Keeling House, Bethnal Green

Keeling House is a 16-storey block of flats, designed by Denys Lasdun and completed in 1955. It is a cluster of 4 blocks of maisonettes arranged around a central service tower. It was originally council housing but was closed in 1992 due to deterioration. It was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1993. In 1999 Tower Hamlets council sold it to private developers who renovated the property and reopened it in 2001.

Viewed from the west (from Claredale Street)

Viewed from the south (from Canrobert Street)

Viewed from the south (from Canrobert Street)

Viewed from the south (from Canrobert Street)

View from the east (from Temple Street)

Young Swan on Serpentine

A young mute swan on the Serpentine in Kensington Gardens.

Mickey Mouse in the East End

Mickey Mouse trying to work his magic in the East End.

City of London pics

Tower 42 (formerly NatWest Tower) reflected in an office building.

The new Heron Tower on Bishopsgate.




See also 25 September 2009 - Buildings of the City of London

The Upmarket Giraffe

The Giraffe posing in Louis Vuitton shop in Bond Street, London, UK

Australian War Memorial, Hyde Park Corner, London

The Australian War Memorial is a memorial to the 102,000 Australian dead of the First and Second World Wars at Hyde Park Corner in London. It consists a semicircular curved wall of grey-green West Australian granite, with the names of 47 battles in which Australia was involved and the names of 23,844 towns in which the soldiers were born carved into it, with water running down over the names.

Water flows down from the top of the monument over the names of the towns and battles. The blocks in front represent the sweep of the Australian landscape. There are lights concealed behind the blocks.

The memorial was designed by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects and the artist Janet Laurence. It was unveiled on 11 November (Armistice Day) 2003 by Queen Elizabeth II, John Howard as Prime Minister of Australia and Tony Blair as Prime Minister of the UK .

The map shows the locations of the battles.

Normandy

The names of towns of birth of the soldiers, including some European names which reflect the varied origins of the Australian soldiers.

Berlin

Scenes from a demolition, Haggerston Estate

The machinery

The empty buildings

The empty rooms

Even the local pub is demolished

although some elements remain

Samuel House is still in use with pictures of former residents on the windows of the empty flats. (part of I Am Here project - see www.iamhere.org.uk/ )

For other pics of the estate, see my set on Flickr.