Whenever I head into the city and cross Waterloo Bridge, I invariably glance to my left, to check out what's happening on the roof of the Southbank Centre. For a few months, there were lines of washing floating in the chilly breeze; a while ago, a towering fox, crafted from Edward Scissorhands-worthy shrubbery, sat back on its haunches and surveyed the river Thames. I was pretty much in awe of this topiary creature’s unique vantage point, and thought it rather sad that no-one would see the sights of London in quite the same way he could. Until now.
Well, until the beginning of next year, anyway. Come January 2012, the public are invited to spend the night in a boat by the Thames – or, rather, above it. In fact, so far above that you’ll catch a view of the city as spectacular as the one from the London Eye (except you won’t be moving as much. Hopefully. Better check the wind forecast). Visitors to the Southbank Centre’s most recent installation have the unique opportunity of spending a night in a specially designed ship, balanced atop the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Living Architecture’s reasoning for their creation is to provide visitors with a place of calm reflection, in amongst the noise and chaos of the city below. They invite their nightly guests to hoist a flag, signalling their occupation, and to sign a logbook detailing what they’ve experienced during their stay. The eventual intention for the boat, after its yearlong residence on the Southbank’s roof, is to continue its journey to other perches around London.
It’s obvious that the boat is going to attract a huge number of visitors – in fact, tickets for January through to July are already sold out. For anyone who's ever wanted to sleep in a tree house, camped out under the stars, or even those who've simply always wanted to be a pirate, this is guaranteed to be one of the strangest hotel rooms you’ve ever slept in. And hopefully the buses that rush past over Waterloo Bridge can’t see in through the windows.
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