If you’re a bit of a nosey parker now is your chance to satisfy your curioisty about what the Capital’s best buildings look like inside. CRYSTAL WILDE takes a close look at this year’s Open House London weekend.

THE OPEN House London weekend takes to the streets on September 20 and 21 in the capital’s largest architectural showcase.

Once again the event will reveal the fabric of London in all its diversity, opening doors, eyes and minds to architectural gems, contemporary design and the areas of urban change that define the city today.

In celebration of design excellence, Londoners will be given the opportunity to be the flies on the walls of private residences, government offices, embassies, academies, financial institutions and skyline icons, as 700 buildings extend an open invitation to the public.

Creative teams responsible for the design, construction, conservation and regeneration of the city will also be on hand to share their expertise, insight and ideas, and explore the biggest issues facing modern London.

Local points of interest include The Temple, in Wanstead Park, which will welcome visitors on Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 5pm.

This 18th Century garden building in the style of a doric temple is one of the last structures to survive from Wanstead Park’s days of grandeur.

Visitors will get a unique chance to discover the park’s fascinating history from its earliest beginnings to the last 125 years under the management of the City of London Corporation.

Also on offer in Redbridge is the chance to poke about the church and cottages at the Barnardo’s Village, in Tanners lane, Barkingside.

Beginning as a pile of bricks in the 1870s, the little community had expanded to over 70 cottages on 60 acres of land by Barnardo’s death in 1905, and still boasts the country’s only remaining children’s church, with lower pews and child-themed stained windows.

Waltham Forest will offer nosey neighbours a chance to snoop around the Hatherley Mew Offices and see how the striking multi-media structure compliments the existing Victorian buildings making up the Hiltongrove Business Centre.

Energy efficiency and sustainability will also be addressed at the Waltham Forest Community Learning Centre, in Billet Road, where the design concept of the distinctive public and private spaces radiating around two raised drums will be revealed.

Across the rest of the capital and on a similar green note, The Sustainable Southwark publication will present the borough’s most eco-friendly buildings and the future shape of the city will be mapped out with a tour of the newest regeneration plots including Stratford City Athlete’s Village and the London 2012 Olympic Site.

Other special events include Maggie’s London Night Hike on Friday, September 19, featuring a talk by fashion designer Margaret Howell on the refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall one year on, and a showcase of public art sites by artist Anthony Malinowski.

All access is free of charge and more information can be found on: openhouse.org.uk.