Since the death of Sir John Soane in 1837, the office and residence of the Regency-era architect, in three contiguous townhouses on Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London, have been a museum. But for the first time in the institution’s nearly 200-year history, the diminutive room known as the “drawing office”—the heart of Soane’s architectural practice—is open to the public. Once the workspace for up to six draftsmen and apprentices, the 215-square-foot skylit mezzanine level, reached via a spiral stair, has undergone a year-long renovation that included structural work, repair of water damage, restoration of the desks, and the deinstallation, cleaning, and rehanging of approximately 250 plaster casts and architectural artifacts. Due to the size of the space, the number of visitors is limited. For tour details, see www.soane.org.

Photos © Gareth Gardner, click to enlarge.