Bishopsgate Institute

Bishopsgate Institute boasts a library that is independent, public and free as well as hosts cultural events and courses for adults held at the institute. Opening in 1895, it has since then become a tour de force in opening minds and challenging perceptions. It is not only known for its collections and programmes but it has a rich history to it. The institute was built ‘for the benefit of the public to promote lectures, exhibitions and otherwise the advancement of literature, science and the fine arts’ are met from the initial concepts to this present day.

In 1891, a scheme was green lit for a library to be opened by the Charity Commissioners, using funds from donations covering 500 years to the parish of St Botolph without Bishopsgate. In 1893, the plans for the institute were laid down and the charity set up. Interests piqued as they set up a marquee outside the site in 1893. In 1894, the institute was completed and opened up by Prime Minister, Lord Roseberry. 

Reverend William Rogers headbust statue in the Boardroom

A key figure in the development was Reverend William Rogers, who pushed for educational reform and free libraries. He saw through the whole development and made sure that the goals for the original charitable intentions of the build were met. He believed that intellectual wellbeing succeeded spiritual wellbeing and hung theology and religion. Reverend William Rogers wanted to create a scheme for the poor and to further educate young people to continue on their learning past 11 years of age. For the grand opening of the institute, Reverend Rogers held a ceremony which included a ball, floral displays and a live band. The platform was open for anyone to attend. 

"BI" branding on stairwell

Through a design competition, Charles Harrison Townsend designs was chosen to represent the architecture of the building. The competition was kept anonymous as the choice was done as to not get in a well-known architect. He employed Art Nouveau and from his interests, arts and crafts influences from Romanesque and Byzantine architecture, which is apparent in the building from the arch entrance, mosaic floor, and twin roof turrets. Townsend affections towards the “Tree of Life” themes of fruit and flower motifs are carried throughout the designs. The design flows and is very organic showing off the maturity of the institute. In other aspects of the institute’s design was that they became early adopters of branding at a time when it was ever conceived as you’ll notice the initials “BI” sprawled in some places in the institute and most notably on the stairs from the hallway leading up to the upper levels of the boardroom.

The Great Hall is also referred to as the oyster room having found many pots of oyster shells during refurbishments. During the Elizabethan times, oysters were cheaply obtained and highly available. Townsend design of the hall was to allow natural skylight and floor light to come through. Because many of a lecture was held in the halls with lanterns, Townsend planned and located exits all around the hall for quick evacuations in case a fire broke out. The floor was made with solid oak that was fireproof.

By the early 20th century, interest activities started to spring up with from hobby horse combat to Christmas parties. During the First World War, changes started to come in with introductions to a whole new wave of activities such as social dances, fundraising, treasure hunts, table tennis and badminton. A pipe organ was built in by Townsend for music concerts.

There was once a newsroom and reading room at the institute where there were big stands to hold the enormous newspapers that were printed on large sheets of papers. Because newspapers were so expensive then and the newspaper was free to read in the institute, it became a popular destination to get the latest fix on news so much so that a time was required to be imposed for each person that wanted to read it.

Not only that, the institute became a hub for information in the corridors to the library, which held statistical information regarding gains and losses much like the exchange. It also held job board advertisements.

The library’s lamps were replaced and replicated to the originals and the shelves are all of the originals in the library. The bookcases still retains the step at the bottom and handles to the side so as to reach books on the higher shelves. This proved a problem at an earlier time, when ladies didn’t want peeing toms to be eyeing her up so the reading room was split between males and females. The problem was further addressed when a catalogue of the books and archives were implemented. One noticeable feature of the library is the dome glass roof which is of the Nouveau style. The glass pane was damaged when an IRA bomb exploded at St Mary Axe causing great damage to the vicinity which included St Helen’s Bishopsgate.

The archives holds donated items from charities such as Stonewall and Shelter, which show the sheer volume in the institute’s social and radical collection. The basement to the archives is where some of their collections are held, where books are also binded and restored in a temperature controlled environment.

