The Open Guide to London: the free London guide

City Hall is the new headquarters of the Mayor of London. It's on the South Bank near Tower Bridge, and like so many other government-commissioned structures in London, was another production from "shiny" Norman Foster and Partners in conjunction with Arup (builders of the wobbly bridge. It was commissioned on the cheap, then took two years to build, and was completed in 2002. It's 148 feet of glass and steel designed around a spiral ramp, like the inside of a snail shell, with a circular, state of the art conference centre at the base of the shell, and a viewing gallery at the top from which you have a damn fine view of the river and the Tower of London. Under the base, in a section fronted by a carved-out concrete spiral of steps, there's a cafe selling the usual overpriced gack. The rest of the building is closed to the public except on very occasional open days: if you do go and see it, I can vouch for good disabled access and helpful, informative staff.

Strangely for a Fozzie job it's not actually that shiny, and actually looks rather dull.

Judge for yourself:

• blech's photos of City Hall]
• Earle's photos of City Hall

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