| Architect |
James Stirling &
Michael Wilford |
| Date Built |
1997 |
| Location |
Junction of
Queen Victoria Street and Poultry |
| Description |
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1 Poultry is a
postmodern office building clad in pink
and yellow limestone that has the
appearance of a ship gone aground in the
heart of the City. Edward Jones
and Christopher Woodward describe 1
Poultry, in their book "A Guide to the
Architecture of London", as presenting
a, "... 'prow' to
the important road junction facing
the Bank of England."
They add that, "Its plan, though,
is far from solid, and contains a
deep open courtyard, now hexagonal,
now circular, which provides a
short-cut for pedestrians and
another entrance to Bank Underground
Station."
 Apparently this triangular plot of land was the centre of controversy about the nature of the building to be erected there. There was a plan for a office tower by Mies Van de Rhoe but I gather that the opposition to that plan won out. The Pevsner Guide to the City describes Stirling's design as, "... hard-edged and strongly articulated ..." It goes on to say that, " ... its intelligent expression of interior volumes undoubtable elevates the design above the commercial hoarde."    |
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1
Poultry, London
    Four terracotta panels have been
placed above the entrance on the Poultry side of the
building (see below).
 These were apparently rescued from a building that once stood on this site and reused. The panels were created by the sculptor Joseph Kremer, who was born in France but moved to England in 1858 working for a while as a modeller in Stoke for a local pottery, perhaps Spode. He later moved to London where he died in 1878. These panels depict processions that once passed by this spot. Working from left to right they show: King Edward VI
 Queen Elizabeth I
 King Charles II
 ... and Queen Victoria.  *************************         Close Window  |