Here in London we are in the throws of the Festival of Architecture, which runs until July 20th. While the various students and devotees of all things built are rushing all over town to take part in the many events, there is a lonely, dark and brooding building, sitting waiting to be discovered, in quiet back street in Clerkenwell.
In fact only two minutes from where I live. It has always fascinated me. It even frightens me.
I’ve never seen anyone entering or leaving it. It buzzes with a low frequency electronic hum. From these things…
It’s clearly a dangerous place.
This is the entrance.
It reminds me of this.
David Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’ 1977. In that film all of the action takes place in a similar sinister building, which pulsates with distant haunting sounds. If you’ve never seen it, but think you know about cinema, you don’t, until you have. I like to imagine that Lynch would love my neglected architectural find and would say, “Hey Mike. That’s a real swell building. I love the overhanging roof. Let’s have coffee and some cherry pie”.