There is a newly opened roof garden in the City of London at 120 Fenchurch Street. It is open to the public, free and at the moment you don't need to book. Obviously I had to go and have a look.
The striped multi coloured facade of the upper floors stands out amidst the glass and steel of surrounding buildings.
The building only has 15 floors so your views over London are restricted by the much taller structures which surround it. However, it does give you a different perspective of those buildings.
It is a new garden and the plants will need a year or two to fill in the gaps.
The other building, also on Fenchurch Street, that has a garden open to the public, the walkie-talkie.
As you can see it was very quiet when I visited and was a perfect place to sit and enjoy the view. There will be a restaurant opening soon on the floor below and I imagine the garden will become very busy.
At the entrance to the building there is a video of various outdoor scenes being played overhead.
These are lovely shots!
ReplyDeleteI can only think of one building here with a rooftop garden, though I imagine there are others that are not known about.
The more we can green our cities the better. Goodness knows we have removed so much of nature if we can restore just a little it's all to the good. I am sure it is therapeutic for busy Londoners too.
ReplyDeleteSo will you take book and stay awhile the next time? What a fun place to read and watch the skyline.
ReplyDeleteGreat spot to photograph the Walkie Talkie. It looks extra bent from your viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI like roof gardens and the views. I worked for a year in Oakland California in a building that had a great roof garden and I ate lunch up there.
ReplyDeleteBauhaus buildings faced the same problem i.e city buildings taking over the green space that would have otherwise been available for leisure.
ReplyDeleteSo they solved the problem by a) elevating each building on pillars and leaving the space underneath for children's play. And b) leaving a flat roof on top of each building, for gardens, deck chairs and a bar.
What a great trend and I hope it expands. Our cities can all use an oxygen boost.
ReplyDeleteWow … what a wonderful bird’s eye view of everything. A garden anywhere is welcome but this is particularly glamourous.
ReplyDeleteWill have to check it out. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't imagine spending day after day in that jungle of concrete and glass. Gardens and open green spaces are so important.
ReplyDeleteHello, the roof top garden and building are beautiful. It is important to have green spaces. I am glad you were able to visit, great photos. Happy Monday, wishing you a great day and happy new week!
ReplyDeleteHow nice that they designed such a pretty place for the public to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteGreat views of my favorite city in the world. Wish I was there.
ReplyDeleteI just can't get used to the new "little Dubai" London ! All these ugly buildings. However a garden on the top is a good idea. In Brussels too I don't recognize some areas which I knew like my pocket in the past ! And everywhere the same style of high buildings. If I would be pushed from a cloud and land in one of these cities I couldn't tell where I am, lol !
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely spot of green in the city. It will be quite fun in the future to have dinner and then a stroll in the garden. I had to stare at each of the views and try to orient myself. I’m going to send you an email to ask you about one photo. Hope you don’t mind!
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful perspective for sure. It will be interesting to see how the garden grows, I hope you keep us posted down the line.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. I believe that some of these roof gardens now have bee hives and honey made from city bees.
ReplyDeleteAnother one for the list next time I'm in the Smoke... Nice shots. And this kind of thing has to be A Good Thing, doesn't it? I like the idea of hives.
ReplyDeleteAn unusual place for a garden but it must be interesting to be up there with all those towers snd architectural wonders surrounding you.
ReplyDeleteHow amazing is this!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan