The Royal Institute of British Architects is offering a fantastic opportunity to access the incredible architectural heritage of London via a website displaying thousands of images. Earlier this year, there was an exhibition titled Unlock London: A City in Pictures displayed at the Terrace Grill & Bar at Le Meridien Piccadilly. The images on display came from the RIBA collection, which is one of the world’s most extensive and diverse visual archives devoted to architecture.
The collection features an array of photographs taken by leading professionals from the 1930s to the 1960s, depicting some of the most iconic buildings in London along with some that are lesser known and some that are simply no longer there. The exhibition may have come to a close, but RIBA has now made the images accessible online. RIBApix enables visitors to thoroughly explore RIBA’s historic selection of shots and images from across the globe.
London history buffs will love the early sketches for tube stations and retail establishments, the vintage pictures of many famous landmarks and the original design for Big Ben by Charles Barry. You can view the incredible design for St Pancras Station and Grand Midland Hotel dating back to 1860 along with the striking image of the “Architectural Aspiration” figure being carved into the new RIBA headquarters in 1934.
The 1947 design for London Transport, Underground and Bus Station in Redbridge boasts depictions of classic red double decker buses, and the black and white images of a half completed Battersea Power Station at night offer a powerful image. Music stores are rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and the image of an illuminated HMV on Oxford Street in 1936 offers a wonderful sense of nostalgia.
The diversity of the collection means it is sure to hold something of interest for everyone. If you have a passion for the history of commercial architecture in London, these images will take you on an exciting visual journey through time. The site contains a staggering 90,000 images and each one is available to view free of charge. They can also be purchased digitally as framed or unframed prints. The online exhibition offers London architects and the keen enthusiast the perfect tour through the city’s architectural evolution over time.