Banksy's Submerged Phone Booth, 2006 in metal, acrylic and glass is currently exhibited in the lower ground floor

Phillips new Berkeley Square auction house, designed by architecture firm Aukett Swanke, is unapologetically 21st century

The London auction house world is a fiercely competitive place. In October last year, Bonhams unveiled its highly renovated premises, where architect Alex Lifschutz had taken the seven buildings that had been chaotically combined over the years by the company into one, turning them from a series of rabbit warrens into one highly efficient space, at the cost of £30m.

Back then, Lifschutz noted proudly that none of the competitors had anything like it in W1. But what a difference a year makes. On October 6 Phillipsopened dazzling new premises in Berkeley Square. With its double-height, 865 sq m ground floor space and a penthouse floor with a wraparound balcony that allows clients both a 360 degree view as well as a fuel-injection of top class espresso from its casually positioned coffee bar, this is quite unapologetically an auction house for the 21st century. (This time the cost was £100m.)....Continue Reading

> via The Telegraph