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{{short description|Building in Westminster, London}} |
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{{EngvarB|date=September 2018}} |
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'''One Great George Street''', is a building in [[London, England|London]], [[England]] that is the global headquarters of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]]. Its location is in the heart of [[Westminster]], just off Parliament Square. Starting as a venue for the members to relax, meet and have conferences, the venue opened to the public in 1989. Over the years many famous faces have stepped over the threshold and being so close to the Houses of Parliament, government officials are a regular sight. Recent visitors include Tony Blair, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Michael Schumacher, James Dyson, David Tennant and Princess Michael of Kent. |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}} |
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{{Infobox building |
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| name = One Great George Street |
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| native_name = |
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| native_name_lang = |
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| former_names = |
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| status = |
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| image = File:Institution of Civil Engineers, One Great George Street, London.jpg |
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| image_alt = |
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| caption = |
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| map_type = Greater London |
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| map_alt = |
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| map_caption = |
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| altitude = |
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| building_type = Monumental neo-classical design |
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| architectural_style = Modern rendering of the late Renaissance |
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| structural_system = |
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| cost = |
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| ren_cost = |
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| client = |
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| owner = |
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| current_tenants = |
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| landlord = |
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| address = One Great George Street |
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| location_town = London |
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| location_country = England |
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| coordinates = {{coord|51|30|57|N|0|7|6|W|display=inline}} |
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| groundbreaking_date = |
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| start_date = 1910 |
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| completion_date = 1913 |
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| opened_date = |
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| inauguration_date = |
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| renovation_date = |
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| demolition_date = |
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| height = |
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| roof = |
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| other_dimensions = |
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| floor_area = |
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| seating_type = |
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| seating_capacity = |
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| elevator_count = |
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| main_contractor = |
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| architect = James Miller, RSA |
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| architecture_firm = |
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| structural_engineer = |
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| services_engineer = |
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| civil_engineer = |
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| other_designers = |
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| awards = |
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| designations = |
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| ren_civ_engineer = |
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| ren_oth_designers = |
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| ren_qty_surveyor = |
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| ren_awards = |
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| website = http://www.onegreatgeorgestreet.com/ |
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| embedded = |
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| references = |
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}} |
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'''One Great George Street''' ('''OGGS''') is a four-domed [[grade II listed]] [[Edwardian]] building used as a [[Conference venue|conference]] and wedding venue just off [[Parliament Square]] in [[Westminster]], [[London]], [[England]].<ref>[http://www.onegreatgeorgestreet.com/location.asp Map of location]</ref> The building is the global headquarters of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] (ICE); it was originally solely a venue for ICE members to meet informally and for conferences, but became available for public events in 1989. It is near the [[Houses of Parliament]], [[Westminster Abbey]], and [[St James's Park]]. |
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There are 19 rooms of varying size and style available for everything from meetings to conferences, dinners to receptions and filming to weddings. This Edwardian building successfully mixes traditional with modernity. Each room has been named after civil engineering’s most important contributors and the venue is adorned with original artwork of those key figures. The Institution's art collections include works from Wylie, Lucas and Millais and is the world's largest collection of portraits of engineers. The ceiling of the Great Hall has a magnificent painting that commemorates the work of civil engineers in the First World War. |
