CoreNet Global UK Architectural River Boat Cruise

When:  Jul 4, 2017 from 06:00 PM to 09:00 PM (UTC)
Associated with  United Kingdom
The river Thames is the heart of London, its very reason for existence. Since its founding by the Romans two thousand years ago, the capital’s river has been the focus of its economic & social activity.

Some of London’s most important buildings occupy prestigious Thames-side sites and this Thames architecture tour presents many of the capital’s landmarks from the privileged perspective of the river. 

With our celebrated guide Benedict O’Looney who has so often educated and entertained us, we will encounter buildings stretching from the mediaeval Tower of London, and the Renaissance rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1666, to the muscular expansion of London in the Victorian Times. After the decline of great Port of London in the post war years, 21st Century London has returned to the river with new vigour. We see re-purposed warehouses from the capital’s maritime heyday set beside high tech office buildings designed by some of Britain’s best known practices. We encounter Michael Hopkin’s striking low-energy Portcullis House in Westminster, the cluster of tall towers in the City, and witness the emergence of high density new housing, offices and the American Embassy in the Nine Elms development area.

This tour also tells the story of the civil engineering achievements that have shaped modern London. We look at the architecture of London’s diverse bridges -  and see how the parts of the extensive Victorian sewer and underground rail system were brilliantly contained in new riverside embankments.  Rising above the embankments we capture the best views of the capital’s industrial legacy and see re-use of London’s great riverside power stations and factories.

London has an impressive array of historic and contemporary architecture to explore. A river tour of the architecture of the Thames must be the best place to start.

Benedict, who both practices and teaches, is currently teaching architecture history and conservation techniques for New York University’s London programme.

We look forward to seeing you.