Pictures from yesterday's banquet at Merchant Taylors' Hall, 30 Threadneedle Street, EC2.

 

Presentation by the Company's Travel Award Winner

The winner of the Company's 2010 Stuart Murphy Travel Award - Linda Hagberg - gave a presentation based on her travels to an audience of students and members of the Company at Westminster University recently. A written report has been promised by the Master of Students.

In the meantime, the Master is seen here posing what was described as an awkward question following the presentation

while Linda is thinking before making her response.

How very English

It was pancake day (and a nice bright, blue skied one at that) so what else was one supposed to do other than toss pancakes?

What has now become a regular feature in the civic calender - the annual Inter Livery Pancake Race Festival was held in Guildhall Yard on Shrove Tuesday - 8th March.Such has been the success of the event over the years Companies no longer have to prove that they have a connection to the making of pancakes (however tenuous) to make the starting grid - there is a ballot for places. 

This is serious business - A former Lord Mayor is on hand to set off the events, the races are started by a representative of the Gunmakers' Company using a splendid miniature cannon and timings are recorded by the Clockmakers' Company, Cooks are on hand etc. Serious City officers keep a beady eye on infringements and one contestant suffered serious penalties for contravening the Health and safety Regulations by not wearing the requisite gloves.

Sadly, the Chartered Architects failed in its bid to be allowed to field a team and found themselves relegated to the second division as starters in the Wooden Spoon Race.

The Master, cheered on by Team Captain - Mrs Valerie King and the Clerk - having drawn the favoured inside lane, ran a valiant race and was demonstrably ahead at the half way mark having not put a foot wrong or missed a pancake toss up to that point. Sadly, he had peaked too early and failed to get to the line at the front of his other contestants. It was, it must be said, a valiant effort.

There is a point to all this - the proceeds from the entry fees go to support the Lord Mayor's Charity. In addition to a Master race, there is a Liverymans' race, a Ladies race and a novelty race - competitors for the last of these had to costume themselves in sympathy with Lord Mayor Michael Bear and his Charity. There were several ursine costumes and even one giraffe. The photo below should give a flavour of the carnival atmosphere.

Newsletter Issue 23 - Feb 2011

February 11 News Let

City Architecture Forum

The Master, in his Newsletter for February 2011, mentions the City Architecture Forum and its 20th Anniversary publication 'City Architecture: redesigning the City of London 1991-2011'.

As Chairman of the Forum, I welcome any members of the Company to join the Forum and increase their awareness of the City’s prodigious investment in architecture. Our website: www.cityarchitectureforum.org tells you about us and our meetings, and connects you to our Hon. Secretary, Chris Howell, either for information or to join the forum. Typically, we meet four or five times a year to discuss new projects, and then to visit them on their completion. Our next meeting is on March 14th at Ropemaker Place, British Land’s 'low-carbon' development. We will be discussing low-carbon design with its client and designers. Come and join us.

You can see the book, 'City Architecture', bound into the AJ issue of January 20th 2011. You can also obtain a copy from the WCCA Clerk, the Museum of London bookshop or the RIBA bookshop. It contains essays and commentary on 60 notable buildings from the last twenty years, with walking guide maps to the new buildings and open spaces.

Richard Saxon: Chairman, City Architecture Forum and Past Master of the Company.

Photos from the award assessment walk - 9 February 2011

St. Lawrence Jewry drinking fountain - relocated

New Court, St. Swithin's Lane and 'The Walbrook'

'The Walbrook' roofscape

Riverbank House, 2 Swan Lane

Cullum Street & 155 Fenchurch Street

The St. Botolph Building

The St. Botolph Building

Broadgate Tower, 201 Bishopsgate

Broadgate Tower, 201 Bishopsgate

Broadgate Tower, 201 Bishopsgate

Broadgate Tower, 201 Bishopsgate

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New City Architecture Awards for 2010

The weather being half way decent, those selected by the Court of the Company will tomorrow set out for their annual look at the entries for the New City Architecture Awards for the year 2010. Buildings and public works projects qualifying for consideration are those completed free of planing conditions in the qualifying year (the 12 month period up to the end of September 2010). Entries are judged for their contribution to the streetscape and skyscape of the City.

In no particular order those being considered this year are as follows (where available, images are included):

 The relocation and restoration of the St Lawrence Jewry Drinking Fountain at the eastern end of Carter Lane Gardens by The Street Scene Team at the City of London Corporation with Architects: Freeland Rees Roberts.

 Street Scene Enhancements at St Mary-le-Bow Churchyard by The Street Scene Team at the City of London Corporation

 29-33 King Street- new offices behind a listed facade by EPR Architects

 Broadgate Tower, 201 Bishopsgate office development by SOM Architects

 The Writers, Spitalfields (120 Middlesex Street and 12-18 Artillery Lane) - a residential and reatil development by ORMS Architecture Design.