George Howell’s desk resides in the library/archives, which was restored in 2002. In 1848, George Howell started himself off in Chartism and later, he got involved with the bricklayers strike having become involved in trade unionism in 1861. He also successfully campaigned for urban male household suffrage with the Reform Act which was passed in 1867. He was elected as secretary to the TUC’s Parliamentary Committee in 1871 and then Liberal MP for Bethnal Green from 1885 to 1895. He was the first labour historian. In 1906, His collection of books and pamplets that covered 19th century political and economic issues were acquired by the governers of the Bishopsgate Institute.

Ronald Heaton was chief of Lewisham Library until he moved to Bishopsgate Institute to work as the librarian there. He was heavily involved in running concerts for the institute. He kept on working for the institute and has become a permanent fixture of the institute. A portrait of him can be found in the library.


Courtyard Room

Refurbishments took place in 1994 which saw an 18th century house Brushfield Street added into Bishopsgate Institute. In 1997, light fittings and a colour scheme were both added in the library. From 2009 to 2011, a £7.2 million renewal programme to bring the institute to the highest standards helmed by Charles Sheppard Architects.

Upper Hall

Boardroom

Bishopsgate Institute holds programmes ranging from talks and discussions to social dances and concerts. On Friday lunchtime, they hold music concerts in partnership with the City Music Society. They do a range of courses for adults which centred on language, performing arts and culture. The library there is free and open to all to use, with a massive collection on London and political history including archives of Freedom Press and the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (LAGNA).

Tech Talk: TwinsOrNot.net

After HowOld.Net follows TwinsOrNot.net, which follows the same premise as the predecessor. The website comes under Microsoft's Project Oxford.

In this one, you could either search for an image online or upload one and a second image is also required to pair up. Once done, the #TwinsOrNotRobot groups them together and scores it out of 100% out of the likeness of the images. You can help improve it by submitting the pictures after the works been done to improve their "computer vision and related services".

After numerous attempts at finding facial pictures that it would recognise, I went for the "finally" look and my sis went for the "model" look (the only look that it only seem to take - humph!). Ann and I were paired up and it came up with 22% based on the two pictures provided...

Whereas Ed and I came up trumps...

Give it a go yourself and see who you may share likeness at TwinsOrNot.net or even download the app if you have a Windows Phone.

#TwinsOrNotRobot

Gibbon's Rent

Gibbon’s Rent is stretch of walk that runs between Magdalen Street and Bermondsey Street that contains all sorts of pots of plant. It is a project in collaboration between the Architecture Foundation, Team London Bridge and Southwark Council.

Originally, the site of Gibbon's Rent was a street of domestic properties owned by Mr Gibbon. It is most recently recorded down by the council as being "Gibbon's Rent" which was end-product name to transform this rundown street to a cared-for green oasis.

The creation of Gibbon’s Rent is formed by designer Andrew Burns and architect Sarah Eberle and launched as part of the London Festival of Architecture and Cityscapes in 2012.

The space is stunningly beautiful and can be very quiet or very busy as not a lot of people of know about it or a lot of people know about it. It is a space used by office workers during the day, especially if it is a sunny one. I came across it during the weekend and not one soul can be seen creating a scenic and tranquil route.

It is maintained by Team London Bridge and St Mungo’s with the local community as part of the Putting Down Roots initiative. Different areas of the garden works well with some plants more than others with some designated areas designed to get the maximum amount of daylight or a lot more limited amount.

There is also a chance to sponsor a potted plant on Architecture Foundation's website or donations of potted plants are welcome at Gibbon’s Rent.

Star Log Entry 1: Covent Garden Christmas Lights and Seoul Bakery

London Comic Mart last Sunday were slim pickings with lack of stall sellers with slim pickings and even my friend who usually would buy truckloads of comics during the day only got a total of three comics. I didn’t get any comics myself and only got a few DVDs. After, my partner Ed and I headed straight down to Covent Garden after and marvelled at the Christmas lights in the piazza, which took on the theme of mistletoe - kiss kiss!

My birthday came this week so Ed and I went to Seoul Bakery which serves up a mean dish of Korean food. I’ve been going there for four years now and the food there never gets old. Recently, they moved from around the corner from Tottenham Court Road to Great Russell Street, following the expansion of the transport links. Aside from the amazing food that they do, they have a unique aspect that visitors can write messages upon their walls cementing fond memories and an added bonus of a memorabilia to take away from having a meal there.

