Lloyd’s opens to the public

Thousands of people poured through the entrance to the Lloyd’s building on Saturday to get a glimpse inside one of London’s best known landmarks.

Lloyd’s opened its doors to sightseers as part of a unique architectural showcase, known as Open House. It is one of the event’s leading attractions, with over 6,000 people visiting the building.

Lloyd’s also for the first time this year hired street performers to entertain the crowds patiently queuing for entry.

"It was fantastic to be given the opportunity to see inside a building as iconic as Lloyd's. Not only were we able to take our time exploring the building, we also all learnt a great deal about its history. I found the staff extremely well-informed and helpful and the event was highly organised. A huge success and very enjoyable day. I would definitely go again next year," Helen Brock from Buckinghamshire said.

Churches, palaces, department stores, theatres, private homes and, of course, office buildings are among the 700 architectural gems in the capital that opened their doors to Londoners at the weekend for no charge.

The iconic Lloyd’s building in Lime Street is one of the most striking and recognisable buildings in the capital.

"Coming into Lloyd’s everyday, you can forget what an amazing building you work in. It was great to see how many people are interested in not only the architecture and history, but how Lloyd’s works as well," Emily Hughes from Lloyd's said.

World-renowned architect Richard Rogers was commissioned to design the building, it was built in the early 1980s to house the market, which due to its rapid expansion in the late 1970s, was fast outgrowing its former premises in what became known as the 1958 building across the road.

Opened by the Queen in November 1986, Rogers’ innovative design led some architectural critics to liken Lloyd’s new gleaming glass and metal building to a vast offshore oil platform moored right in the heart of the City of London.

Rogers’ radical idea to put the stairs, lifts, electrical power and water pipes on the outside of the building’s skin led to it being dubbed the “inside out building”.

The vast open space left inside has been compared to that of a cathedral by commentators, with the central atrium rising over 200 feet to a domed glass roof, which when lit by its electric blue lamps, is one of the features of the London skyline at night.