The St Botolph Building at the junction of Aldgate, St Botolph Street and Houndsditch - new offices by Grimshaw Architects LLP

155 Fenchurch Street - new office development by Darling Associates

 

New Court, an office development in St Swithins Lane by OMA

 The Walbrook - new office and retail development at Walbrook and Cannon Street by Foster and Partners

(below) Drapers Gardens - Throgmorton Avenue - new office development by Foggo Associates                               

Riverbank House, 2 Swan Lane - new office building by David Walker Architects

 Also under consideration - Princes House, 94-95 Gresham Street and Bartlett House, 9-12 Basinghall Street - redevelopment behind listed facade to provide retailand office accommodation.

Please feel free to post any comments you may have on the merits or otherwise of the buildings being considered. No guarantees are given that the assessors will take the slightest notice but you never know.

26 January 2011 Court Meeting photographs are on the WCCA Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Worshipful-Company-of-Chartered-Architects/180219755344997

WCCA Facebook page

If you chick 

HERE

you will be taken to the the Worshipful Company's new Facebook page.  

Maybe, if you do not yet have a Facebook account,

NOW

is the time to join the world of social networking.

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The Youngest and Second Youngest Freemen

Pictured above - Paul Weston, the Clerk and Yasmin Shariff

On Wednesday 5 January two members of the Company were admitted to the Freedom of the City. Each enjoyed, in turn, the right to claim the title of the youngest Freeman.  

Kees van der Sande was admitted at 12 noon and held the title for all of half an hour before Yasmin Shariff was admitted. Both ceremonies were carried out by the Clerk to the Chamberlain's Court - Murray Chandler who, having administered the oath of allegiance to the City, handed the new Freemen their copies of the Certificate recording the event and of that splendid book 'Rules for the Conduct of Life'. 

In the informal parts of the ceremonies a number of photographs of other recent Freemen were flourished and a number of the treasures of the Court on display were discussed.

It is hoped that both new Freemen will now proceed to take up the Livery at the first opportunity.

We wished you a merry Christmas

The Company's annual Christmas Carol Service was held, for the first time, at its official church - St Lawrence Jewry-next-Guildhall on Tuesday 14 December. After many years of sharing the service with the Furniture Makers' Company at St Mary-le-Bow, we decided to go it alone and to dispense with a sit down supper at their hall in favour of a finger buffet at the back of the church.


We were delighted with a turn-out of well over 80 for the service. 65 stayed for the supper and the chance to enjoy some seasonal fellowship. The service was led by our Honorary Chaplain and the Guild Vicar of the church The Rev Canon David Parrott whose sermon centred around the rights and privileges of the Freemen of the City of London. By way of a graphic aid, a small calico bag of (even smaller) woolly sheep was produced and its contents distributed (on loan for the duration of the service) among the flock. It is not clear why the one black sheep was passed to Patricia Stefanowicz. Perhaps we should be told.

The music was, as always, delightful and uplifting with Organist and Music Director Catherine Ennis and her highly professional choir performing some delightful choir pieces. Those carols entrusted to the congregation were sung with considerable gusto.

Thanks are due to Paul Weston for his invaluable help in putting together the Order of Service.

The WCCA visits York's Guild of Building

This movie, made by the Master, shows a visit made to the city of York to our brother company,
the
  York Guild of Building.

best wishes to all chartered architects 

for the year

anno domini

2011

***
....don't you love the Pachibel canon?

Merry Christmas 2010

g'ntlm'n & ladies

be so good as to click 'ere below

for your Xmas message

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GkHNNPM7pJA

***

Joyeux fêtes 2010

und ein erfolgreiches neues Jahr 2011

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Teamwork Skills in the Construction Industry

The Company actively supports the annual Teambuild Competition (now in its ninteenth year) which took place over the weekend on 19-21 November. The competition continues to attract the brightest young professionals from some of the best construction practices around the UK and Ireland. It is an exhilarating, fast-paced, challenging and exhaustive test of skills, leadership and collaboration.

Teambuild 2010 challenged teams to plan, design and deliver a world-leading research, leisure and education development. Based on a real project, teams were set a series of taxing scenarios at all stages of the construction process, watched and scored by eminent Judges from across the construction industry.

Among the teams that made it through to the hotly-contested finals the outright winners (collecting a prize donated by the Constructors' Company), impressing with their commitment, teamwork and good humour, their clear strategy and skilled problem-solving, were Synergy, a group from Wates’ Luton office and Morgan Sindall in Stratford-upon Avon.