Ed got me a colouring books for adults themed around cats. It’s said that they are therapeutic in a sense that it used for relaxation and stress relief. I have yet to do some colouring in myself but gazing at the cats on the pages can set off the cuteness factor!

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is a world-renown institute for public and global health dealing with dealings in research and education. It has a history of movement around London where it now resides at the Keppel Street Building, where it has gone through various internal renovations and improvements. The building was listed as Grade II which was granted in the 1980s.

The London School of Tropical Medicine was founded by Sir Patrick Manson on the London Docks in 1899, who wanted all the doctors to be trained in tropical diseases. The school and hospital for tropical diseases to Endsleigh Gardens in West London 1920. The Athlone Committee as proposed by the Rockafeller Foundation, came up with the institute of state of medicine that will lead the world to promote public health and tropical medicine.

In 1922, the Rockafeller Foundation funded the school $2m to take up residence in the Keppel Street Building. The building was previously bought out by the National Theatre Committee for £52,000 in 1913 to create a Shakespeare memorial theatre to celebrate the tercentenary of the artist, but did not come to light following the World War in 1914. 

The school came to be known as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as it is now known as today, and was granted the Royal Charter in 1924. The foundation stone was laid down by Neville Chamberlain on 7 July 1926 and the building opened on 18 July 1929, by HRH the Prince of Wales. 

The building is built of a steel frame, which is the first in Europe of this type of building, and a Portland stone encased out from front and around the building in a stripped classical style. Another interesting design feature to the building is that it is built in a shape of a capital “A”.

The entrance to the building has the logo of the school which was formed from a coin found from Sicily featuring Pestilence as well as Apollo (god of music and medicine) and Artemis (goddess of hunting and child birth).

Adjourned to the balcony of the windows contain bronze pieces of animals that carry and relate to diseases such as mosquitos, fleas, serpents, ticks and louses.

On the reams found surrounding the building are names of men with pioneering significance to the field of medicine and Florence Nightingale was considered, but her last name was considered too long, even though one of the men’s name was the same length as hers.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine takes on many different researches and responding to combat diseases. Some of the research include Ebola and Malaria. They also cover a range of other topics outside this spectrum which include study of streetlights in relation to crimes and car incidences to human trafficking. The vaults of the school houses the area for insect breeding to carry out further research on diseases.

The John Snow Lecture Theatre can hold up to 300 people and can be split in the middle with a partitioned wall to create two lecture halls holding 145 people on each side. It was named after the epidemiologist Jon Snow (not after the GOT character – ah ha!), who came down to live in Soho, London in the 19th century. His studies were vital in recognising the cholera outbreak in London. As people collected there water from pipelines dotted around, he investigated if this was the cause of the outbreak. He went from door-to-door around Soho asking sick people of their symptoms and where they got their water from. Putting two and two together and found the source of the outbreak was caused by a water pump in Broad Street (near Broadwick Street). He fought until the pump was removed. “The Pump” can be found along the walkway outside the theatre on loan from the John Snow Society.

Two courtyards were designed so that it brought air and light into surrounding rooms. The North Courtyard was opened in February 2004 by Desmond Tutu. The 7-storey building is built into a glass atrium providing office and research space for over 100 staff. The South Courtyard was opened by HRH The Princess Royal in May 2009. The 5-storey building contains space for lectures, teaching, research and a social space for staff and students. The south utilises energy efficient technologies.

Just above the library entrance is a sculpture created by Eric Kennington with initial reactions was that it was far too rude. It features a man, a woman and a baby, all in nude. It has since had some cracks appear but they were painted over. Inside the library, the architects came to a decision that the furniture should be kept to the design of the original. The floor is made of cork with the walls kept to the original oak.

Tech Talk: Windows 8.1 - Charms bar

One of the new features to Windows 8 and 8.1 is the introduction of Charms, which in a sense gives that extra magic to the operating system. It keeps the interface move smoothly by removing the extra buttons away from the screen giving more room for apps and content so that it is clutter-free. 

