Sea Containers House

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Sea Containers House on the River Thames, in 2018 Sea Containers building (Sea Containers House).jpg
Sea Containers House on the River Thames, in 2018

Sea Containers House is a prominent building on the south bank of the River Thames, west of Blackfriars Bridge, in London.

Contents

Location

Sea Containers House is located towards the eastern end of London's South Bank cultural area, and is within the London Borough of Southwark. A continuous river-side walkway, actually part of the Thames Path, passes in front of and below the building, and links it with near river-side attractions such as the Festival Hall, the National Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Oxo Tower and the Globe Theatre.

History

Sea Containers House in 2011, prior to redevelopment Sea Containers House (geograph 3183137).jpg
Sea Containers House in 2011, prior to redevelopment

Sea Containers House was designed by noted American Modernist architect Warren Platner [1] in 1974 as a luxury hotel. [2] During construction, however, its location near the City of London led to the decision to complete it instead as office space. It opened in 1978 and took its name from the former long-term tenant, Sea Containers.

In Spring 2011, a process began to gain planning permission for an extensive internal and external refurbishment of Sea Containers House. The east and west wings, which face the Thames, remained offices, [3] with companies within global communications group WPP moving in February 2016. The south wing was renovated as the Mondrian Hotel London, [4] which opened on 30 September 2014, [5] bringing at least part of the building back to its original intended use. [6] The hotel became independent and was renamed Sea Containers London Hotel on 15 January 2019. [7]

Cultural influence

In October 2009, three-piece music band Gyratory System released the album The Sound-Board Breathes with a track named "Sea Containers House". [8]

Notes

  1. "Mondrian London". Arkitexture. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "Sea Containers House". Seacontainershouseconsultation.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  3. "Sea Containers House". Seacontainershouseconsultation.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  4. "London's Sea Containers House set to become Mondrian hotel". Business Traveller. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  5. Ceaser, Jennifer (2 October 2014). "Take a peek inside 2 of London's hottest new hotels" . Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  6. "Sea Containers House". Seacontainershouseconsultation.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  7. "Mondrian London Hotel Converts to Sea Containers London".
  8. "Music - Review of Gyratory System - The Sound-Board Breathes". BBC. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2013.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Sea Containers House at Wikimedia Commons

51°30′31″N0°06′25″W / 51.5085°N 0.1070°W / 51.5085; -0.1070


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