Many of the City’s venerable livery halls are throwing open their doors for Open House, but this one is just five years old. Architect Michael Hopkins has incorporated oak panelling from the previous building into his elegant 21st-century treatment. Photograph: Public domain
The Trades Union Congress’s headquarters is one of London’s finest modernist buildings, on a par with the Royal Festival Hall. Admire the Le Corbusier-influenced spaces and sculpture by Epstein and Meadows, and ponder the heated debates that must have gone on in here. Photograph: Public domain
A little piece of India in Neasden – even if this Hindu house of worship was made from Italian marble and Bulgarian limestone. Richly hand-carved on the outside and riotously colourful on the inside, it’s a feast for the eyes. Photograph: PR
Love it or loathe it, Londoners have become used to this concrete monolith looming over the West End. Now they can climb up to the 33rd floor and get a Centre Point’s-eye view of the city, like this one showing the glass roof of the British Museum. Photograph: Richard Bryant/Arcaid/Corbis
The BBC’s brand new Scottish headquarters, designed by leading architect David Chipperfield (who was controversially replaced by a cheaper architect before it was finished). Outside it’s a plain box, but the interior is a spectacular atrium with a theatrical series of staircases and terraces. Photograph: Public domain
No longer a secretive institution, the Freemasons willingly open the doors on their finest Scottish building. The interior is a riot of decoration — friezes, panelling, Masonic slogans and a mosaic floor showing the signs of the Zodiac. Photograph: PR
A centre for raising environmental awareness that sets a fine example. Designed by leading Scottish architects RMJM, it is a showpiece of sustainable building design, from its timber frame to its grass-covered roof. Photograph: PR
Probably the last chance to see inside this city institution. Having served as Scotland’s national school for the deaf for the past 156 years, William Playfair’s Elizabethan-styled 19th manor is being converted into luxury apartments. Photograph: Public domain
Completed in 1863, this grand, recently refurbished Victorian house still contains most of its original features, plus a pair of brass cannons originally made to deter French invaders. It is now the Lord Mayor of Swansea’s official residence, and on Sunday he will be serving refreshments to visitors. Photograph: PR
A familiar local landmark, this restored Victorian relic — one of only five remaining — has been ferrying passenger across the River Usk for over a century. Now the level-headed can take a walk across its main boom, 75 metres up. Photograph: Robert Estall/Corbis