It can be accessed in three ways:

• Touch-screen: From the right side of the touch-screen device flick in the left direction. 
• Mouse: Go to the corner of the right side of the screen, and depending on where your mouse cursor is, swipe down or up with the cursor. If you go to the corner of the screen with the mouse cursor and do nothing, a ghost shell of the Charms will come up.
• Keyboard: Press the Windows button and “C”.

 

The main display of the charms come up with 5 things:

• Search: Search through all the content such as apps, videos and photos as well as being able to define where to search. You’re also able to use it to search through the web.

• Share: Able to share files, photos and links through a varied channels of medium.

• Start: Takes you back to the Windows start screen.
• Devices: Able to connect to devices.

• Settings: Able to personalise the Windows 8.1 experience and change the functionality of the PC. It will also tailor the setting options to the particular application that it may be opened up on, such as bringing up a game app may provide an option for “Permission” and “Rate and Review”. 

Lullaby Factory

Having been volunteering for Great Ormond Street Hospital for over 2 years, I did not realise that there was an interactive art installation was there in the hospital. The installation being the Lullaby Factory. The installation was created by Studio Weave and was installed In October 2012 on the east side of the Southwood Building.

The installation is not usually open for view for the public and can be accessed on a tour during the Open House weekend. It can be viewed from the Morgan Stanley Clinical Building and the courtyard of the Lagoon canteen of the hospital.

Hurmurmuring Transmitters

A competition was held to create a new landscape or change the façade of the existing side of the Southwood Building.  Studio Weave came in with the winning entry which proposed a line of pipes and a plant that manufactured lullabies to the children who were the patients at the hospital, created a calming and soothing environment for the patients to recover in. The project was funded by GOSH as part of the investment in the Morgan Stanley Clinical Building.

They decided not to cover up the pipe works, which would have shielded the sun from getting in from the building. So proposed to add on to the pipes as well as used up the tight space, at some points were 1 metre apart between the buildings, from the Southwood Building to the Morgan Stanley Clinical Building. It soon became the Lullaby Factory, celebrating the quirks and oddities of the hospital and a re-imagining of a better version of itself.

Jessica Curry composed the lullaby which can be heard from the listening pipes of the Hurmurmuring Transmitters found in the courtyard of the Lagoon and on the radio frequencies on the Patient Beside Entertainment System.

The installation was awarded AR&D Award for Emerging Architecture 2013, Civic Trust Award 2014, Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture 2014, and a special mention in the Highly Commended Architizer Architecture and Art Award 2015.

The Lullaby Factory comes with an accompanying story. In 1852, the great, great, great, great grandfather of Mr Lambert Echo created the Lullaby Factory. It was created with two main compenents that collect the base ingredients for the lullabies:

• Whistful Fillment Filaments - Scopes the air for wishes (most important ingredient)
• Satellite Lilters - captures the “planetary music” of music and dreams that go undetected and is stems through into the Lilters as they sing with their “Lollips”

The Whisskissing Bristles captures the already sung lullabies in the air which have nothing to do and combine them together to form new lullabies using the idle lulls which contains the shared wisdom of lullabies through the ages. The Lullabuildser takes these combined pieces and perfect their forms.

The Pickled Picture Peeper allows views of the composition of the lullaby to check if the lullaby is perfect. If they are not, it is passed through Echogs which the lullbaby are adjusted by balancing the different elements. Sonorous Syrup are added to help build the dreams that eases the sleepies to a blissful sleep.

In the Serenitwinckler, Auranoments are added which gives the lullaby a magical flavour which are then elongated into a slow long form. Come out as small bubbles called Humabubs. Put through the Lollobubble Looper which is then stretched and folded into long looping lazes with its Concording Oars. Stored in the Amber Chambers ready to be used when needed.

It is delivered when one of the sleepies send out a Snoozesity signal, which are picked up by the Wistings Lisper. The Wistings Lisper releases a Fluentoots that pushes the lullabies out from the Amber Chambers upon picking up the signal, which are then delivered to the sleepy through the delivery trumpets.

The reason for sleepies often not remembering the lullabies is because the lullaby is sent to them during the moments when they are moving slowly into Dreamlands, which the lullaby helps ensure that they have a blissful dream.

#LullabyFactory