Open House: One Canada Square, Citigroup Centre, Brunel Museum

I was excited to have got a ticket to visit One Canada Square during Open House London weekend.

It was the tallest building in London between 1990 and 2010, but now is only the second tallest, as the Shard is taller. The views were still great though.

The tour we were given was interesting. Firstly, we were shown a model of London with light up train lines, and then after that, a secret larger model of the Canary Wharf area, with tiny people and new buildings that had yet to be built.

We were also shown pictures of the area in 1987 (not much there), then 1991, and the present, and were told about how the area grew.

I remembered how my mum drove up to Canary Wharf in what must have been the early 1990s, and we parked there, in the car-park and wandered around. I remember it being quiet and there not being many shops open. I remember an expensive chocolate shop there then, and fountains, I think.

We were also shown the tech incubator section of the building, which had a few kinetic sculptures, a hackathon going on, and lots and lots of jars of Smarties.

The Citigroup Centre was next and we were shown an empty floor that was where Olympic planners once worked, and mostly stared out the window, and at One Canada Square.

Then we headed to the Brunel Museum. I had been on their train tours and down the shaft before, but not in the actual museum. We watched a video about Brunel. Apparently the Clifton Suspension Bridge was supposed to have sphinxes on it. We visited the 'Midnight Apothecary' - a vegetable/herb roof garden above the Thames Tunnel, and drank cocktails. I had one with pear, lavender and basil in it.