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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