The very unique gouged building in London

urking down a side street, in the tangled maze of lanes and railway viaducts south of the River Thames, stands one of the strangest new sights in the capital. Look up on the corner of Union Street and O’Meara Street, and you will see a white brick building with a great furrow gouged out of its facade, as if it’s been attacked with a gigantic ice cream scoop.

It is a true architectural WTF moment that has been stopping passersby in their tracks since the scaffolding came down a few weeks ago. Follow the direction of the two-storey gouge, and observant onlookers will find that it precisely frames the shape of the rose window of the church next door, making it look a bit like the building might have been melted by holy rays emanating from the stained glass: a facade sculpted by the power of the Lord?

April 9, 2025 | 5:00 am