Team members were Dave Bucknell (CIOB), Peter Capron (RIBA), James Clayton (RICS), Lauren Harris (CIOB, RICS), Katrina Taylor (CIOB) and Kate Wyatt (CIOB, RICS).

The Winners of the Judges Prize, awarded for their thoroughly professional attitude, teamworking, and preparation throughout the weekend, were Spatial Engineering Solutions, a team from AECOM.

The Procurement Strategy Prize (sponsored by the Company) was awarded to BEmore, a mixed team with members from Expedition, Balfour Beatty, BDSP Partnership, Edward Cullinan Architects, and Treasury Holdings. 

The prize of £1,200 was presented by Deputy Master Ian Head pictured here with the winning team.

The selected teams were given a brief based on a real site (NIRAH, an astounding proposal for a site in Bedfordshire) presenting a masterplan on the opening evening. Several quickfire challenges spread over an intense weekend took them right through the design process, finishing with the construction stage. They even had the chance to fine tune their site and equipment management skills with appopriate visual aids ( see below)

Ronnie Murning, Project Director of Nirah and an Assistant on the WCCA Court, attended the competition as a judge and commented on the very high standard of team working and innovation he saw.

The Baton Passes

The City of London's new Lord Mayor formally took over the reins of City government at a dignified ceremony this afternoon in Guildhall. The Ceremony of the Admission of the Lord Mayor - known as The Silent Ceremony - is held annually on the afternoon before the Lord Mayor's Show. 

A full house witnessed a civic procession into Guildhall prior to Alderman Michael Bear making and subscribing the historic Declaration of Office. This was the only part of the ceremony in which anything was said. There followed the transfer of the Sceptre, the Seal of Office and the Purse to the new Lord Mayor by the City Chamberlain. The Sword Bearer and Common Serjeant-at-Arms then presented (via the outgoing Lord Mayor) the Sword, the Mace and Collar of SS and Badge.

All these symbols of the Lord Mayor's authority over the various facets of City life are then handed back to resiode on their respective velvet cushions. There are various other presentations, signings and suitable reverences before the new Lord Mayor was welcomed by the Aldermen, Recorder, Sheriffs, the Chief Commoner, and members of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs' Committee. Formalities are concluded with a further procession with the new Lord Mayor wearing his splendid hat while his predecessor carried his hat under his arm.

Sound confusing? It makes more sense if you are there with a helpful set of guidance notes. All Liverymen are entitled to attend this ceremony subject to thier having applied for a much coveted ticket in good time. Mark the date in your diary and ask the Clerk to apply for a ticket on your behalf next year.

Sightlines in Guildhall being what they are, it would have been helpful to have had the odd screen around so that the event could be seen on closed circuit TV.

Visit to Spencer House - The Master's Reception

Those who joined the recent visit by as large a group of members and guests as could be accommodated for an early evening visit to the 1756-66 Spencer House were treated to a magnificent spectacle. Ten years of painstaking work had restored the full splendour of the original designs.

The house, billed variously as 'London's finest surviving eighteenth century town house' and 'a magnificent private palace' owes much to the original architect - the Palladian exponent John Vardy (1718-65) who was a colleague and the chronicler of the work of William Kent and Inigio Jones. He was also responsible for the the ground floor rooms including the particularly spectacular Palm Room. Sadly he was displaced by James 'Athenian' Stuart whose new found passion for classical Greece culminated in rather more overblown decoration exemplified by the Painted Room on the first floor. While Vardy's designs seemed to derive from the Palladian pattern books and were, as a result, splendily flamboyant, Stuart's seemed simply imitative. It was a shame that they had to share the same house.

Henry Holland also had a go - his interventions being most obvious in the way in which some of the Ground floor rooms interconnected to make the house more 'user friendly' for later Earl Spencers. 

All in all, the visit was a memorable one and the Master is to be congratulated on making it the focus of his Reception. 

The visit was followed by a most agreeable couple of hours in a nearby wine bar where a buffet supper and the odd glass of wine oiled the wheels of conversation.

One New Change.....(day 2)

Below are a few pictures of the newly-opened One New Change, the shopping and office complex erected by Land Securities with French architect Jean Nouvel as designer.  It is located on the junction of Cheapside (the ancient shopping street of the square mile) and New Change, facing the east end of St Paul's Catherdral.

Try registering your opinion of it in the survey on the right hand column.......

Jean Nouvel

thanks for voting;

at present the majority (of 4) are less than thrilled .... what do YOU think?

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7 December 2010

Below are a few pictures taken from One New Change's newly-opened roof terrace. Splendid views of some of London's new tall structures, as well as the cathedral. 

The Shard and the Heron Tower in particular.

The very modesty of Jean Nouvel's addition to the City stands in contrast to the braggadocio of Mr. Piano's forte in the borough of Southwark.

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