Open House

Open House London, the capital's greatest architectural showcase, takes place this weekend, 18 & 19 September 2010.
The initiative is a simple but powerful concept: hundreds of great buildings of all types and periods open up their doors to all, completely for FREE. It is a truly city-wide celebration of the buildings, places and neighbourhoods where we live, work and play, and is your opportunity to get out and get under the skin of London's amazing architecture.

Hawksmoor

Christchurch, Spitalfields, London

Nicholas Hawksmoor

Raven Row

Raven Row is a new non-profit contemporary art exhibition centre in Spitalfields that is open free to the public, Wednesdays to Sundays. It has been constructed within eighteenth century domestic rooms, onto which 6a Architects have added two contemporary galleries, and it stands on the part of Artillery Lane that was known as Raven Row until 1895. I visited the gallery last week, their opening show is a retrospective of work by American artist Ray Johnson. It is a truly wonderful show in a very beautiful setting.

Bottom Drawers

John Soane's Pitzhanger Manor Gallery & House and the designer Carl Clerkin present Bottom Drawers, an exhibition of new work and installations by sixteen artists and designers investigating the things with which we choose to live. The new work, on show in both the gallery and manor-house, is inspired by the many disparate objects with which we fill our homes. Each artist explores the capacity of household objects to provoke emotions, memories and feelings and to become imbued with qualities often well beyond any perceived financial value, until 25 October in Walpole Park, London W5.

Size and matter

Installation outside the Royal Festival Hall by Adjaye Associates, made from American tulipwood.