In our monthly series, we highlight the products, places and experiences we’ve bookmarked – and that you won’t want to miss.

June is one of the busiest months in the culture and design calendar, with our editors firmly on the ground to keep you abreast of every development as it unfolds. From 10 June, our 3 Days of Design blog goes live with minute-by-minute dispatches from Scandinavia's most celebrated design festival. Back home, London’s art and architecture scenes are open wide for London Gallery Weekend and the London Festival of Architecture, offering an unmissable concentration of exhibitions and events.

Elsewhere on the summer roster: theatre, illustration, and – of course – football’s World Cup. Our US editor may be flying the flag stateside, but make no mistake: it’s coming home.

The showcase: 3 Days of Design, Copenhagen

Rosa Bertoli, global design director

Some of the team are off to Copenhagen next week for the 14th edition of 3 Days of Design (our live blog will be a real-time diary of everything we see in town). Throughout the city, Nordic and international brands and studios will be showcasing new pieces and design ideas, and I look forward to the conversations surrounding Scandinavian design and how it has evolved through the eyes of contemporary global creatives.

Having grown from a small four-brand event in 2013, the fair now promises countless highlights. I can't wait to discover the larger-than-life (seven-metre-tall) pavilion by Iittala and 'Tableau' with Hydro, celebrating Alvar Aalto's vase on its 90th anniversary, as well as returning and topical group exhibitions including 'Bread and Butter' (focusing on bathing culture from Japan to Denmark and beyond) and 'Værktøj' (exploring the use of tools within the design practice, in this case the sewing machine). Wallpaper's own Japan editor, Jens H Jensen, a Dane, is co-curating an exhibition with OEO Studio, titled ‘Japanmade Vol.1’, exploring Japanese design through a Danish lens – one of many Japan-focused exhibitions in Copenhagen during the fair.

The production: 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses', National Theatre

Anna Solomon, digital staff writer

I’ve booked tickets to the National Theatre to see Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a lavish new production directed by Marianne Elliott that revives Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ scandalous tale of sex, power and manipulation. Set amid the opulent salons of pre-Revolutionary France, the story follows the Marquise de Merteuil (Lesley Manville) and the Vicomte de Valmont (Aidan Turner), two master manipulators who wield seduction as a weapon in a ruthless game of influence.

As a devotee of the period drama, I’m looking forward to seeing the 18th-century extravagance of Les Liaisons brought to life on the stage of the National Theatre’s brutalist edifice. I’m equally curious to see how Elliott’s production reinterprets the story for modern audiences. Its themes have resonated for centuries; the question is whether she can sustain that legacy.

The art event: London Gallery Weekend

Hannah Silver, art, culture, watches & jewellery editor

During the first weekend of June, more than 120 galleries open their doors across the city as part of London Gallery Weekend. As well as many exhibitions launching to coincide with the weekend, there is a free programme of talks, tours, events, performances and parties taking place across London, bringing together contemporary artists including George Rouy and Roni Horn with established figures such as Francis Picabia. I am particularly looking forward to Anne Imhof at Sprüth Magers – more on this to follow in our July issue, which goes on sale later this week. Check the full weekend schedule here.

The listening bar: Record Bar Moon Shine, Osaka

Sofia de la Cruz, travel editor

I've just returned from a two-week trip around Japan, where many evenings were spent in vinyl bars, lingering over glasses of umeshu with my partner and striking up conversations with the passionate owners behind these independent establishments. Our favourite was a tiny haunt called Record Bar Moon Shine, almost hidden on the fourth floor of a narrow building in Osaka. Its owner inherited a collection of 5,000 records from his father and has devoted much of his life and spare time to keeping the bar alive. Inside the space, bathed in the crimson glow of a giant pachinko parlour across the street and carrying the faint scent of cigarette smoke, we were introduced to a world of city pop – the glossy, exuberant soundtrack that came to define Japan in the 1980s. The only way to bring a small piece of that experience home was to leave with a stack of records under my arm. They have already become the soundtrack to my June.

