Project Information

What They Said: The City of London has recently undertaken a very extensive programme of improvement to its headquarters grouped around the Guildhall. This ambitious project encompassed nearly all the buildings surrounding the Great Hall. It included major remodelling of the North Wing and piazza, updating the West Wing, and major conservation and repair work to the Old Library on the east. The main aims were to provide a more welcoming, modern and energy-efficient environment, and to increase available space within the existing buildings for both offices and events. The work was completed in stages between 2002 and 2012, and was commissioned by the Guildhall Improvement Committee, chaired by Sir Michael Snyder. The lead architects were T. P. Bennett, with project management by Trench Farrow, and contract work by Wates (West Wing and Justice Rooms).

The West Wing was completed in 1974 to the designs of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and his son Richard, including a distinctive canopied walk or ambulatory on the Guildhall Yard façade which provided a covered route into the Great Hall. Apart from general refurbishment and updating, and the creation of more flexible committee rooms and office spaces, it was considered particularly important to improve the entrance. Glazed canopies on each side now lead visitors in, and a glazed three-metre wide extension along the Aldermanbury façade houses a large reception area. This work was carried out as the first element of the Guildhall Improvement Project between 2003 and 2005. At the same time, a partly-demountable glazed coach house was constructed in the southernmost arch, which could be used to display the Lord Mayor’s State Coach in the week prior to the Lord Mayor’s Show.