Image of the Switch Building courtesy of Lobster Pictures Ltd

When Donald Hyslop, Tate Modern's Head of Regeneration, talked about the importance of community at our last Future Cities Forum 2, he gave a focus to the brickwork of the new museum building called The Switch.

In sharp contrast to the 'glass towers' of the City, Donald describes how the bricks relate to the physical architecture of the buildings around South London, the area in which it sits.

One of these important buildings is Gilbert Scott's power station which was converted first into the original Tate Modern.

The architects, Herzog and de Meuron were not well known when they started work on the first museum building, but have since designed Perez Museum in Miami and Parrish Art Museum in New York among others.

The Switch is ten storeys high and sits on top of three underground concrete oil tanks. The brickwork on the exterior is latticed, the large perforations allowing light to flow in during the day and allow the museum to glow at night.

A new roof terrace allows panoramic views of the city.