Whilst we normally speak about buildings with great heritage and history that have been transformed to provide premium office space for the modern world, we thought that we should make an exception for The Shard. Clearly a modern development, The Shard stands dominantly in the historically significant London Bridge district on the southern bank of the Thames. Opened to the public in 2013, The Shard was recognised as the tallest building in the UK and Europe and as a new emblem for London. Today, the striking and iconic building is home to apartments, restaurants, the luxury Shangri-La hotel, a ..read more

The podcast episodes that we normally record are focused on historically important properties in London that have had their lives extended by repurposing them as modern offices – this, in our opinion, makes them some of the best office spaces in London. London has, of course, experienced many epidemics over its history as well as other natural disasters but none quite the same as the global Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic had and is continuing to have devastating, effects for the world’s population for which we have great sympathy. One of the effects of the pandemic was the way that it affecte ..read more

The striking nine-storey Victoria House in Holborn is built in the neoclassical style and is complete with Portland stone facades. It is actually described as being built in the ‘Néo-Grec’ style which was a Neoclassical revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularised in during the reign of Napoleon the third who reigned from 1852 to 1870. The Néo-Grec style was inspired by 18th-century excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, and became popular in the mid-19th century. The style combined elements of the Graeco-Roman, Pompeian, and Egyptian styles into a richly eclectic blend ..read more

The eccentric Michelin House sits on Fulham Road in Kensington and its history is as colourful as its façade. It was built in 1911 and was the first permanent UK headquarters and depot of the Michelin Tyre Company. Designed by one of Michelin's employees, the striking building has three large stained-glass windows based on Michelin advertisements of the era, all featuring the Michelin Man, also known as ‘Bibendum’. Bibendum is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company and was first revealed in 1894. It is one of the world's oldest trademarks and the name of the figure has entered the En ..read more

Bruton Street is located in Mayfair in the West End of London and has a surprising past. No.17 Bruton Street was once a townhouse that belonged to the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his wife who were the maternal grandparents of Queen Elizabeth II. And it was in this house, at 2.40 am on the 21st April 1926, that the Queen was born. The property has changed significantly over the decades and was bombed during the Second World War. In 2010, the building became the esteemed restaurant, Hakkasan – a restaurant that went on to earn a Michelin star. Diners would only be aware of the royal her ..read more

An extraordinary building on Old Bailey sits opposite ‘The Old Bailey’ just steps from the magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral – possibly London’s most iconic historical landmarks. ‘The Old Bailey’, today, is the common term for the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, which is the most famous criminal court in the land and is named after the street that it dominates. The Old Bailey sits just outside the former western wall of the City of London, and the street it is named after follows the line of the original fortified wall, or ‘Bailey’, of the City. The strategic position between the Ci ..read more

Its modern name is believed to have roots in the 7th Century and so has long been a part of the City of London’s history. There is also evidence that, before it was christened, it was part of the Roman settlement of ‘Londonium’ with remnants of ancient life being found 10 feet below today’s pavements and bus lanes. Skip forward several centuries and Lothbury found itself playing a part in modern history, too. No.41 Lothbury, specifically, was the home of the National Westminster Bank from the 1830s and it was within its banking hall that a customer, in 1834, cashed the first cheque drawn on a ..read more

..read more

Whilst we normally speak about buildings with great heritage and history that have been transformed to provide premium office space for the modern world, we thought that we should make an exception for The Shard. Clearly a modern development, The Shard stands dominantly in the historically significant London Bridge district on the southern bank of the Thames. Opened to the public in 2013, The Shard was recognised as the tallest building in the UK and Europe and as a new emblem for London. Today, the striking and iconic building is home to apartments, restaurants, the luxury Shangri-La hotel, a ..read more

The podcast episodes that we normally record are focused on historically important properties in London that have had their lives extended by repurposing them as modern offices – this, in our opinion, makes them some of the best office spaces in London. London has, of course, experienced many epidemics over its history as well as other natural disasters but none quite the same as the global Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic had and is continuing to have devastating, effects for the world’s population for which we have great sympathy. One of the effects of the pandemic was the way that it affecte ..read more