When the London Festival of Architecture announced it will be moving its physical activities to later in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, it came as no surprise; a slew of design and architecture events around the world have been postponed or cancelled due to the ongoing global health emergency. But when the beloved London summer event added that the capital's public would still get its architectural celebration next month – albeit in an innovative, digital form – we got even more excited.
Retaining its June spot and theme – ‘Power' – LFA Digital 2020 will be launching a variety of virtual events next week. There's something for everyone; from online building tours, video-based talks and events (there's even a pub quiz!), to popular staples such as the Architecture Bake Off, which will take place online for the first time ever, and new entries, such as the project 30 Objects in 30 Days, which sets out to create a series of videos where architects, design enthusiasts and specialists nominate their favourite object that relates to power and architecture, referencing the festival's overall theme.
‘We are thrilled to be launching such an amazing programme for LFA Digital 2020,' says LFA director Tamsie Thompson. ‘Only two months ago the prospects for the LFA in 2020 looked doubtful – but thanks to our resilience and an amazing response from our many friends and supporters in London and around the world, we’ve got a festival to be proud of. LFA Digital is full of content that is experimental, daring and challenging – but also plenty of fun. This extraordinary programme for extraordinary times is designed to appeal to a global public audience, and I cannot wait for the LFA’s latest edition to begin.'
Dip into the festival's rich programme – swiftly and immaculately curated thanks to the enthusiasm of LFA's many supporters and contributors – to explore architecture as you hadn't before, and get challenged and inspired by experiencing urban design in a city during lockdown.
Here are the highlights
‘Giant Doll’s House – alone-together' by the Giant Dolls House Project
1 - 14 June
The concept is simple: built your own doll's house in a shoe box. The results? As varied, creative and unexpected as you can imagine. The collaborative project is delivered with the help of Oxfam and flags up the importance of home, especially in the light of the global refugee crisis. Everyone can submit work by sending a photo of their creation to the organizers.
A live stream tour of Adolf Loos’ Villa Winternitz by the Czech Centre
18 June / 5pm
Travelling may not be an option right now, but enjoying great architecture, thankfully, still is. Tune in at the Czech Centre in London for the first ever virtual tour of the recently restored 1932 Villa Winternitz by celebrated Modernist Adlof Loos in Prague.
‘Windows on the World’: A People Power (Re)Presentation by the Velorose Gallery
4 June – 3 July
The Velorose Gallery is inviting us all to create and send in our own take on ‘Outside Looking In’ or ‘Inside Looking Out’. The art pieces will be submited in the form of a postcard to be exhibited online. What better way to explore different takes on how we see our environment?
The [Online] Architecture Bake Off by London Festival of Architecture
1 - 11 June
Prepare to be inspired - architecturally and culinarily - with the return of an LFA favourite; the Architectural Bake Off. Architects and members of the public are invited to combine baking skills with architectural imagination. Send in your submission by 8 June. Contestants will be showcased online and put to a public vote to name the overall winner.
Bauhaus Remains by Embassy of Israel UK - Cultural Department
1 - 17 June
There are plenty of options to enjoy architecture virtually this year. Four films produced by the Steve Tisch School of Film & Television, Tel Aviv University and the Bauhaus University Weimar Faculty of Art and Design, explore Bauhaus and its lasting effects.
Manifestos: Architecture for a New Generation by London Festival of Architecture & the Design Museum
17 June
This annual collaboration is back, showcasing emerging voices in architecture. The project will take the shape of a virtual workshop of the 10 participating nominees, who will share their manifestos, followed by an online exhibition.
30 Objects in 30 Days by London Festival of Architecture
1 - 30 June
A new entry in the LFA calendar, this project collects nominations from 30 of the capital's leading architects and developers, artists and curators, politicians and journalists, educators and many more, in a video series that brings together 30 objects that explore the relationship between architecture and power.
Architecture Obscura by Anise Gallery
15 - 30 June
The Anise Gallery sets up a virtual exhibition touching on a theme that resonated with many of us in recent months - the relationship between outside and inside. The pieces on display will include work by artists, architects, writers and photographers.
INFORMATION
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Yuri Suzuki turns sound into architecture at Camden Arts ProjectsThe sound designer unveils ‘Utooto’, an interactive installation at London’s Camden Arts Projects (until 5 October 2025), in which visitors collaboratively build a sonic piece of architecture
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Campaigners propose reuse to save Kenzo Tange’s modernist ‘Ship Gymnasium’ in JapanThe Pritzker Prize-winning architect’s former Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium is at risk of demolition; we caught up with the campaigners who hope to save it
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America’s first all-electric travel trailer broadens its range with two new modelsThe Lightship AE.1 Atmos and Panos are the two newest trim lines for this ground-breaking streamlined travel trailer, an airy design with integrated electric powertrain for added mileage and quiet camping
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Boutique London rental development celebrates European courtyard livingLondon design and development studio Wendover unveils its newest residential project, 20 Newcourt Street, comprising nine apartments; we toured with co-founder Gabriel Chipperfield
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A refreshed Fulham house balances its history with a series of 21st-century interventionsA Fulham house project by Bureau de Change creates a 21st-century domestic haven through a series of contemporary interventions and a deep connection to the property's historical fabric
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The Monthly Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July housesFrom geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
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Visiting an experimental UK home: welcome to HousesteadThis experimental UK home, Housestead by Sanei + Hopkins, brings together architectural explorations and daily life in these architects’ own home
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A house in Leamington Spa is a domestic oasis infused with contemporary sensibilitiesThis house in Leamington Spa, by John Pardey Architects, brings together flood risk considerations, a conservation area's historic character, and contemporary sensibilities
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A garden explaining carbon capture in nature? Head to Kew in LondonKew unveils 'Carbon Garden', a new offering at London's Royal Botanic Gardens that's all about carbon capture within nature; and how plants and soil can be leveraged to help us battle climate change
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An old war barracks is transformed into a charming Dorset Beach HouseNestled in its coastal setting, a redesigned barracks home in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty becomes a contemporary Dorset beach house by Architecture for London
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Studio Bark has transformed a Victorian villa into an eco-friendly family homeA Victorian villa in the South of England has been overhauled with new low-energy systems and a self-build addition to create a home fit for the future
