Floored. I spotted this building from the taxi during the day and knew right away I needed to go back. The night time version is incredibly dramatic- far exceeding my expectation.
I approached the building from the backside where there’s yet another intersection of old and new- creating all of these unique pockets of time and space. Furthermore, in this building, houses underground the London Mithaerum – in a place as old as London, history is sometimes quite in your face and sometimes with a discerning eye- in the most unexpected places.
The first thing I noticed was the texture created by the larger panels on the upper floors through the placement of the lighting. Second, was the lower arcade of glass panels- the reflection of the lights creating highlights.
Though it wasn’t raining, I could feel a sense of reprieve from the weather in the covered Arcade. I imagined during lunch or even for an after work drink- a buzz of people coming through this section.
I noted the detail of the horizontal signs attached to the columns providing signage and lighting- their placement helped to establish a more human scale and aligned to the layer with the vertical glass panes mentioned above.
It’s easy to tell, especially from this context shot that I got, that quite a bit of attention to detail was paid. I hovered at this site for a good while… I’ve never considered much of Foster + Partners’ work before, but on this trip I encountered it a couple times and I’d gladly explore further.
(At some point I should catalog these posts by architect, rather than by just place. And maybe even I’ll make a book of these photos… )
Address: 3 Queen Victoria St, London EC4N 4TQ, United Kingdom
Website: Foster + Partners write up
ofallthespaces 