The festival: London Festival of Architecture

Ellie Stathaki, architecture & environment director

June is a very architectural month here in London – the London Festival of Architecture 2026 launched on the first of the month, and I am excited to hear from Jayden Ali at his keynote lecture. Meanwhile, the programme, 400-entries strong, is sure to have something for everyone. Discussions, exhibitions and installations abound. Personally, I have a soft spot for activities that allow me to bring the family along at weekends (Lego Challenge, here we come). It gives me an excuse to keep the child in me happy, too. The Serpentine Pavilion 2026 will also be opening its doors to the public on 6 June, while further away, Spain's Concéntrico festival, which kicks off on 18 June, will keep those of us who can attend busy with its own interpretation of architecture and the city. See you on the other side...

The day out: Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration

Léa Teuscher, sub-editor

I’m looking forward to the opening of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in Clerkenwell, London. I’ve walked past the brick walls of the New River Head building many times (it’s just next to Sadler's Wells Theatre in Angel), and always wondered what it looked like inside. From Friday, we will be able to see how the derelict waterworks engine house and coal stores have been transformed by Tim Ronalds Architects into the UK’s only space dedicated to the art of illustration. It’s a wonderful project, celebrating not only the genius of Blake’s dynamic and whimsical drawings, but also an often overlooked art form. The inaugural exhibitions focus on Blake’s theatrical works, queer comic-makers, and the kaleidoscopic illustration of Welsh-Sri Lankan illustrator Murugiah. I can’t wait to visit the free reference library and look for cockatoos in the boutique.

The sporting event: the World Cup

Anna Fixsen, US editor

My football career ended sometime circa 1999, when I accidentally gave a kid a concussion during a scrimmage. However, with the World Cup landing stateside beginning 11 June, I am ready to re-immerse myself in the sport – sans head injuries. Fortunately, New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is aiming to create a ‘World Cup that belongs to New Yorkers’, not only throwing free fan events across the five boroughs, but also reserving 1,000 affordable tickets to lucky locals for when the matches arrive at MetLife Stadium in a few weeks. I’ve thrown my name in the hat for the cheap tickets, but if Lady Luck isn’t on my side, you’ll catch me watching the games in Brooklyn Bridge Park or a sunny rooftop watering hole. #Goals – in more ways than one!

June can mean only one thing: it's time for the London Festival of Architecture 2025. In the architecture circles, the summer kicks off with a healthy dose of thoughtful building design, of which the festival (a.k.a. LFA) has been a champion since the celebration's inception in 2012.

This year is no exception. Built around the main theme of Voices, and the richness and diversity we all bring to the folds of the capital's environment, the event looks at the big and the small scale, enhancing discussions, opening doors and offering the platform to a variety of people, organisations and needs. The goal? Not only to hear and learn more about architecture, and inclusive architecture at that, but also to inspire everyone to jump right in and take part in shaping London's built environment.

London Festival of Architecture 2025: a celebration of voices

For 2025, the festival brings a whopping 55 exhibitions, over 80 workshops, and 20 installations. Whether you are after discovering a hidden corner of London, or exploring through a fresh architectural lens the more well-trodden parts, such as the centre or your own neighbourhood or borough, there is something for everybody.

LFA 2025: themes and structure

The London Festival of Architecture 2025 programme is built around a mix of key 'Destinations' (Barnet, Brentford Golden Mile, City of London, and Fitzrovia) and 'Neighbourhoods' (Art Park in Harrow, Clapham Junction, Fleet Street Quarter, London Cancer Hub in Sutton, and Wood Green and Alexandra Palace). Categories include workshops (making 2025 a great, event-packed year for hands-on participation), tours, talks, exhibitions, performances, special launch events, studio lates, film and installations - all curated by a panel of experts, from architects to consultants, journalists and urban planning professionals.

Rosa Rogina, director of the London Festival of Architecture, said: 'The Festival has always been about testing new ideas and challenging the status quo. Following our 20th anniversary, LFA2025 is actioning the conversations we started -amplifying underrepresented voices and uncovering new perspectives on the city. We invite everyone to take part, whether you’re an architect, artist, community member, or simply curious about London’s future.'

