Openhouse London Day 01: Channel 4, BFI, OXO Tower

We hit three buildings during today’s Openhouse events: Channel 4 at Victoria, BFI Imax Theatre and the OXO Tower.

Of the three Channel 4 was the most disappointing. We were expecting to get a walk through some of the more interesting aspects of the building but instead the visit was limited to the glass walkway on the third or was it fourth floor. It was aesthetically pleasing but in terms of an insider visit hardly openhouse. Here are the photos:

An interesting fact: to help reduce the need for air-ducting chilled water is used to make the air-conditioning more compact and the external glass cladding has bands of sun-screen mesh.

It took us about ten minutes to do the whole thing and that was with us trying our best to make the most of the visit! As a result of this rather brief visit we ended up walking around Victoria and Westminster for a bit before our next building: BFI Imax.

Our walk included a short visit through the Treasury which was a literal walk through the building and courtyard:

To get tickets to BFI Imax you had to email them and book on to the tour in the weeks leading up to it. I expected it to be quite a popular tour but only four other people ended up at our booking. We weren’t sure what to expect but it turns out that basically the visit entailed you going up into the projector room during a screening. Admittedly this was quite cool and you get to do what not many other people have a chance to but we did expect more of a guided tour than just being brought up there and then leaving it up to us to ask questions of the projector guy.

The actual film being projected is massive. I can’t remember how long an actual film is but I remember thinking at the time it was mega long. The secret behind 3D screenings is that it is actually two reels of film projected simultaneously through a twin lens system. But I guess you know that huh?

The highlight of Openhouse Day 1 was our visit to the top of the Oxo Tower! It was actually hard work getting a spot on one of the guided tours up to the top of the tower and required knowing about the building in advance. Tours were on a first come first serve basis however bookings for the tour started an hour before the first tour. We got there about an hour early and already there was a rather long line.

They turned many people away but they did start taking names with the potential for offering the tours after Openhouse weekend had finished. For those who missed out on climbing the tower itself you can still go up to the (free) public viewing gallery on 8th floor at the bottom of the tower. This is also where the Harvey Nichols’ Oxo Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie is located.

As the climb to the top of the Oxo Tower involves climbing up some rather dubious stairs you are asked to wear a construction hat to protect the noggin. Very attractive.