London's Natural History Museum

I love good architecture. I don't think I really realized it until I took an Architecture of London class for fun when I studied abroad, but just in the last few years I've really begun to enjoy appreciating buildings. That class was quite the experience; it was really hard, as architecture is basically this whole subset of art that I knew very little about, but it was equally as fascinating. Every other week we met up at a different spot in the city and our professor would walk us around to various landmarks and describe them architecturally. It was SUCH a cool way to learn more about London!

We also had to write two papers for that class. Again, incredibly hard but incredibly fascinating. One of mine was on Brutalist architecture, which I chose because of how much I loathe that style. (Seriously, I hate it so much that I almost love it for the hulking eyesores it left us.) For my other paper, we could choose from a list of buildings around London to write about. I chose the Natural History Museum, figuring I could make an afternoon of it when I went to see the building.

Guys. This building. THIS. BUILDING.

Is it possible to fall in love with a building? I know there's a woman that married the Eiffel Tower. Can I marry the Natural History Museum? Because holy cow. I went there to browse the museum and spent most of the time gazing open-mouthed at the walls and ceilings.

Not only is it a gorgeous building without knowing a single other thing about it -- those staircases. I swoon! -- but knowing all the little details makes you appreciate how it was built exactly for its purpose. It's covered in terracotta tiles; now that only serves to look pretty, but it was initially chosen because it could resist the acid smogs of Victorian London. Inside, the ceiling panels are covered in intricate paintings of plants and animals. But my favorite part is that there are also plants and animals carved into the walls. Everywhere you look, there they are. Wall panels. Columns. Random details. Interior. Exterior. Everywhere. It's the coolest thing. This building is honestly a work of art.

Oh man, I miss it. I miss a building. Never in my life did I think I'd say that, but here we are.

Anyway, the museum's website has a whole section on the history and architecture of the building, and you can even take a virtual tour of sorts to see and learn more about it! But if you happen to be in London, please swing by and see it in person. Admission is free, so you can go and ogle to your heart's content. I most certainly did! :)