City Hall (London)

City Hall in London is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. It stands on the south bank of the River Thames, in the More London development by Tower Bridge. It was designed by Norman Foster and opened in July 2002.

Related Topics:
London - Headquarters - Greater London Authority - Mayor of London - River Thames - More London - Tower Bridge - Norman Foster - 2002

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The building has an unusual bulbous shape, intended to reduce the building's surface area and thus improve energy efficiency. It has been compared variously to Darth Vader's helmet, a misshapen egg, a woodlouse, motorcycle helmet or a glass testicle. Its designers reportedly originally envisoned the building being a giant sphere hanging over the Thames, but opted for a more conventionally rooted building instead.

Related Topics:
Building - Energy - Darth Vader - Egg - Woodlouse - Motorcycle helmet - Testicle

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City Hall was constructed on a site formerly occupied by wharves serving the Pool of London. The building does not belong to the GLA but is leased under a 25-year rent. It forms part of a larger development called More London, with a sunken amphitheatre called The Scoop dividing it from more conventional office buildings a short distance to the west. (The Scoop is presumably so named because it looks like an ice-cream-like semi-sphere was scooped out of the ground and deposited to form the City Hall.)

Related Topics:
Pool of London - More London - Amphitheatre

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A 500 metre (1,640 foot) spiral walkway, reminiscent of that in New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum runs up the assembly chamber. At the top of the ten-story building is an exhibition and meeting space called "London's Living Room," with an open viewing deck which is occasionally open to the public. The walkway provides extensive views of the interior of the building, and is intended to symbolise transparency; a similar device was used by Foster in his design for the rebuilt Reichstag in Germany.

Related Topics:
Spiral - Walkway - New York - Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum - Reichstag - Germany

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Ironically, City Hall is not in the City of London, whose headquarters is in the Guildhall north of the Thames. The predecessors of the Greater London Authority, namely the Greater London Council and the London County Council had their headquarters at County Hall, upstream on the South Bank. Although County Hall's old council chamber is still intact, it is unavailable for use by the GLA due to the building's conversion into, amongst other things, a luxury hotel, amusement arcade and aquarium.

Related Topics:
City of London - Guildhall - Greater London Council - London County Council - County Hall - Aquarium

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