New London Architecture Walking Tour – Covent Garden

The walk leads from the 18th century formality of one of London’s best-preserved squares on the Bedford Estate to the 21st century version in Renzo Piano’s Central St Giles. Piano’s citrus-coloured agglomeration borders the area taking its name from London’s earliest and most famous square: Covent Garden Piazza. Inigo Jones’ late 17th century revolutionary slice of town planning for the Earl of Bedford, although profoundly altered over the centuries, endures with a similar live/work mix to influence key developments all over central London today.

A mix of ingenious modern infills rising inside the original street grid respect, revitalise and protect this buzzing and densely populated residential, retail and office zone, with major cultural institutions including the London Transport Museum in the former Covent Garden Flower Market Building, and the recently refurbished Royal Opera House by Stanton Williams.

The walk will begin at the Architectural Association at 36 Bedford Square, WC1B 3ES and it will end at Somerset House.