The Hayward Gallery in Southbank center has held my favourite exhibitions in London and each time they are extremely well curated. Definitely a place to visit !

The gallery was extended into a neighbouring Victorian House space about a year and a half ago, with a real skill in judging the meeting point between the contemporary and the conserved. The architects — 6a — were also responsible for Raven Row near Spitalfields (another favourite place). I'm lucky enough to work part of the week next door, at Camberwell College of Arts. This is about great food and good books. The café — a real haven at breakfast time before work — is run by the nicest team of people, with intertwined relationships to Camberwell. This book, designed by James Langdon, represents the kind of find possible in the bookshop and also the quality of conversation content had, over the best coffee.

Fortitude Bakehouse, a craft bakery, hidden away on a quiet mews in Bloomsbury. 

I probably spend too much time here but I love it for the atmosphere. During the day it’s quite empty. The proprietor is often dozing in the back corner and you can read for hours with just one cup of tea without anyone bothering you. It picks up in the evenings as all the regulars pile in with pre-bought bottles of wine.

I walk a lot; the best way to experience a city. So it's sometimes to do with the way places join up. This cast concrete letterform is a part of the Lycée's gateway. Each of the form's facets arrives at a different character, so six possible letters come from each cast object. I've never been inside the Lycée but always walked through this way up to the V&A, in order to examine again and again how each form works. The surfaces set the tone for the V&A and its incredible Ceramics floor, a perennial inspiration.