Tea Building

"Tea: You Need It," screams the large and culturally attuned banner hanging from the Tea Building's wall.

If there’s one thing that unites industrial workers and jobbing artists it’s an intrinsic requirement for tea breaks. It's a source of pride for many that sharing a moniker with the Great British Libation seems to have warded off the best efforts of Axis bombers during the Second World War as the building made it through the combat with minimal damage, even having acted as a bomb shelter.

That said, there is a faction which argues that "Bacon Building" would be more appropriate, as the Shoreditch behemoth was originally a bacon factory in the 1930s. The eight-story Tea Building nonetheless stands tall as a home to every kind of business, from fashion brands and media companies to artists and independent designers. Since 2001 it's been in the hands of Derwent London, and the architects were keen to keep its heritage intact with original features such as timber lift doors and cobbles.

Appropriate for a tea break, it sits next to the Biscuit Building, and continuing the culinary journey it's also home to the popular Pizza East restaurant, a local-friendly joint which is almost always packed. For a bellyful or an eyeful, the Tea Building will not disappoint.