpsing at its ‘sunset under the sea’. This immersive and interactive experience by Volume Creative and Virgin Voyages, will be set at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, South Bank SE1.

Another immersive experience titled ‘Void’ takes place at the Collins Theatre in Islington N1. Designed by Dan Tobin Smith and creative studio The Experience Machine, in partnership with Gemfields, Void is the multisensory spatial installation offering a travel through ‘a series of large-scale projections that showcase the expanded space inside gemstones and map the blurring boundaries between nature and design’.

‘Please be seated’ is the Landmark Project commissioned by the festival (British Land) and designed by Paul Cocksedge. This large-scale installation, promising to transform Finsbury Avenue Square, will be set in the heart of Broadgate, the City.

The V&A is the Festival’s hub which will again host an exceptional range of design installation as well as the Day of Design - a special event taking over Exhibition Road on 22 September.

Four trade shows take place during the festival: 100% Design, designjunction, Focus/19 and London Design Fair.

The Festival runs from 14-22 September ’19, but most installations and some events stay available to visitors for a longer period of time.

For more details check out the LDF WEBSITE

Totally Thames

 An annual celebration of the River Thames with a creative and diverse programme of events taking place on various locations between 1-30 September

Our highlights:

The Ship of Tolerance is a large international art installation, a 60-foot long wooden ship with sails comprising silk panels designed by children from forty London primary schools, Great Ormond Street Hospital and refugee centres in Birmingham, Leeds, Peterborough and Calais.

The Great River Race, a traditional river marathon taking place every year along a 21.6 mile route from Docklands to Ham on 14 September, is joined by the Regatta London to be held on 29 September. The new event invites participants to take over the Thames by rowing, kayaking, canoeing and stand up paddle boarding whilst fundraising for great causes. You can row 14 miles or paddle 12 miles through the capital.  Route one: the London Crossing (starting near Hammersmith and finishing in Greenwich), and the route 2: The Big Ben Challenge (looped course from Putney to Big Ben and back).

Also: see the Classic Boat Festival at St Katharine Docks – weekend 6-8 September , or book a paid guided voyage through Brunel’s London including a boat trip, river walk and descent to the underground chamber at Brunel Museum.

For more details check out the Totally Thames WEBSITE