The 40m-high Strand East Tower, designed by ARC-ML architects and engineers eHRW, is a latticed timber sculpture that will form part of a new landscaped public space at Dane's Yard along Stratford High Street. The newly landscaped industrial yard is due to open in July. Swedish furniture giant Ikea is to build its first "neighbourhood" in Britain at Dane's Yard – including 1,200 houses.
• 133 High Street E15 2RB. Open Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-5pm, 10-minute talks on the hour Photograph: PR
Whether you’re looking for inspiration for a new-build (if you happen to have won the lottery recently) or simply want to drool over a sleek, designer home, you should make a beeline for this contemporary three-bedroom house, featuring natural materials, a fully glazed and opening courtyard and an elevated rear deck looking across London. Pure interiors porn.
• 13 Kingsley Place, N6 5EA. Open Sun 10am-5pm Sunday Photograph: PR
This former printworks, located on the canal opposite the Olympic Park in Hackney Wick, has been converted and refurbished into a cultural centre with artist studios, an events space, cafe and microbrewery.
• Unit 7 Queens Yard, White Post Lane, E9 5EN. Open Sat and Sun 1pm-5pm. Further information: spacestudios.org.uk/whats-on/the-white-building Photograph: Will Pryce
Richard Roger's iconic building is an Open House favourite, so get there early if you want to avoid a long queue. It's worth the wait as the home of the world's leading insurance market is a key example of hi-tech British architecture, and still one of London's most celebrated modern buildings, a quarter of a century after it went up.
• One Lime Street EC3M 7HA, open Sat 10am-4pm, first come basis. Further information: lloyds.com Photograph: Alamy
Another Open House favourite, this magnificent Grade I listed Victorian building was designed by George Gilbert Scott at the height of the British empire. Little expense was spared on the classic Italianate style interior, and English sculptors Henry Hugh Armstead and John Birnie Philip produced allegorical figures for the exterior. The highlight is the magnificently decorated Durbar Court, now covered with a glass roof.
• King Charles Street SW1A 2AH. Open Sat and Sun 10am-5pm. Further information: fco.gov.uk Photograph: Alamy
Library closures have become depressingly familiar, so the opening last December of a brand new one was cause for celebration. The inverted pyramid shape of the building in Surrey Commercial Docks was a response to the need to provide a single large library floor on a smaller footprint site. Inside, a wooden spiral staircase rises from the ground floor up to a bright, expansive top floor ringed with a gallery.
• 21 Surrey Quays Road, SE16 7AR. Open Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 12noon-4pm, architect-led tours 11am, 3pm, 4pm on Sat. Further information: southwark.gov.uk
Photograph: Tim Crocker Photograph: Action images
A Riba award winner in 2005, this stunning artist’s studio/summerhouse features a double-height garden room and mirrored interior surfaces used to produce a theatrical distortion of spaces.
• 62 Rochester Place, NW1 9JX. Open Sat and Sun 11am-5pm, tours on a first come basis
Photograph: Sue Barr/View Photograph: Action images
This timber-glad garden studio adds a dramatic element to the refurbishment of a typical Victorian suburban house, transforming the garden into a courtyard accessed by both the studio and the remodelled house. The garden features a heated paddling pool, a sand pit and a fire pit. Suburban studio won the New London Architecture's 'Don't Move, Improve' Award for best home extension of 2011/12.
• 11 Second Avenue, Bush Hill Park, Middlesex EN1 1BT. Open Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-5pm, architect-led tours at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, last entry 4pm. Further information: suburbanstudio.co.uk Photograph: Andy Stagg
This famous art deco Grade II listed building on the north bank of the River Thames was completed in 1933. The expansive curving frontage, which overlookis Blackfriars Bridge, is the most striking aspect of the building, but the interior is impressive, too.
• 100 Victoria Embankment EC4Y 0DY. Open Sat 10am-5pm. Further information: stanhopeplc.com
Photograph: Alamy Photograph: Action images
Water was the inspiration for the Gallery designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for bathroom brand Roca. The showroom's undulating white walls surround a reception and lounge area that snakes through the interior.
• Station Court, Townmead Road SW6 2PY. Open Sat 11am-4pm, Sun 11am-4pm, architect-led tours noon and 3pm, last entry 3.30pm. Further information: rocalondongallery.com Photograph: Luke Hayes
A Riba Award Winner 2012, this new building by Featherstone Young Architects provides improved facilities for a local charity serving homeless people in Tower Hamlets and City of London. The design strengthens connections with the courtyard, providing essential visibility for staff through a permeable facade.
• 82 Wentworth Street, E1 7SA. Open Sat and Sun 1pm-5pm Photograph: PR
