A chance to look inside a Stirling Prize-winning building in Blackheath is on offer as part of next month’s Open House Festival.
The John Morden Centre, designed by Mae Architects, won one of architecture’s most prestigious prizes last year.
Tucked away inside the Morden College almshouses, the day care centre is normally hidden from public view. But a ballot for tickets to see inside the building has opened as part of the annual architectural festival, which will run from September 14 to 22.
The tours, which also include the original 1695 Morden College building, will take place on September 21. Last year the almshouses benefited from the sale of Morden Wharf in Greenwich to the developer Galliard Homes.
The John Morden Centre is one of four buildings where a ballot has opened. The others are the BT Tower in Fitzrovia, Trellick Tower in Kensal Town, and the new London Museum, which is under construction in Smithfield. The BT Tower tour will include the revolving restaurant at top of the building, which is due to become a hotel.
The festival has been running since 1993 and now includes over 700 buildings and events across the capital, with 227,000 visits made last year.
Many buildings offer walk-up access, but free tickets for the most popular buildings are offered in a ballot. A second round of ballots will open later this month, with a closing date of August 28.
Chris Fisher, Open City’s partnership co-ordinator, said: “”We are so excited to announce the first round of buildings in this year’s balloted building collection, which includes spaces that haven’t featured previously. For anyone interested in visiting these special places, we encourage you to apply now.”
The ballot is on the Open House Festival website. The full festival programme and general bookings will open on August 21.