Out and about: London Festival of Architecture's first highlights

The Great Architectural Bake-off
Wooden spoons at the ready, The Great Architectural Bake-Off, hosted by WATG, will see London's top architects and designers to turn their construction talents to cake. Tasked with recreating the world's most recognisable and iconic buildings in edible form, the participants will be overseen by a judging panel comprising Sam Bompas of jelly connoisseurs Bompas and Parr, our very own editor-at-large Henrietta Thompson and LFA’s director Tamsie Thomson, who will crown the winner based on realistic representation, the most creative use of materials and – of course – taste.
WATG and Wimberly Interiors London Office. 11 June 12pm – 2pm
Papers
Tackling the topic of the moment – the refugee crisis – Papers, the one-day festival hosted by the Architecture Foundation and held in the Barbican Conservatory, sets out to explore the culture, art and architecture emerging from refugee camps across the continent. Papers has invited refugee artists, musicians, chefs and poets to contribute to the festival, with the day-long programme of discussions, performances and films taking place on multiple stages. The festival hopes to initiate a conversation with some of the world’s leading thinkers on refugee camps and migration.
The Barbican Conservatory, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS. 10 June
The Art of Designing Civic Spaces (Battersea Power Station Development Company)
The Battersea Power Station development is one of London’s most exciting in-progress regeneration projects. To discuss their approach to creating Malasia Square – the new central concourse at the heart of the development – Kai-Uwe Bergmann, partner at Bjarke Ingels Group, will lead a discussion with the Battersea Power Station Development Company on the the creation of public spaces. The talk will also explore a selection of BIG’s most recently completed works.
188 Kirtling Street, SW8 5BN. 7 June 6pm – 8.30pm
66 Portland Place building tour: the home of British architecture
RIBA’s renowned art deco home at 66 Portland Place is providing the capital’s visitors with the opportunity to discover its secrets. Small groups will be escorted around the historic headquarters on hour-long tours, by a guide who will shed light on the building’s fascinating stories and architectural legacy; a journey perfect for everyone from seasoned architects to casual enthusiasts.
Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, W1B 1AD. 4–25 June
’At Home in Britain: Designing the House of Tomorrow’ at the RIBA
What is the future of Britain’s housing? RIBA’s newest exhibition ‘At Home in Britain: Designing the House of Tomorrow’, which will run until 29 August, will present an exploration of three typical British housing vernaculars by six architectural practices. Mecanoo, Maison Edouard François, Jamie Fobert Architects, Mae, vPPR and Studio Weave will each examine a theme from the topics of ’The Flat’,’The Cottage’ and ’The Terrace’ to produce creative and speculative visions of their own conceptions of the future British home.
Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, W1B 1AD
Serpentine pavilion
The much anticipated annual Serpentine pavilion, this year designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), will be open to the public from 10 June. The modular, sculptural and transparent construction will provide shelter for visitors, as well as a range of learning, debate and educational programs during the evening. Alongside BIG’s pavilion is a series of four smaller summer houses designed by NLÉ (Amsterdam/Lagos); Yona Friedman (Paris); Barkow Leibinger (Berlin/New York); and Asif Khan (London).
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Serpentine Galleries, Kensington Gardens, W2 3XA
Triumph Pavilion 2016: Energy Pavilion – Pinwheel
Organised by ArchTriumph, this year’s Triumph Pavilion, named ’Energy Pavilion – Pinwheel’, is the product of the annual call for submissions to envision a free standing and temporary pavilion in celebration of architecture and design. Designed by the London-based firm Five Line Projects, this year’s structure was inspired by pinwheel toys and aims to encapsulate the notion that one single action can trigger greater change.
Museum Gardens (next to the V&A Museum of Childhood), E2 9PA. 9 June – 3 July
John Robertson Architects: ’Victorian Industrialist vs Millennial Entrepreneur’
John Robertson Architects, the London-based global architecture, design, planning and strategic consultancy firm, will host an evening of Pecha Kucha talks during the Festival. The topic of discussion, ‘Victorian Industrialist vs Millennial Entrepreneur’, will offer an opportunity for the six invited speakers to engage in a conversation on how Londoners’ attitudes to life and work have altered environments and impacted the surrounding communities.
1 Primrose Street, EC2A 2EX. 15 June, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Karakusevic Carson Architects’ ’Listening and Doing – An Exploration of Contemporary Housing Design’
One of a number of studios opening their doors during the festival, Karakusevic Carson Architects invite the public into their practice with the exhibition ‘Listening and Doing – An Exploration of Contemporary Housing Design’. The show will investigate contemporary housing design and how homes are conceived in collaboration with local communities. Displays explore how the practice directly involves residents from the very start of its projects, raising housing standards and pushing boundaries to enable the creation of successful homes and thriving communities.
Unit E03, The Biscuit Factory, 100 Clements Road, SE16 4DG
INFORMATION
The London Festival of Architecture will run until 30 June. For further information, visit the LFA website
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Here’s what to order (and admire) at Carbone London
New York’s favourite, and buzziest, Italian restaurant arrives in the British capital, marking the brand’s first expansion into Europe
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Griffin Frazen on conceiving the cinematic runway sets for New York label Khaite: ‘If people feel moved we’ve succeeded’
The architectural designer – who helped conceive the sets for ‘The Brutalist’ – collaborates with his wife Catherine Holstein on the scenography for her Khaite runway shows, the latest of which took place in NYFW this past weekend
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How to travel meaningfully in an increasingly generic world
Lauren Ho explores the need for resonance, not reach, in the way we choose to make journeys of discovery
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In memoriam: Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, 1939-2025
Pioneering British architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has died at the age of 85; we honour the creative who marked 20th-century architecture like few others
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The new 2025 London Open House Festival tours to book
2025 London Open House launches this weekend, running 13-21 September; here, we celebrate the newcomers in the residential realm, flagging the exciting additions to the festival's growing home tour programme
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The wait is over – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist is here
The restored home of Big Ben, creative housing for different needs, and a centre for medical innovation – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist has just been announced, and its six entries are as diverse as they can be
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Slides, clouds and a box of presents: it’s the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s quirky new pavilion
At the Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London, ArtPlay Pavilion by Carmody Groarke and a rich Sculpture Garden open, fusing culture and fun for young audiences
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Bay House brings restrained modern forms and low-energy design to the Devon coast
A house with heart, McLean Quinlan’s Bay House is a sizeable seaside property that works with the landscape to mitigate impact and maximise views of the sea
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A whopping 92% of this slick London office fit-out came from reused materials
Could PLP Architecture's new workspace provide a new model for circularity?
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Meet the landscape studio reviving the eco-brutalist Barbican Conservatory
London-based Harris Bugg Studio is working on refreshing the Barbican Conservatory as part of the brutalist icon's ongoing renewal; we meet the landscape designers to find out more
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A refreshed Victorian home in London is soft, elegant and primed for hosting
Sobremesa house by architects Studio McW shows off its renovation and extension, designed for entertaining