Eric Parry’s City of London audio tour

Tale of Two Cities - Part 2

This is the second audio tour of a two-part series led by architect and Royal Academician Eric Parry visiting London’s two historic cities: Westminster and the City of London

Eric Parry Architects (EPA) is responsible for the designing of some of the most significant projects in London today with many of its most important architectural works clustered in the City of London and Westminster. Open City has worked with EPA to create a two-part series of print and audio tours celebrating this contribution.

This tour focuses on the City of London and will begin at The Southwark Gateway Needle, London Bridge and take in Fen Court (including the rooftop garden at 120 Fenchurch).

The walking tour will visit key Eric Parry buildings including St Helens Place & Undershaft, Threadneedle Street and Paternoster Square. The tour ends at Salisbury Square, Fleet Street.

EPA has not only developed a reputation for delivering beautifully crafted and well-considered buildings, but also for championing generous amounts of public realm in its projects. The Farringdon-based studio is involved in every scale of making,  from a door handle to an urban masterplan.

Route Notes

There are eleven listening points on this guide, the first of which is at The Gateway Needle in London Bridge

Find out more about the route and listening point below:

Listening Point 1 - The Gateway Needle

Listening Point 2 - Fish Mongers Hall Wharf

Listening Point 3 - All Hallows Staining

Listening Point 4 - 120 Fenchurch st Exterior

Listening Point 5 - The Digital Oculus beneath 120 Fenchurch st

Listening Point 6 - 120 Fenchurch st Roof Top

Listening Point 7 - 1 Undershaft Skyscraper

Listening Point 8 - The Leather Sellers Hall, St Helen’s place

Listening Point 9 - 60 Threadneedle st

Listening point 10 - Paternoster Square and The London Stock Exchange

Listening point 11 - Salisbury Square Development

Meet your tour guide

Eric Parry founded his architectural and design practice in 1983 after studying architecture at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, The Royal College of Art, London and the Architectural Association, London. As an architect he is known for the intellectual rigour with which every project is approached and particularly the dialogue between techtonics and materiality. Now leading a practice of 100 with offices in London and Singapore he is fully involved in every aspect of the practice’s work from inception to the direction of project teams, design development and delivery.

In addition to his work in architectural practice, Eric has held a number of eminent posts. In 2006 he was elected Royal Academician (RA), one of the highest accolades for a practicing architect or artist in the UK. His contribution to academia includes 14 years as Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Cambridge (between 1983 and 1997) and lectureships at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In 1975 he spent a year studying nomadic settlement in the middle east.

The practice is responsible for the design of some of the most significant projects in London today.