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Harry Molyneux is the CEO of Buildupp - a new tech start-up for the construction industry. A qualified architect, he lives in Bethnal Green where he can be found either working from home, running in Victoria Park or sipping a flat white in one of the areas many fine coffee shops. So where is on his must-see list when it comes to Exploring Architecture in London?
Harry Molyneux, Buildupp
The most exciting place I’ve been to in the last couple of years has to be Hackney Wick and in particular the area surrounding Fish Island. It’s full of artists and still feels rough around the edges, like Shoreditch did 20 years ago. The White Building and the Night Tales pop-up have made it a go-to destination for all young bright things, with places on Fish Island staying open late into the night. There’s a lot of planning in place to re-develop a lot of the lovely warehouse buildings that are there at the moment, so I’m not sure how long the atmosphere of excitement will last. If it can pull off what Shoreditch has become it’s sure to remain a fantastic place to go to for years to come.
Fish Island, Hackney Wick
Next on my list is Highgate Cemetery. It has some the finest funeral architecture of anywhere in the world with greats buried there such as George Michael, Michael Faraday, and my great aunt. It’s a wonderland of the strange and the beautiful with over 170,000 people laid to rest there following its creation in the 1800’s. I love it because it’s peaceful and vast; you could spend a whole afternoon there and only see half of it.
Since I live in Bethnal Green, I can’t create a 'best of' list without including my two neighbouring markets: Columbia Road Flower Market and Broadway Market. Both are famous now, but for good reason. The hustle and bustle on market day (Saturday for Broadway Market & Sunday for Columbia Road) are a joy to behold, with a rich assortments of colourful characters, loud noises and vibrant smells. I recommend turning up at the end on Sunday afternoon to sneak a bargain at Columbia Road.
Broadway Market, Hackney
Finally, I have to include the apartment block that I live in on this list. Keeling House in Bethnal Green is a modernist masterpiece by the architect Denys Lasdun, who also designed the National Theatre. Housing isn’t designed like this anymore in London, with the vast majority of flats being developed for profit rather than an individuals experience of living in them. So, whilst it may look pretty funky from the outside, it’s a fantastic example of “a machine for living in”. Unfortunately, guided tours of the inside are not included ;-).
Keeling House, Bethnal Green
