St Olaf House, Grade II* listed building in Tooley Street, London, England.
St Olaf House is a six-story Art Deco office building on Tooley Street in the London Borough of Southwark, built from Portland stone and oriented toward the River Thames with a T-shaped plan. It is listed as a Grade II* building and today forms part of London Bridge Hospital, housing consultation rooms and a cardiology department.
The building was designed by architect Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel and completed in 1932, replacing St Olave's Church that previously stood on the site. It first served as the headquarters of Hay's Wharf Company before being converted to medical use years later.
The facade carries a long row of terracotta relief panels by sculptor Frank Dobson and a black and gold mosaic showing a Norwegian king. These details point to the old trading ties between London and Scandinavia that gave the building its name.
The building is part of an active hospital and is not open for casual visitors, but the facade is easily seen from Tooley Street. Walking along the riverside also gives a good view of the overall form of the structure.
The name of the building comes from St Olaf, a Norwegian king who is said to have helped defend London Bridge in the early 11th century. This link to a medieval Scandinavian king is one of the reasons why a Norwegian coat of arms appears in the entrance mosaic.
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