St Pancras Chambers refurbished and magnificent once more

The Gothic magnificence of St Pancras Chambers, the fairytale 'castle' that housed the old Midland Hotel no longer hides behind building site hoardings. A £100 million refurbishment of the Victorian building, with its formidable Euston Road facade, is now complete.

    I wandered inside George Gilbert Scott's famous Grade I-listed London landmark the other day. People can now walk up the stairs from King's Cross and walk under the arch into St Pancras International's Eurostar station. 

   The building's expansive chambers, rooms, corridors and famous central staircase re-opens to the public on May 5. With its grand penthouse residences and a new Renaissance Hotel on its lower floors, new life has come to one of London's grandest places. The Midland Hotel first opened in 1876 but closed in 1935.

    I'll be taking a tour inside soon. So watch this space for more details and photos (Click on images to enlarge).

Photos copyright of Paul Coleman. No re-use without permission.

Paul Coleman, London, April 2011

London's 2012 Olympic venues viewed from Alexandra Palace

One of the first sun-splashed days of 2011 provided some tempting views of London from Alexandra Palace, one of my favourite London landmarks. 

   I zoomed in across six miles on some of the new structures on London's skyscape, including the new Olympic Stadium (below) and the Aquatics Centre (above). The Shard looks well on its way to becoming Europe's tallest building.

   The last photo suggests London's householders are highly vulnerable to the impact of decisions taken by bankers in the gleaming glass and steel towers of Canary Wharf, part of London's financial centre.

Photos copyright of Paul Coleman. No re-use without permission.

Paul Coleman, London, April 2011.

Would you like this seat, old boy?

Age looms larger in my thoughts these days. It's dawned on me that I've reached that stage where I probably have less days to look forward to than I have to look back on. 

   So I was intrigued by the idea that the decline of my physical strength might be mitigated by the adapted chair in the photo. 

   However, the chair idea wasn't a serious piece of kit but part of an attempt by designers at Sheffield Hallam University and Taiwan's Chang Gung University to stimulate thought about how everyday objects can become everyday obstructions in old age.

  Even if this was an abstract conception, I thought it seemed a pretty neat idea...especially as I'll soon be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of my twenty-ninth birthday.

The chair appeared at the London Building Centre, Store Street, W1.

Photo copyright of Paul Coleman. No re-use without permission.

Paul Coleman, London, April 2011