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== |
==Building and history== |
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[[File:Great Hall Ceiling Painting at One Great George Street.JPG|thumb|upright|Great Hall Ceiling Painting at One Great George Street.]] |
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From 1839 until 1913, ICE occupied numbers 24–26 Great George Street. In the mid-1880s the [[Her Majesty's Government|government]] proposed re-development of the area around Great George Street to provide more office space for [[Departments of the United Kingdom Government|government departments]]. This meant the demolition of ICE's first location and led ICE to move its headquarters across the road to numbers 1–7. |
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One Great George Street was built for the ICE between 1910 and 1913 and was the result of an architectural competition won by [[James Miller (architect)|James Miller]], [[Royal Scottish Academy|RSA]] (1860–1947). His winning design was priced at £77,126, with the other architects involved in the design competition including Brigg, Wolstenholme & Thornely, John Belcher, William Emerson, Charles Edward Barry and Thomas Collcutt. The contractor who built the building was Mowlem. |
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One Great George Street is an early example of steel-frame technology in Britain, with the structural frame using approximately 1,227 tons of steel supplied by the Lanarkshire Steel Company. The assembly of the steel-frame was subcontracted to Dawnay Ltd. and was built using several Scotch derrick cranes. |
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Between 1987 and 1991 the venue was modernised to make better use of the space with a new theatre added along with another 3 rooms to the lower ground floor and a suite of smaller meeting rooms and business centre in the basement level. This events venue is constantly updating its facilities and over the years the Great Hall has undergone a major restoration project with new PA system installed, induction loops added to the theatres and reception, major refurbishment of ground floor toilets and ceiling restoration in the State rooms. |
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Over summer 2007 new wheelchair lifts are to be installed at the front entrance. The cutting-edge design is economical on space, more aesthetically pleasing and less obtrusive than other lift and ramp options. |
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This elegant and historical building has been described as a "monumental [[Neoclassical architecture|neo-classical]] design" and a "modern rendering of the late [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]]". The exterior, foyer and staircase are made of [[Portland stone]] and many of the rooms are ornately decorated with French walnut and oak panelling, carved plaster ceilings and elaborate crystal chandeliers. The most impressive apartment in the building is the Great Hall, which is approached via the grand staircase and its processional route to the first floor. The walls of the Great Hall can be described as a 'Graeco-Roman rhapsody', as huge marble pilasters with bronze effect Ionic capitals and metal bases interspersed with consoled panels that frame portraits from the Institution's oil paintings collection flow around the vertical surfaces. The ceiling of the Great Hall features a huge painting by Charles Sims commemorating World War 1 (the patron being [[John Griffith (engineer)|Sir John Purser Griffith]], ICE President in 1920). The work shows a female figure draped in what appears to be a robe or ''peplos'' holding in one hand a giant Union Flag, billowing in the wind, and in the other hand a wreath (she is identified in the ICE ''Catalogue of Works and Art'' as 'the figure of Renown, wearing a mourning veil and holding out a wreath of bays with the gesture of crowning'). Peering down at the viewer from the edge of the painting are servicemen and women dressed in uniforms reflecting the different branches of the military and above them can be seen a low-flying biplane with fixed undercarriage proudly displaying its red, white, and blue insignia. The corners of the painting show civil engineering scenes in the form of viaducts, steel structures, cranes etc. |
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==Significant events== |
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One Great George Street has hosted many historical events and served as a location for the filming of movies and television. |
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Between 1987 and 1991 the venue was modernised, with a theatre and another three rooms added to the lower ground floor, and a suite of smaller meeting rooms and a business centre in the basement level. |
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===Historical=== |
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*1945 signing of the charter establishing UNESCO |
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There are 19 rooms of varying size and style available for hire. Each room has been named after notable [[civil engineering|civil engineers]], and the venue has paintings of them.<ref>[http://www.onegreatgeorgestreet.com/aboutus_history.asp History]</ref> |
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*The Butler Report press conference in July 2004 |
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*G7 and Labour manifestos in the 1990’s |
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==Paintings== |
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The ICE's art collections include works from [[William Lionel Wyllie]] (1851–1931), [[John Lucas (artist)|John Lucas]] (1807–1874) and [[John Everett Millais]] (1829–1896) and is the world's largest collection of portraits of civil engineers.<ref>For an introductory study to the portrait collection see Dunkeld, Malcolm. 2015. '''The Portrait Collection of the Institution of Civil Engineers'. ''Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress on Construction History', 3–7 June (635–643).</ref> The ceiling of the [[Great Hall]] has a painting that commemorates the work of civil engineers in [[World War I]]. The Telford Theatre also holds a twin [[fusee (horology)|fusee]] Grand Sonnerie Bracket Clock made by the famous clockmaker [[Thomas Tompion]], who is buried in Westminster Abbey. |
