The Survey

The City of London Information Centre

What is it?

The City of London Information Centre, is a building offering free information to tourists in the City of London. The current structure, which we will be focussing on, is a design by MAKE architects realised in 2007, which subsequently won the Civic Trust Award for Greater London Region in 2009 ^[1]. The building sits, just opposite St Paul's Cathedral's south façade, on the intersection of St. Paul's Churchyard (later Canon St. and Ludgate Hill) and Peter's Hill (leading to the Millennium Bridge).

Map showing the centre's location

   At this point it is worth noting that The City of London is not the same as London City, or Greater London. It is in fact just a small district of approximately one square mile containing very few of Landmarks stereotypically associated with London. The Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London to name a just a few are in fact in the neighbouring City of Westminster or elsewhere. The information centre therefore aims only to cater for attractions within this area or a close proximity. 'The City', as it's often called, is now predominantly London's economic centre, but owing to a small wealth of attractions, there is also a certain degree of tourist appeal with sights ranging from the ancient city walls to St. Paul's Cathedral and the ultra modern 30 St Mary Axe (or 'the Gherkin') ^[2]. Whilst Norman Foster enjoys most of the limelight for the Gherkin, it was in fact another architect by the name of Ken Shuttleworth who drew its original sketches and it is he who lead the design team of the City of London Information Centre ^[3].

Why?

Ever since the Festival of Britain in the 1950's a kiosk providing information for The City's tourists has stood on the site. The original pavilion however, had been standing for over 50 years and as well as being in need of serious refurbishment, the space and facilities of the small building were insufficient for the modern technological requirements of such an important centre for tourism ^[4]. This is after all, the gateway to the ancient City of London for millions of visitors every year. It is this “first impression” status held by the centre's nature, coupled with pressures of such a historically sensitive heritage site and environmental implications, which inevitably lead to a design brief for an entirely new building.

An entrance to the centre

    The predominant constraints arise from the site's proximity to its world famous neighbour, St. Paul's Cathedral. The new design must not obstruct views of Wren's 17th Century masterpiece, nor may it clash with its architectural style ^[5]. Instead, the building must respect and compliment its grand accomplice; a subtlety complicated by the need to make something noticeable to tourists and architecturally worthy of its location. In addition the building must invite customers in and welcome them with a comfortable environment, providing them with state of the art resources, which the building must also accommodate with ease and efficiently, including potential future upgrades.

Who?

The City of London Corporation awarded the project to MAKE Architects, a then relatively new architectural studio headed by British architect, Ken Stuttleworth. Dubbed “one of the best hidden talents in the UK” by Sir Stuart Lipton, Stuttleworth left his eminent job at Foster + Partners after nearly 30 years ^[2] in 2003 to found the practice, which has since been awarded many other high profile projects including the redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle area of South London and part of the 2012 Olympic site ^[6].

Looking West along St. Paul's Churchyard

  
The information centre's customer base, by its very nature, comprises entirely of tourists to the City of London. Its location, right on the path leading from millennium bridge and Tate Modern to the Landmark Cathedral opposite, means there is a large drive of North-South pedestrian movement past the building. In addition to this, Cannon Street being the main road leading to and from the City to Westminster provides a strong East-West flow of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic ^[7]. Due to the lack of parking facilities most customers are pedestrians.

References
1. http://www.civictrustawards.org.uk/winners/2009/CTA006007/ - 24/10/2010
2. http://www.visitthecity.co.uk/ - 27/10/2010
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/nov/27/arts.artsnews2 - 27/10/2010
4. http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/st-pauls/ - 24/10/2010
5. http://www.planning.cityoflondon.gov.uk/propdb/property/property_detailview.aspx?module=P3&keyval=000F5HFHLI000&propno=200000072359 -23/10/2010
6. http://www.makearchitects.com/ - 20/10/2010
7. http://www.e-architect.co.uk/london/st_pauls_information_centre.htm - 20/10/2010
All images are our own.