Gathering pace: the 2016 London Festival of Architecture reveals its programme
The London Festival of Architecture launched its 2016 program today, unveiling plans for hundreds of events all over London. Pictured here, the exhibition ’Blueprint for Living’, to be held at the Fitzhugh Estate in Wandsworth, explores the concepts of home, space, community, architecture, social housing and post-war British modernism.
Since its conception in 2004, the London Festival of Architecture has provided the perfect platform for a city-wide opportunity to celebrate the capital’s thriving architectural scene. Now marking its ninth year, the festival has blossomed, transforming from a bi-annual, 10-day affair into an annual, month-long showcase, highlighting the country’s top architectural talent through a series of exhibitions, talks, and open studios.
With London in the midst of an unprecedented period of change, the city faces an ongoing dialogue concerning its urban future and how it will continue to evolve, regenerate and accommodate its expanding population. This year’s installment, which takes place throughout the month of June, will present a programme of over 200 events centered around the theme of ‘community’, providing a welcome connection between the capital's residents and its ever-growing architecture scene.
The LFA’s programme revolves around six thematic groups. Events within ‘International Comparators’ will investigate London’s relationship with its international counterparts; ‘New Communities’ will explore the city’s newest regenerative projects; ‘Creative Workspaces’ will question an area’s ability to engage and inspire the capital's creatives; meanwhile, ‘Housing Estate Regeneration’,‘Green Communities’, and ‘Community Effort’ events will set out to discover the way in which campaigners and volunteers create change, the immediate effects of the inner city housing crisis, and how communities can change with the introduction of green areas.
Deconstructing and examining the notion of ‘community’, the LFA aims to capture the city's diversity and and its multiple layers with its comprehensive programme. Highlights include ‘Architecture on screen’, a series of screenings held at the BFI; ‘Papers’, a one day event regarding refugee culture organised by the Architecture Foundation and held at the Barbican; and ‘The Art of Designing Civic Spaces’, where speakers from the Battersea Development company will join Kai-Uwe Bergmann (partner at Bjarke Ingels Group) to discuss the firm’s involvement in the development and their approach to formulating public spaces.
’Open Garden Estates’ will be a weekend long event consisting of a series of tours hosted by housing estates across London, which are threatened with demolition by developers, local authorities and housing associations.
’Breaking Down Walls: new ways of approaching creative workspace’ is a panel discussion that will explore the new and different ways of approaching creative workspace in London. The panel will be led by Bow Arts head of property Michael Cubey
’Co-working and Co-living’, a talk held at the Trampery in Old Street, aims at bringing together architects and experts to discuss communal environments and the challenges posed by the shift from single-occupier offices to communal workspaces.
’Constructing Communities’, held in the Peckham Levels and organised by RIBA, will be an installation showcasing projects that have taken a fresh look at how architecture can strengthen community engagement.
The architects behind the ‘Sky Pool’ at Embassy Gardens, will give a talk detailing their a transparent swimming pool which will connect two buildings at Embassy Gardens at 35m high
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
’The Milkshake Treehouse’ in Peninsula Square will be a ‘sensory garden’ and a family event space that provides a series of experimental environments to stimulate, heal and support growth
INFORMATION
The 2016 London Festival of Architecture will run between the 1- 30 June. For more information visit the LFA website
-
Explore Cornwall's cosiest coffee shops
Cornwall is known for its natural beauty and stunning landscape, here is our pick of coffee shops to enjoy the views and refuel
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibition
Maude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
By India Birgitta Jarvis Published
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his 1990s-inspired collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz
Unveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
By Jack Moss Published
-
The Museum of Shakespeare set to open in east London
The Museum of Shakespeare puts the remains of the ancient Curtain Playhouse at the centre of 'The Stage', a new urban development in the heart of Shoreditch
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
Paddington Square transforms its patch of central London with its 'elevated cube'
Paddington Square by Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been completed, elevating a busy London site through sustainability, modern workspace and a plaza
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Architectural car parks to drive into, in the UK and beyond
Architectural car parks form an important part of urban infrastructure but can provide a design statement too; here are some of the finest examples to peruse, in the UK and beyond
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Architectural Association's newest show uncovers the architectural legacies of rural China's lost generation
The Architectural Association’s ‘Ripple Ripple Rippling’ is not your typical architecture show, taking an anthropological look at the flux between rural and urban, and bringing a part of China to Bedford Square in London
By Teshome Douglas-Campbell Published
-
Into the groove: Henriksen House is the UK’s first home extension featuring exposed clay block walls
Architect Michael Henriksen uses textured clay blocks, cork flooring and self-built joinery to transform his family home in St Albans near London
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
This unassuming London house is a radical rethinking of the suburban home
Station Lodge by architect Andrei Saltykov in South West London offers a radical subversion to regional residential architecture
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Join our tour of London Zoo, its modernist architecture and more
London Zoo is a well-established magnet for younger visitors, but there's plenty for the architecture enthusiast to admire too; our tour explores its modernist treasures for guests of all ages
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Load into this reimagined Fortnite cityscape, courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects
A collaboration between Epic Games and ZHA, Re:Imagine London brings the architects’ modular forms into one of the world’s most popular multiplayer games
By Jonathan Bell Published