One Great George Street
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, that is the global headquarters of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
(ICE). Its location is in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, just off Parliament Square
Parliament Square
Parliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west. It contains statues of famous statesmen and is the scene of rallies and protests, as well as being a tourist...
. The building was originally a venue for ICE members to relax, meet and have conferences, but the facility became available for public events in 1989.
Building and history
Departments of the United Kingdom Government
Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
. This meant the demolition of ICE's first location and lead ICE to a move its headquarters across the road to numbers 1-7.
One Great George Street was built for ICE between 1910 and 1913 and was the result of an architectural competition won by James Miller
James Miller (architect)
James Miller was a Scottish architect and artist. He is noted for his many buildings in Glasgow and for his Scottish railway stations. Among these are the heavily American-influenced Union Bank building at 110-20 St Vincent Street; his 1901-1905 extensions to Glasgow Central railway station; and...
, RSA
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
(1860-1947). This elegant and historical building has been described as a "monumental neo-classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
design" and a "modern rendering of the late Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
". The exterior, foyer and staircase are made of Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
and many of the rooms are ornately decorated with French walnut and oak panelling, carved plaster ceilings and elaborate crystal chandeliers.
There are 19 rooms of varying size and style. Each room has been named after civil engineering’s
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
most important contributors and the venue is adorned with original artwork of those key figures. The ICE's art collections include works from William Lionel Wyllie (1851-1931), John Lucas (1807-1874) and John Everett Millais
John Everett Millais
Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Early life:...
(1829-1896) and is the world's largest collection of portraits of civil engineers. The ceiling of the Great Hall
Great Hall
Great Hall may refer to* Great hall, the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or large manor house* Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Beijing* Great Hall of the University of Sydney, Australia* Cooper_Union#The_Great_Hall, New York...
has a painting that commemorates the work of civil engineers in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Telford Theatre also holds a work of art by way of a twin fusee Grand Sonnerie Bracket Clock - made by the famous clockmaker Thomas Tompion
Thomas Tompion
Thomas Tompion was an English clock maker, watchmaker and mechanician who is still regarded to this day as the Father of English Clockmaking. Tompion's work includes some of the most historic and important clocks and watches in the world and can command very high prices whenever outstanding...
, who is buried in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Between 1987 and 1991 the venue was modernised to make better use of the space with a new theatre added along with another three rooms to the lower ground floor and a suite of smaller meeting rooms and business centre in the basement level.
Significant events
One Great George Street has hosted many historical events and served as a location for the filming of moviesFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Historical
- Signing of the charter establishing UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), 1945 - Butler ReviewButler ReviewOn February 3, 2004, the British Government announced an inquiry into the intelligence relating to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction which played a key part in the Government's decision to invade Iraq in 2003. A similar investigation was set up in the USA...
press conference, July 2004 - Group of SevenGroup of SevenGroup of Seven can refer to:*G7 - the "Group of seven" industrially advanced nations .*Group of Seven - a group of Canadian landscape artists....
manifestos, 1990s - Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
manifestos, 1990s
Films
- In the LoopIn the Loop (film)In the Loop is a 2009 British satirical black comedy film directed by Armando Iannucci. It is based on the BBC Television series The Thick of It satirising Anglo-American politics in the 21st century and the Invasion of Iraq...
, 2009 - Bridget Jones: Edge of ReasonBridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (film)# Will Young - "Your Love Is King"# Jamelia - "Stop"# Kylie Minogue - "Can't Get You Out of My Head"# Joss Stone - "Super Duper Love Pt. 1"# Mary J...
, 2004 - GandhiGandhi (film)Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
, 1982 - BeanBean (1997 film)Bean, also known as Mr. Bean: The Movie and Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie is a 1997 British-American comedy film based on the popular ITV comedy Television series Mr. Bean, which was written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character...
, 1997 - HattrickHattrick (film)Hattrick is a 2007 Bollywood film, directed by Milan Luthria, starring Paresh Rawal, Rimi Sen, Kunal Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Danny Denzongpa.-Synopsis:The film opens with the introduction of the central characters....
, 2007 - Starter for 10, 2006
TV Series
- SpooksSpooksSpooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
(numerous episodes) - Foyle's WarFoyle's WarFoyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
- In Deep
- Between The Lines
- Kavanagh QCKavanagh QCKavanagh QC is a British television series made by Carlton Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. It has been shown on ITV3 as recently as August 2011; series 1–6 are available on Region 2 DVDs....
- Silent WitnessSilent WitnessSilent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...