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The ICE commissioned a number of paintings by [[Glasgow]]-based artist Jonathan Meuli which have been hung in both the café bar and the lower ground foyer. The project, entitled "Painting a New London" was supported by the Research and Development Enabling Fund. The output of the project is a series of large paintings rather than a report. The paintings' subjects the major construction and infrastructure projects for the [[2012 London Olympics]]. Meuli also has a blog with sketches and photographs from the project.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jonathan |last=Meuli |url=http://icepaint.wordpress.com/ |title=Painting a New Home |publisher=[[WordPress]] |access-date=3 June 2014}}</ref> |
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==Notable events== |
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*Signing of the charter establishing [[UNESCO]] (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), 1945 |
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*Queen [[Elizabeth II]] visited for the 150th anniversary of the first Royal Charter of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1978 and unveiled a specially commissioned portrait of herself which hangs in the foyer. |
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*[[G7|Group of Seven]] manifestos, 1990s |
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*[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] manifestos, 1990s |
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*Foreign and Commonwealth Office event where One Great George Street was used to house delegation offices for 7 countries including their heads of Government for the ASEM II Conference as part of the UK's Presidency of the European Union, May 1998 |
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*A dinner was held in the Great Hall in 2004 to celebrate the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]]'s 50th year as an Honorary Fellow; he was the Senior Honorary Fellow of the ICE. |
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*[[David Frost]] hosted the tenth anniversary of his Sunday morning interview programme, [[Breakfast with Frost]], with many prominent politicians and celebrities present, including [[Ronnie Corbett]], in 2004 |
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*[[Butler Review]] press conference, July 2004 |
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*MP's 50th Birthday Party with [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[John Major]], [[William Hague]], other politicians and ex-politicians, and [[Rory Bremner]], March 2007 |
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*[[Victory over Japan Day|VJ Day]] anniversary celebration: the [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] and the [[Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall|Duchess of Cornwall]] received veterans from the [[Second World War]] in the Far East. The Prime Minister was also present, August 2010 |
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*The Prince of Wales Halcrow/ICE keynote address, February 2012 |
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*Chosen by the [[Mayor of London]], [[Boris Johnson]], to house the [[London Olympics Media Centre|Media Centre for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games]] on 18 August 2010. |
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===Films=== |
===Films=== |
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*''[[In the Loop (film)|In the Loop]]'', 2009 |
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*Bridget Jones Edge of Reason in 2005 |
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*''[[Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (film)|Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason]]'', 2004 |
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*Ghandi |
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*''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'', 1982 |
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*Mr Bean in 1997 |
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*''[[Bean (1997 film)|Bean]]'', 1997 |
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*Hat Trick in 2006 |
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*''[[Cambridge Spies]]'', late 1990s |
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*Starter for Ten in 2006 |
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*''[[Starter for 10 (film)|Starter for 10]]'', 2006 |
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*''[[Hattrick (film)|Hattrick]]'', 2007 |
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*''[[Fast & Furious 6]]'', One Great George Street catered for the cast and crew during filming, September 2012 |
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===Fashion=== |
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*[[Alice Temperley]] fashion show as part of London Fashion week with Autumn/Winter 2012/13 collection |
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*Spooks (numerous episodes) |
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*[[Antonio Berardi]] as part of London Fashion week with Spring/summer collection 2010 |
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*Foyles War |
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*In Deep |
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===Television series=== |
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*Between the Lines |
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*''[[Spooks (TV series)|Spooks]]'' (numerous episodes) |
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*Kavanagh QC |
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*''[[Foyle's War]]'' |
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*Silent Witness |
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*''[[In Deep (TV series)|In Deep]]'' |
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*''[[Between The Lines (TV series)|Between The Lines]]'' |
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*''[[Kavanagh QC]]'' |
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*''[[Silent Witness]]'' |
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*''[[The Diplomat (American TV series)|The Diplomat]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-diplomat-locations |title=Where is The Diplomat Filmed? Your Guide to the Season 2 Locations |last=Hatchett |first=Keisha |website=[[Netflix]] |date=2 November 2024 |access-date=16 December 2024}}</ref> |
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==Awards== |
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The venue has won the following awards:{{fact|date=June 2014}} |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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! Cateys Finalist 2011 !! Meeting Industry Awards 2011 !! Conference Awards 2011 !! Cateys Finalist 2012 !! Meeting Industry Awards 2012 !! Conference Awards 2012 |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[London Eye]] |
