Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple in Neasden. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi. Click on the image to enlarge it
The approach is less than enchanting – a grey suburban street offLondon's North Circular Road. Then it creeps into view, a serene vision of white domes and pillars. Indeed, the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir could be mistaken for a fairy tale mirage, if this were the height of a summer in Kolkata and not a cloudy September morning in Neasden.
The Mandir, known locally as Neasden Temple, was one of the highlights of this year's Open House architecture festival in London. Although it is the biggest Hindu temple in Europe, the intricate design belies its size.
Every column and archway inside has its own unique design. Medical student Nirav Amin, from Kent, one of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan (Baps) sect's many volunteers at the temple, said: "I've been coming here for 14 years and every time I see something new."
Upstairs are gold shrines housing the sacred deities dressed in vividly coloured clothing – orange, green and scarlet. But these doll-like painted statues are not worshipped as mere idols. They are revered as living deities, having been imbued with the spirits of the figures since being blessed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of Baps.
The temple, which opened in 1995, receives more than 500,000 visitors each year. Although open to the public all year round, a spokesman says the Open House event encourages non-Hindus, including many nearby residents, to come, and more than 2,000 were expected over the weekend. "So many of the visitors are under the impression that the temple is inaccessible if you're not a Hindu," he said.
More than 700 buildings across London, including architecture award-winning private homes, Masonic temples and futuristic classrooms, were on show, giving visitors direct access to architects and designers.
Victoria Thornton, director of Open House, said: "Exploring buildings can help us all understand and appreciate our city's architectural wealth. Last year, 69% of our visitors said they were surprised by the building they visited and 73% said Open House made them feel differently about London's architecture."
Other buildings on view included a low-energy house in Shoreditch, east London, and landmarks, such as City Hall on the South Bank, Tower 42 in the City and Lloyd's of London.
One of the quirkier offerings was a former butcher's shop in north London. W Plumb family butcher is a hidden gem in a rundown row of shops on Hornsey Road. Grade II listed when it shut in 1996, its interior includes art nouveau tiles with blue tulip motifs, painted pastoral panels of grazing cows and sheep marble counter tops and a Queen Anne-revival cashier's booth.
Kim McMahon, who has lived in the area for 25 years, said: "It was wonderful to visit somewhere that's so beautiful and well preserved on my doorstep.
"This is the first time I've been in here. When I first moved to the area it was still a family butcher's but I was a vegetarian then, so I just used to rush past and never saw anything.
"It's just so well preserved – those pictorial tiles of the cows and sheep and also the part where the cash register was. It's a work of art, just gorgeous."
The owner, Richard Travers, who bought the shop three years ago, said: "There's a lot of people who used to come here [when it was] a butcher's shop and buy their meats here – but there's probably been 50 people here in the last couple of days."
Travers has spent two years lovingly renovating the interior, replacing smashed tiles and broken fittings.
The Canadian, who has worked in historic restoration, is soliciting ideas with what to do with the space that he has been using as a dining room.
"I've had some pretty far-out ideas – somebody suggested seances, someone else suggested an S&M venue," he said.
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