FOR the eighth time, The Salvation Army's International Headquarters (IHQ) will take part in Open House London, an annual celebration of the buildings, places and spaces where people live and work across the city. Open House provides a unique opportunity to see, explore and learn about London's amazing architecture and design, offering free access to more than 800 buildings in the city, including some areas that are usually closed to the public. IHQ will feature on Saturday 16 September, opening from 10am to 4.30pm (last tour at 4pm).
Architects from Sheppard Robson, the company that designed the building, will be on hand to give talks on significant design aspects and Salvation Army staff will welcome people and conduct tours. Chief Architect Andrew Chadwick will also feature in a new video created especially for the event by Gary Rose from IHQ Communications. As well as looking at the ideas behind the design, the video explains that the 101 Queen Victoria Street site, which has been home to IHQ since 1881, was rebuilt in 2004 at no cost to The Salvation Army.
Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the serene surroundings of the International Chapel, spend time in the General's office, walk round the international zonal offices and learn about the innovative ideas that went into the designing of this iconic building.
Food will be available from Café 101 all day and there will be plenty to look at in the adjoining Gallery 101, which for the first time will be hosting the annual exhibition of works created by representatives from BT and the Post Office. There will also be activities for children, including face-painting, and music from Regent Hall and Croydon Citadel Bands.
As has been the case for previous Open House events, Major Beverly Ivany, writer of The Salvation Army's daily Bible reading series Words of Life, will be signing copies of the book and answering questions about her writing ministry.
A poster publicising IHQ's participation in Open House London 2017 can be downloaded from sar.my/oh2017
- For more information about Open House London, go to www.openhouselondon.org.uk or follow @openhouselondon on Twitter
