Modern London

Sonia, Sergio and Laura

British MuseumThe museum opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury.

All the historical objects of the museum were the collection of Sir Hans Sloane one of the great collectors of the 18 t h century. During his lifetime, Sloane amassed a huge number of natural specimens, hand-made items and a large library. He sold his objects to British state and the British state built the museum.The museum has been open s ince then, but during World War I it was closed because the people feared that the bombs (in the Bombardment of London) could destroy the historical objects.

In year 2000 the central part of the museum was renovated with a glass

ceiling by Norman Foster and Partners.

Norman Foster is an important British architect. He has designed a lot of

modern buildings like Millennium Bridge (London), (1996 – 2000), the renovation

of the Reichstag building in Berlín, Germany (1999)

And he is very famous around the world.

LONDON EYE

The London Eye is a huge wheel. Situated on the banks of the River Thames in Central

London. Standing at a height of 135 metres,

it is the largest huge wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist

attraction in the United Kingdom.The wheel carries 32 passenger capsules. It

rotates at 26 cm per second (about 0.9 km/h ) so that going round the circle

takes about 30 minutes. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers. They

have to climb when the wheel is in motion.

To take the ride is expensive, but people say that it is

fantastic and you can see all over London like: the Big

Ben, the Houses of Parlament, Thames river..

It’s the best way to see London in 30

minutes !!!!!!!!!!!!!

City HallIn the City Hall, there is the Greater London Autority.

It was designed by Norman Foster and opened in July 2002, two years after the Greater London Authority was created. It is located in Southwark, near to the River Thames and Tower Bridge.

The building is unusual with a bulbous shape like a motorcycle helmet. In the interior there is a spiral staircase, that is very typical of Norman Foster. The walls are built with glass because they symbolize transparency, so that if you want to see outside you can, and if you want to be seen from the outside, you can.

The City Hall is called with funny names such as the ‘Glass Testicle’ or ‘The Onion’…

Tate modern:

Tate Modern is Britain's national museum of international modern art. It was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, and built in two stages between 1947 and 1963.

 From their opening in 2000 it has become the second greater

attraction of London. In 2007 it was the museum of modern art, the most visited museum in the world, after the Museum of the Louvre in Paris and the British Museum also in London.

 In the walls of the Tate modern, there is a pile of second-hand

clothes, a sack of lentils and a mattress hanging from the wall. In this museum there are many things, and all of them are art.

Millennium BridgeThe Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge that

crosses the river Thames from the City to Bankside. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

 The millenium bridge was opened in June 2000. Then there were

more than 80.000 people.

The design was chosen in a competition and the winner design was built by Arup, Foster and Partners and for sir Anthony Caro.

The millenium bridge is the first only for pedestrian bridge that was built in London across the river Thames.

In the Millenium bridge, a film of Harry Potter was shoot in 2009.