*[[London Eye]] |
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*[[Westminster Abbey]] |
*[[Westminster Abbey]] |
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*[[Government Offices Great George Street]] |
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*[[HM Treasury]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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4. Dunkeld, M. (2013) ''One Great George Street: The Headquarters Building of the Institution of Civil Engineers''.Dunbeath: Whittles Publishing |
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5. Dunkeld, M. (2015) 'The Portrait Collection of the Institution of Civil Engineers', ''Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress on Construction History'', Vol. 1, 3-7 June, (635-643) |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.onegreatgeorgestreet.com/ One Great George Street official website] |
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*[http://www.ice.org.uk/ Institution of Civil Engineers website] |
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*[http://www.brasserieone.com/ Brasserie One website], lower ground floor |
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*{{Twitter}} |
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*{{Facebook|OGGSVenue}} |
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{{Coord|51.5011|-0.1290|type:landmark_region:GB-WSM|display=title}} |
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== Access == |
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Easily accessible, this London Conference venue is in a very central location by Westminster tube. Westminster tube station is on the Jubilee, Circle and District lines Victoria and Waterloo mainline stations are also only a short tube/taxi journey or about a 15 minute walk. |
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[[Category:Exhibition and conference centres in London]] |
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== External links == |
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[[Category:Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster]] |
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*[http://www.onegreatgeorgestreet.com One Great George Street Official Site] |
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[[Category:Institution of Civil Engineers]] |
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[[Category:1913 establishments in England]] |
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[[Category:Event venues established in 1913]] |
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[[Category:James Miller buildings]] |
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[[Category:Edwardian architecture in London]] |
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[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in London]] |
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Latest revision as of 16:03, 16 December 2024
| One Great George Street | |
|---|---|
 | |
  | |
| General information | |
| Type | Monumental neo-classical design |
| Architectural style | Modern rendering of the late Renaissance |
| Address | One Great George Street |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°30′57″N 0°7′6″W / 51.51583°N 0.11833°W |
| Construction started | 1910 |
| Completed | 1913 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | James Miller, RSA |
| Website | |
| http://www.onegreatgeorgestreet.com/ | |
One Great George Street (OGGS) is a four-domed grade II listed Edwardian building used as a conference and wedding venue just off Parliament Square in Westminster, London, England.[1] The building is the global headquarters of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE); it was originally solely a venue for ICE members to meet informally and for conferences, but became available for public events in 1989. It is near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and St James's Park.
Building and history
[edit]
From 1839 until 1913, ICE occupied numbers 24–26 Great George Street. In the mid-1880s the government proposed re-development of the area around Great George Street to provide more office space for government departments. This meant the demolition of ICE's first location and led ICE to move its headquarters across the road to numbers 1–7.
One Great George Street was built for the ICE between 1910 and 1913 and was the result of an architectural competition won by James Miller, RSA (1860–1947). His winning design was priced at £77,126, with the other architects involved in the design competition including Brigg, Wolstenholme & Thornely, John Belcher, William Emerson, Charles Edward Barry and Thomas Collcutt. The contractor who built the building was Mowlem.
One Great George Street is an early example of steel-frame technology in Britain, with the structural frame using approximately 1,227 tons of steel supplied by the Lanarkshire Steel Company. The assembly of the steel-frame was subcontracted to Dawnay Ltd. and was built using several Scotch derrick cranes.
This elegant and historical building has been described as a "monumental neo-classical design" and a "modern rendering of the late Renaissance". The exterior, foyer and staircase are made of Portland stone and many of the rooms are ornately decorated with French walnut and oak panelling, carved plaster ceilings and elaborate crystal chandeliers. The most impressive apartment in the building is the Great Hall, which is approached via the grand staircase and its processional route to the first floor. The walls of the Great Hall can be described as a 'Graeco-Roman rhapsody', as huge marble pilasters with bronze effect Ionic capitals and metal bases interspersed with consoled panels that frame portraits from the Institution's oil paintings collection flow around the vertical surfaces. The ceiling of the Great Hall features a huge painting by Charles Sims commemorating World War 1 (the patron being Sir John Purser Griffith, ICE President in 1920). The work shows a female figure draped in what appears to be a robe or peplos holding in one hand a giant Union Flag, billowing in the wind, and in the other hand a wreath (she is identified in the ICE Catalogue of Works and Art as 'the figure of Renown, wearing a mourning veil and holding out a wreath of bays with the gesture of crowning'). Peering down at the viewer from the edge of the painting are servicemen and women dressed in uniforms reflecting the different branches of the military and above them can be seen a low-flying biplane with fixed undercarriage proudly displaying its red, white, and blue insignia. The corners of the painting show civil engineering scenes in the form of viaducts, steel structures, cranes etc.
