ASK Musings

Four Stars

Best for:
People visiting (or living in) London who want to see a variety of examples of good / interesting architecture around the city.

In a nutshell:
Wallpaper* (note, I hate that the magazine title has an asterisk, as it make me want to add a line at the bottom of this review resolving the asterisk) journalists and architecture photographer provide just over 50 examples of London architecture. Mostly buildings.

Worth quoting:
“Why do we change our minds about what’s considered good?

Why I chose it:
I finally made it to the viewing platform of the Tate Modern last week, and they were selling this book up there at a little kiosk. Didn’t actually realize it was a guide book. But it looked cool.

Review:
Reviewing niche guidebooks is a challenge, because they usually don’t have loads of text. This book has just enough for me text-wise, though I could have used more on the photo end. Up front the authors provide a one- or two-sentence description of different architecture styles, along with a couple of pages about architecture in London in general, and how what people find attractive or good can change. They then offer three pages of walking tours,followed by descriptions of the 54 structures included in those tours.

Each structure has just one or two paragraphs describing it, along with the standard guide book information (address, opening hours, if it’s free to get in,etc.). Each structure also has at least one photograph; a few have more. And I know this is primarily a guide book and not a photo book, but since I bought it thinking it was the later, I was a little disappointed. But the photos are great quality.

Most structures can be visited for a fee (or free!), but some are only accessible during London Open House, which sadly just passed last month. I’ve added next year’s dates to my calendar so I don’t miss it.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Keep it

Books CBR11 London Travel