London is not characterised by any particular architec-tural style, having accumulated its buildings over a long period of time. Few structures predate the Great Fire of 1666, notable exceptions including the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Banqueting House and sev-eral scattered Tudor survivors in the City of London.In itself, the City contains a wide variety of styles, progressing through Wren’s late 17th-century churches and the financial institutions of the 18th and 19th cen-tury such as the Royal Exchange and the Bank of Eng-land, to the early 20th century Old Bailey (England and Wales’ central criminal court) and the 1960s Bar-bican Estate. Notable recent buildings are the 1980s skyscraper Tower 42, the Lloyd’s building with ser-vices running along the outside of the structure, and the 2004 Swiss Re building, known as the “Gherkin”.London’s generally low-rise nature makes these sky-scrapers and others such as One Canada Square and its neighbours at Canary Wharf and the BT Tower in Fitz-rovia very noticeable from a distance. High-rise de-velopment is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct protected views of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Nev-ertheless, there are plans for more skyscrapers in cen-tral London (see Tall buildings in London), including the 72-story “Shard of Glass”, which is now completed and is currently the tallest building in the European Union.

Lloyd’s TSB

The building was designed by architect Richard Rogers and built between 1978 and 1986. Bovis was the management contractor.[4] Like the Pompidou Cen-tre in Paris (designed by Renzo Piano and Rogers), the building was inno-vative in having its services such as staircases, lifts, electrical power con-duits and water pipes on the outside, leaving an uncluttered space inside. The twelve glass lifts were the first of their kind in the UK. Like the Pompidou Centre, the building was highly influ-enced by the work of Archigram in the 1950s and 1960s.

Canary wharfThe history of the London Docklands is a storied one, dating back to the early 17th century when the first docks were built as a part of the East India Company. The number of docks began to grow, experiencing a boom during the 1800s. The Docklands reached their peak in the 1930s when over 100,000 people were connected to the Port of London through their jobs. However, in the post-World War II years, people began to see the decline and closure of docks around the world, and the docklands of Lon-don were no different. New technology, such as containerization and air transport had made the docks seem antiquated and no longer as useful as they once were. Many docks around this area were closed in the 1960s, leaving behind empty warehouses and creating a very uninviting environment.

CThe history of the London Docklands is a storied one, dating back to the early 17th century when the first docks were built as a part of the East India Company. The number of docks began to grow, experiencing a boom during the 1800s. The Docklands reached their peak in the 1930s when over 100,000 people were connected to the Port of London through their jobs. However, in the post-World War II years, people began to see the decline and closure of docks around the world, and the docklands of Lon-don were no different. New technology, such as containerization and air transport had made the docks seem antiquated and no longer as useful as they once were. Many docks around this area were closed in the 1960s, leaving behind empty warehouses and creating a very uninviting environment.

Woolwich ferry

A ferry service had operated across the river at Woolwich since at least the fourteenth century, and cross-river traffic increased following the establishment of the Royal Arse-

nal. To enable movement of troops and supplies, the army established its own ferry in 1810.[3] The following year, an Act of Parliament established a commercial ferry company, but this was eventually dissolved in 1844.[3] In 1846, the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway extended its lines to include a Thames wharf branch; eventually three

steam ferries operated, but these still proved inadequate to meet growing demand. In October 1880 a public meeting was held in Woolwich to discuss establishing a locally-run

steam ferry, but the cost was seen as too great.[3]

G herkinThe building stands on the former site of the Baltic Exchange, the headquarters of a global marketplace for ship sales and shipping information. On 10 April 1992 the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb close to the Exchange, causing extensive damage to the historic building and neighbouring structures.[2][4]

The United Kingdom government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment, English Heritage, and the City of London governing body, the City of London Corporation, were keen that any redevelopment must restore the building’s old façade onto St. Mary Axe. The Exchange Hall was a celebrated fixture of the ship trading company.[7][8]

After English Heritage later discovered the damage was far more severe than previously thought, they stopped insisting on full restoration, albeit over the objections of the ar-chitectural conservationists who favoured reconstruction.[9] Baltic Exchange sold the land to Trafalgar House in 1995.[10] Most of the remaining structures on the site were then carefully dismantled, the interior of Exchange Hall and the façade were preserved, hoping for a reconstruction of the building in the future.[10] The architectural salvage, its even-tual sale for £800,000 and move to Tallinn awaiting reconstruction as the centrepiece of the city’s commercial sector can be seen in the Baltic Exchange listing.

City of london

City of london