Most architecture is, frankly, boring grey boxes, mostly offices, which people walk in and out of with their heads down, day in, day out, but there are many exceptions, even in the relatively small area of Croydon.

If you commute into, or around Croydon, you can see quite a few buildings of interest in just five minutes. As soon as you exit East Croydon station you are in an architectural haven. To your left is the still-futuristic Number One Croydon as it is commonly known with its overlapping, alternating hexagonal pattern of floors, and to your right, across the road from Boxpark is AMP House, adorned with a concrete mural fascia referencing (Australian) colonialism. Just down the road to Wellesley Road, and across, you come to a junction, faced with another concrete monolith, this time Electric House, noticeable by the curved façade and square clock to top it all off.

Down George Street and left onto High Street, halfway down the pedestrianised area is St Georges Walk, currently closed off for works, but if you were to go down there when it was open and look up, you would find yourself cocooned by two low-rise offices. Continue down High Street, turn left at the flyover (Fell Road) but just before you do marvel at the two clubs under it. At the end of Fell Road, behind the hoardings, stood Taberner House, a brutalist-esque block used by Croydon Council. Across the road is the Fairfield Halls, also surrounded by cladding, which was home to many concerts and shows.

The Whitgift Centre was opened from 1968 to 1970 in stages and was originally a lavish, open air shopping mall with a pub at the centre of a large open space. It has deteriorated since but is still amazing to look at as an empty space. Nearby are Apollo and Lunar Hoses, of a very space- age design, which are equally as impressive.

Just off of Park Hill Road, in the suburban East of Croydon, is the Wates- built, Swiss-designed St Bernard’s development. The houses are reminiscent of a Chalet in Spring and combine high-density housing with high-privacy and were featured in Open House London.

Croydon is a jungle, literally, of not just concrete but also bricks and timber, with very sudden changes in building design in every area- from the houses of the 20s near Shirley, the space- age offices of the centre and the Swiss-styled residences of Park Hill, and it is a shame that many of these places are being transformed so we may never see the real beauty of this biodiverse soon-to-be metropolis. You can enjoy this beauty by looking up and around on your commute through Croydon.