The EI will be throwing open its doors for London Open House on the afternoon of 17th September.
Open House is London’s annual celebration of architecture, focusing on the capital’s special buildings, and this is the first time that the EI has taken part.
We will be opening the Council, Waterhouse and Kelvin Rooms, as well as the Library and Reading Room. Highlights include a range of impressive classical friezes, our Adam style staircase and tips for managing energy in bui...ldings. If you are in the area, why not pop by and say hello? We will be open from 1 to 5 pm, nearest tube stations Oxford Circus, Great Portland Street and Warren Street.
About our building: 61 New Cavendish Street was built by John Johnson in 1775-7, part of a pair with Asia House (also open during the weekend). The first occupants were fashionable socialites Sir Charles and Lady Bampfylde, who moved in as newlyweds. The building later became the London home and offices of Sir Alfred Waterhouse, the architect who designed the Natural History Museum, Manchester Town Hall, and the Cruciform Building of University College London. Damaged during the war, no 61 was bought on a long lease and restored by the Institute of Petroleum in the 1950s. 60 years later, and now home to the Energy Institute, the building has recently received a top to toe refurbishment.
