Occasionally I come across something in the City that is fantastic but which, for some reason, I was completely unaware of. I found it here at The London Centre on Aldermanbury …
NLA (New London Architecture) is an independent organisation for anyone and everyone with an interest in London’s built environment. Their basic remit is to engage with government, business and the public to educate, challenge, connect and create positive change.
In April 2023 they opened this new facility in the West Wing of the Guildhall complex. It’s a quiet place filled with meeting rooms and facilities that make it an ideal “hub for the built environment profession”. Entry to the public area is free so there’s no need to book. You don’t need to be a member of the profession to explore either, so just turn up. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 11:00-17:00, and on Fridays they host free lunchtime talks from 12:30 – 13:00.
To facilitate city planning and other discussions about buildings, growth and expansion, the Centre houses three large scale models …
Here is more about them.
The original City of London Model (1:500 scale)
Anything in grey was built before 1945, enabling you to see the extent of central London that was re-built after the Blitz. The scale allows for lots of detail to be articulated — it’s not just boxy blocks — and some of the newest, modern high-rises even light up …
Guess where …
New London Model (1:2000 scale)
In this newer model they’ve shrunk the buildings and doubled the footprint of the original, greatly expanding just how much you can see from a virtual ‘sky-high’ vantage point. The model represents a 200 km2 area of Greater London, showing 240,000 buildings using data from 2012 …
Note Wembley Stadium in the foreground …
Royal Docks Model (1:1000 scale)
This was fully 3D printed and gives an overview of developments across the area over the next 10 years. The solid white buildings are existing while the buildings in frosted white show masterplans with outline planning permission. The model represents 10,000 buildings and the label points out the the water in the docks alone covers an area larger than the whole of Venice!
Oh, and guess what – there’s a separate Barbican model …
‘In addition to the models there are dozens of wall displays exploring various areas, opportunities and the unique London logistics that city planners and builders must consider. The entire centre is a living, working resource that also serves as a fantastic educational opportunity for anyone with an active interest in the seemingly endless queue of expansion, renovation and regeneration projects.’ Here are a few of them …
The Great Estates …
I really loved my visit – highly recommended.
There’s also something really interesting on at the Guildhall Library upstairs – something to visit at another time …
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