Hackney's buildings throw open their doors for Open House weekend

Mapledene Road

By Peter Sherlock

SOME of the borough's most striking buildings opened their doors to residents for free at the weekend.

Open House Weekend, a London-wide celebration of building design, takes place every October.

Among those taking part was the cultural workspace, Village Underground, in Holywell Lane, Shoreditch.

The restored Victorian warehouse boasts two former London Underground carriages.

The four carriages have been hoisted above the Shoreditch skyline by crane and converted into artists' studios.

Also opening its doors was a Victorian terrace house in Mapledene Road, Dalston, a former drug den that has been converted by architectural firm Platform 5 into a family home.

The architects have allowed light to run through the building via a glass-covered sun wall and moveable glass roof above the kitchen.

A spokesman for Open House Weekend said: "The event was a great success. Hundreds of people joined in for what has been an incredible celebration of London's architecture.