Minster Court, City of London Building

Minster Court, Building, Photos, Architect, Location, England, Date, Images

Minster Court London

City Building: Major Office Development in central London – design by GMW Partnership

17 Sep 2008

Minster Court

Address: 1 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, City of London, EC3, UK
Date: 1988-91
Design: GMW Partnership

Minster Court Minster Court London Minster Court London Minster Court London
photographs © Adrian Welch Sep 2008

Approx. cost: £178m

Unusual neo-Gothic office building, which created some raised eyebrows as it deviated significantly from the standard rectilinear office building formula well-established in the City: although some other buildings such as No. Poultry – Postmodern style – also differed from the norm, there was no tradition for neo-Gothic in the City in recent decades.

neo-Gothic office building neo-Gothic office building neo-Gothic office building neo-Gothic office building
photos © Nick Weall

Minster Court is a complex of three office buildings, completed between 1991 and 1992 and designed by architects GMW Partnership. During the final phase of fitting-out on 7 August 1991, there was a fire in the atrium of No. 3 Minster Court which caused a serious delay in completion. The style has been described as “postmodern-gothic”.

In the forecourt, on Mincing Lane, are three bronze horses that are over 3 metres tall, sculpted by Althea Wynne; they have been nicknamed “Dollar”, “Yen” and “Sterling”. It appeared briefly in Disney’s 1996 live-action movie 101 Dalmatians as the exterior of Cruella De Vil’s haute couture fashion house, “House of DeVil”.

London Underwriting Centre
Situated in No. 3 Minster Court, the London Underwriting Centre (LUC) is intended to run in parallel with the Underwriting Room at Lloyd’s of London, providing a facility for insurance underwriters to meet brokers at a single venue (the Lloyd’s building itself being only open to Lloyd’s syndicate underwriters). The LUC specialises in international insurance and reinsurance.
Soruce: wikipedia

Minster Court London architect : GMW Partnership

Location: Minster Court, London, England, UK

London Buildings

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London Architecture – best buildings in the city

Adjacent building to the west of the Mincing Lane Office Development:

Plantation Place, Mincing Lane

Design: Arup Associates
Plantation Place Plantation Place
photos © Nick Weall

Plantation Place’s glazed rectilinear volumes rise up beyond the street frontages:

Plantation Place London Plantation Place Office Building Plantation Place Building Plantation Place Office London

Plantation Place Office Building London Plantation Place Office Building Plantation Place Building London
photographs © Adrian Welch Sep 2008

Traditional buildings to west of Minster Court:

Minster Court context Minster Court context
photographs © Adrian Welch Sep 2008

Minster Court Offices Building

Nat West Tower – refurbished 1995 by GMW Architects

London Buildings

1 Undershaft Tower
Design: Eric Parry Architects
1 Undershaft Skyscraper in London by Eric Parry
image : DBOX, courtesy Eric Parry Architects
1 Undershaft Tower City of London

Lloyds Building, City of London
Design: Richard Rogers Partnership

Comments / photos for the Minster Court LondonMincing Lane Offices page welcome