Between 1987 and 1991 the venue was modernised, with a theatre and another three rooms added to the lower ground floor, and a suite of smaller meeting rooms and a business centre in the basement level.
There are 19 rooms of varying size and style available for hire. Each room has been named after notable civil engineers, and the venue has paintings of them.[2]
Paintings
[edit]The ICE's art collections include works from William Lionel Wyllie (1851–1931), John Lucas (1807–1874) and John Everett Millais (1829–1896) and is the world's largest collection of portraits of civil engineers.[3] The ceiling of the Great Hall has a painting that commemorates the work of civil engineers in World War I. The Telford Theatre also holds a twin fusee Grand Sonnerie Bracket Clock made by the famous clockmaker Thomas Tompion, who is buried in Westminster Abbey.
The ICE commissioned a number of paintings by Glasgow-based artist Jonathan Meuli which have been hung in both the café bar and the lower ground foyer. The project, entitled "Painting a New London" was supported by the Research and Development Enabling Fund. The output of the project is a series of large paintings rather than a report. The paintings' subjects the major construction and infrastructure projects for the 2012 London Olympics. Meuli also has a blog with sketches and photographs from the project.[4]
Notable events
[edit]- Signing of the charter establishing UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), 1945
- Queen Elizabeth II visited for the 150th anniversary of the first Royal Charter of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1978 and unveiled a specially commissioned portrait of herself which hangs in the foyer.
- Group of Seven manifestos, 1990s
- Labour Party manifestos, 1990s
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office event where One Great George Street was used to house delegation offices for 7 countries including their heads of Government for the ASEM II Conference as part of the UK's Presidency of the European Union, May 1998
- A dinner was held in the Great Hall in 2004 to celebrate the Duke of Edinburgh's 50th year as an Honorary Fellow; he was the Senior Honorary Fellow of the ICE.
- David Frost hosted the tenth anniversary of his Sunday morning interview programme, Breakfast with Frost, with many prominent politicians and celebrities present, including Ronnie Corbett, in 2004
- Butler Review press conference, July 2004
- MP's 50th Birthday Party with Margaret Thatcher, John Major, William Hague, other politicians and ex-politicians, and Rory Bremner, March 2007
- VJ Day anniversary celebration: the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall received veterans from the Second World War in the Far East. The Prime Minister was also present, August 2010
- The Prince of Wales Halcrow/ICE keynote address, February 2012
- Chosen by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to house the Media Centre for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on 18 August 2010.
Films
[edit]- In the Loop, 2009
- Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason, 2004
- Gandhi, 1982
- Bean, 1997
- Cambridge Spies, late 1990s
- Starter for 10, 2006
- Hattrick, 2007
- Fast & Furious 6, One Great George Street catered for the cast and crew during filming, September 2012
Fashion
[edit]- Alice Temperley fashion show as part of London Fashion week with Autumn/Winter 2012/13 collection
- Antonio Berardi as part of London Fashion week with Spring/summer collection 2010
Television series
[edit]- Spooks (numerous episodes)
- Foyle's War
- In Deep
- Between The Lines
- Kavanagh QC
- Silent Witness
- The Diplomat[5]
Awards
[edit]The venue has won the following awards:[citation needed]
| Cateys Finalist 2011 | Meeting Industry Awards 2011 | Conference Awards 2011 | Cateys Finalist 2012 | Meeting Industry Awards 2012 | Conference Awards 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Map of location
- ^ History
- '^ For an introductory study to the portrait collection see Dunkeld, Malcolm. 2015. The Portrait Collection of the Institution of Civil Engineers'. Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress on Construction History', 3–7 June (635–643).
- ^ Meuli, Jonathan. "Painting a New Home". WordPress. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ Hatchett, Keisha (2 November 2024). "Where is The Diplomat Filmed? Your Guide to the Season 2 Locations". Netflix. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
4. Dunkeld, M. (2013) One Great George Street: The Headquarters Building of the Institution of Civil Engineers.Dunbeath: Whittles Publishing
5. Dunkeld, M. (2015) 'The Portrait Collection of the Institution of Civil Engineers', Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress on Construction History, Vol. 1, 3-7 June, (635-643)
