The London weather revealed itself in all its glory! A wet, cold day did not deter the travellers with the first stop – a quick coffee and chat with Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs fame at the famous Riverside Café where Jamie Oliver learnt to cook.
We exchanged stories over lessons learnt and traded war
stories about local planning process, (not to mention his recent appearance on Top Gear.) Kevin could not have been more accommodating or engaging. 
The first of two encounters with Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners occurred at the Maggie Centre, Hammersmith. RSH was the recipient for the Stirling Prize and the tour group was fortunate enough to receive a full overview of the conceptual framework through to building completion / operation. A truly remarkable piece of architecture that is both aesthetically pleasing and inspiring wrapped up in tremendous detailing.
Off in the rain again and a quick 5 minute walk (actually 30minute walk!) to catch the tube back into town to meet with Davis Langdon Shueman Smith. Our thanks to Davis Langdon for their sponsorship and for their hospitality. We were all excited to hear that many practices have engaged their specification writing services both in the United Kingdom and Internationally, could this be a reason to rejoice?
Back to Hammersmith in the afternoon for the Rogers Practice tour. The consensus; an office of design rigour, process driven with a goal to embrace architecture. We were all blown away by the amazing model making workshop on site, not to mention the commercial kitchen with two full time chefs on hand.
Stepping back into the rain again for a mad race back into town to meet with Lewis and Andrew Groarke, quickly known to us as Andy. We had heard a lot about Kevin Carmody and his support of this tour since its conception three years ago. A round table discussion exposed the tour to a practice where process and the understanding of materials were pivotal in realizing the firm’s architectural work. Recent works include their commission for the 7th July 2005 Memorial and the spectacular pop up restaurant on top of a half constructed Westfiled carpark overlooking the Olympic site.
In all a memorable day, jam packed; luckily everything was five minutes away.