The Lion House: Discover the life of Suleyman the Magnificent, the most feared man of the sixteenth century

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These formed an awkward entrance which contributed to the tower’s original failure as commercial office space. It was the former church of St John in Byzantium, which after the Ottoman conquest was turned into the Sultan’s zoo: “Its congregation is made up of wildcats, wolves, badgers, lions, porcupines, wild donkeys, leopards, bears, boars …and other beasts . Centre Point Residences lies within the London Borough of Camden, and in 2014 the council granted planning permission for the renovation and change of use of the Tower from office, restaurant and bar to 82 residential units with 180 bedrooms, and of the House and Link from office to a mix of retail, restaurant and bar. Odd, unforced design decisions, like the lack of windows to bathrooms on exterior walls, also suggest that, in places, external appearance has been prioritised over internal considerations – the balance of blank façade against glazed element over natural light for washing. Even more importantly, the value of their investment will not be reduced by its proximity to the affordable housing in which the cleaning and service classes live.

And so it is with houses: people move on from places which don’t quite work for them, and they stay put in homes which feel right. But you’re right, now I look at it, White Lion House is a ‘studied composition in vertical elements incised lightly with a pattern by Eley Kishimoto in a slightly token, weak reprise of the main tower’s sculpted skin . Richard Seifert’s landmark Grade II-listed Centre Point tower was once described by Eduardo Paolozzi as London’s first Pop Art building.We also get to see the other side of Suleyman - his love for Hurrem and his strong ties to Ibrahim, which do not hold him back from tough choices though. The property has the added benefit of the Brew House which is a self-contained annex giving further living accommodation or potential office premises.

Covers fascinating subject matter and the key personalities in the Ottoman Empire in the early 1500s. The odd short-term tenant is nothing to worry about, of course — life throws all sorts of things at us, after all — but it’s always heartening to see a property whose owners have consistently kept hold of the place.

This maintains the sense of openness, with a generous pedestrian walkway allowing access from New Oxford Street. The author's writing style was not my thing and the information I did obtain wasn't all that clear to me.