Last call: make the most of the London Festival of Architecture’s closing events

‘Constructing Communities’ at the RIBA
RIBA's ‘Constructing Communities’ project is composed of three ambitious 1:1 installations. Presented across sites in Peckham and at the RIBA’s headquarters on Portland Place, the projects – selected via an open call – include submissions by large and small practices, as well as student work, all tackling the central theme of how architecture can influence and create communities.
Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, W1B 1AD, 21 June – 4 August
Click here to look back at London Festival of Architecture's mid-month highlights, or browse through our final week picks above.
Assemble's keynote
Assemble's keynote
London-based collective and 2015 Turner Prize winners Assemble work across the fields of architecture, art and design and will provide this year's LFA keynote. The group's aim is to ‘champion a working practice that is interdependent and collaborative’ and to involve the public as the key participant in their ongoing projects. The talk will be led by the studio's Paloma Strelitz and James Binning, who will initiate a dialogue centered around London and its relationship with Assemble’s work.
IET London, 2 Savoy Place, WC2R 0BL, 30 June, 6.30pm – 8pm
'A View of the Future' at Somerset House
'A View of the Future' at Somerset House
Marking the 350th anniversary of 1666’s Great Fire of London, this installation is part of the Somerset House festival 'Utopia 2016: A Year of Imagination and Possibility'. The installation will explore how buildings were once erected and how the future of construction can draw inspiration from its past. The innovative viewing platform and exhibition – constructed using traditional techniques – is situated in Somerset House’s courtyard and has been initiated by London Timber Frame: a company specialising in the restoration and preservation of historic timber-framed buildings.
Somerset House, Courtyard, WC2R 1LA, 24 June – 26 June
’Architecture, You Ask The Questions’ at the Royal Academy
'Architecture, You Ask The Questions' at the Royal Academy
In the LFA headline debate, 'Architecture, You Ask The Questions', speakers from the architecture world and beyond will answer questions posed by the audience. Chaired by the BBC's Razia Iqbal, the discussion includes a panel of architects, observers and commentators, such as Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy; David Twohig, chief development officer and head of design and placemaking for the Battersea Power Station Development Company; architect Asif Khan; Amanda Levete, architect and founder of AL_A; and Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands. The panelists will cover issues of infrastructure, heritage, the pressures shaping London’s skyline and the city’s development in future years.
Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, W1J 0BA, 27 June, 6.30pm – 8pm
'Show RCA: Graduate Exhibition'
'Show RCA: Graduate Exhibition'
This year’s 'Show RCA: Graduate Exhibition', organised by the Royal College of Art and the School of Architecture, will present a thought-provoking vision of our globalised and international context. The student projects span locations such as Manila, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Bolivia, Japan and the United States. The works set out to present different architectural solutions, while challenging existing paradigms and proposing new possibilities for everyday life. They experiment with human interaction, communication and technologies, intergenerational living, energy use and agricultural production.
Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, SW7 2EU, 26 June – 3 July
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Mikhail Riches' ‘Stories'
Mikhail Riches' ‘Stories'
London-based architecture firm Mikhail Riches presents ‘Stories’, an exhibition which will provide the narrative behind its most recently commissioned housing projects. The selection will include an in-depth look onto a series of row houses, situated within the redevelopment of BBC Television Centre in White City and the second phase of refurbishment of Park Hill in Sheffield. Investigating the ways the practice generates its ideas, the show will offer insight into the design process. Included is a recreation of wall graphics created for one of the flats at Park Hill, part of the firm’s winning bid for the project.
10–11 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DP, 28–30 June
'Build Your Own Pavilion: Young Architects Competition'
'Build Your Own Pavilion: Young Architects Competition'
Calling all budding architects, the 'Build Your Own Pavilion: Young Architects Competition' is back for a second year and is open to 8–14 year-olds worldwide. After a successful pilot year, which garnered over 650 entries from the UK alone, the competition sets out to teach youngsters about the architectural process behind the famous Serpentine pavilion. Sign up online to download the brief and creative pack, or even attend one of the gallery's upcoming workshops. The winners will be chosen at a later date by none other than the designer of this year’s pavilion, the Bjarke Ingels Group
INFORMATION
The London Festival of Architecture runs until 30 June. For more information, visit the LFA website
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Dine within a rationalist design gem at the newly opened Cucina Triennale
Cucina Triennale is the latest space to open at Triennale Milano, a restaurant and a café by Luca Cipelletti and Unifor, inspired by the building's 1930s design
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The collections you might have missed this S/S 2026 menswear season
Between the headliners in Paris, Milan and Florence, a few off-schedule displays are deserving of honourable mention – from Martine Rose’s sexually-charged portrait of Kensington Market to Sander Lak’s appointment-only namesake debut
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Meet artist Michael McGregor, using hotel stationery as his canvas
Michael McGregor unveils an exclusive postcard set made with notepads from The Luxury Collection properties in Minneapolis, San Francisco and Savannah
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Kengo Kuma’s ‘Paper Clouds’ in London is a ‘poem’ celebrating washi paper in construction
‘Paper Clouds’, an installation by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is a poetic design that furthers research into the use of washi paper in construction
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Foster + Partners to design the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II
For the Queen Elizabeth II memorial, Foster + Partners designs proposal includes a new bridge, gates, gardens and figurative sculptures in St James’ Park
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Wolves Lane Centre brings greenery, growing and grass roots together
Wolves Lane Centre, a new, green community hub in north London by Material Cultures and Studio Gil, brings to the fore natural materials and a spirit of togetherness
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This ingenious London office expansion was built in an on-site workshop
New Wave London and Thomas-McBrien Architects make a splash with this glulam extension built in the very studio it sought to transform. Here's how they did it
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Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on life
Thanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being reborn as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
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Lego and Serpentine celebrate World Play Day with a new pavilion
Lego and Serpentine have just unveiled their Play Pavilion; a colourful new structure in Kensington Gardens in London and a gesture that celebrates World Play Day (11 June)
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Inside Abbey Road's refresh: touring the legendary studio's new interior
Abbey Road gets an interior refresh by Threefold Architects, bringing the legendary London recording studio in tune with the 21st century
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The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready to visit, ‘an exhibition you can use’
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready for its public opening on 6 June; we toured the structure and spoke to its architect, Marina Tabassum