Navigating the capital by the most attractive route: An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture

A new photo book takes readers on a tour around London via the best buildings

Liam James
Saturday 14 September 2019 09:56 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Walking through London can be a frustrating experience. Busy people scurrying along cluttered pavements while seething commuters honk their horns in standstill traffic; it doesn’t bear thinking about.

For a calmer experience, a walker would do well to direct their attention at the surrounding buildings. They don’t move, for one, and some of them are truly extraordinary sights to behold.

The capital has long served as a canvas for pioneering architects from all over the world and as such is home to all manner of bold buildings from art deco cinemas to brutalist estates to the modern-day glass monoliths.

This does, however, mean that there are more buildings than one could hope to see in a lifetime. Lucky then that An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, a new photo book from Hoxton Mini Press, presents a concise selection of the ones worth seeing.

It serves as a tour guide, with three different routes to follow that take in more than 50 of the capital’s best buildings.

As the title suggests, the book is a subjective guide to London’s buildings: the work of editors Sujata Burman and Rosa Bertoli, a pair of self-proclaimed design fantatics.

While concise, it’s hardly a narrow selection. The obligatory St Paul’s Cathedral sits alongside modern classics such as the Walkie Talkie and plenty of lesser-known gems (the largest traditional Hindu temple outside of India, for example).

And for those who can’t face the fuss of trawling through London in person: it is all right there on the page.

‘An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture’ is available now from Hoxton Mini Press

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in