LFA 2025: 9 highlights

It feels unfair to even attempt to whittle down over 450 very worthy events into a handful of highlights. So we hope our listing below (featuring one highlight per event category) is merely an entry point for discovering more about the festival and its offering. Plenty lies beyond the below selected nine activities - from a London Zoo tour, to 'Threading the Needle: Architecture of Care,' an exhibition that explores 2020 Obel Prize winner Anandaloy, a therapy centre for people with disabilities and home to Dipdii Textiles studio in Bangladesh, designed by Anna Herringer. If you are looking for inspiration and don't know where to start, just scroll down.

THE LAUNCH EVENT: Whispers by Oskar Zięta: Launch Event

When: Thursday 29 May, 10:45 - 13:00
Where: Outside of One New Ludgate

You can say 'I was there right from the start' by attending this LFA's launch event in the Fleet Street Quarter - no booking needed. The evening will see the unveiling of a special commission of an innovative sculptural installation by renowned Polish designer Oskar Zięta, titled Whispers. It promises to be an interactive experience involving an inflatable piece, as the artist describes using 'pioneering FiDU (Freie Innendruck Umformung) technology, which transforms flat metal sheets into lightweight, three-dimensional forms using internal air pressure.'

THE TALK: Earth, Memory, and the Spaces We Inhabit: Matrilineal Legacies in Contemporary Architecture

When: Friday 6th - Sunday 29th June
Where: NOW Gallery, Greenwich Peninsula

Another launch event, co-produced this time by BFA and DepART, this family of activities highlights a curated group of Black women innovating at the forefront of their creative industry field. The exhibit aims at readdressing how we view architecture, as part of a wider research body, the Ma Project, by the BFA. The organisation explains: 'Rooted in the Sankofa principle, returning to the past to retrieve what is valuable for the future, it reimagines architecture as an act of listening, remembering, and inspiring new futures.' This will be achieved through film, an installation of objects, and a series of talks.

THE INSTALLATION: Leaving a Mark by Bamidele Awoyemi, Farouk Agoro & Livia Wang (bafalw) with Red Collective

When: Saturday 28th - Monday 30th June
Where: Eastern Cluster of City of London

The result of an open competition, this series of installations was conceived to highlight the City of London's four public viewing galleries – The Garden at 120, Horizon 22, The Lookout & The Sky Garden. The four corresponding new structures have been designed to be at once beacons, rest stops and wayfinding devices, seeking to invite passers-by to rediscover hidden views of the Eastern Cluster of the City of London.

THE EXHIBITION: Richard Rogers: Talking Buildings

When: Wednesday 18th - Monday 30th June, 10:00 - 17:00
Where: Sir John Soane's Museum

Richard Rogers left an indelible mark on the global architecture scene – including, of course, his home base, London. This show puts the spotlight on his career – from early works such as Zip Up House and the Pompidou Centre, to Lloyds of London and the Millennium Dome. His human-centred design has been applauded and critically acclaimed, while his prolific nature means many of his buildings can be found in the streets of London, waiting to be experienced.

THE WORKSHOP: Voice your world with Lego – your build, your story, your voice

When: Across Saturdays in June
Where: Barnet libraries, North London

Something for the kids – in age and at heart – this workshop invites visitors to build with Lego. Play, make and share a story through the common language of the playful Lego brick. Sessions are available for ages three and over, but no booking is required, so join and let your craft and imagination do the talking.

THE PERFORMANCE: AP Sounds: Community-led broadcast

When: Saturday 21 June, 11:00 - 13:00
Where: Campsbourne Centre, Alexandra Park

With this event, you can not only be part of the architectural conversation in your neighbourhood, but you can also broadcast it in order for more people to join in. AP Sounds is a live pop-up community-led radio broadcast, mixing prerecording and live segments as part of an immersive radio experience at Ally Pally. From guest musicians to interviews, and going live from the Alexandra Palace Cricket and Football Club, the event caters for all tastes.

THE STUDIO LATE: ‘Sessions’ One-to-One Mentoring; by Narrative Practice, hosted by Fletcher Priest Architects

When: Thursday 26 June, 18:00 - 21:00
Where: Fletcher Priest Architects, Middlesex House, Cleveland Street, W1T 4JE

Narrative Practice lead, architect Dhruv Gulabchande is also part of this year's curatorial panel for LFA 2025. In this event, non-profit Narrative Practice and architecture studio Fletcher Priest Architects have joined forces to offer complimentary sessions and in-person design reviews and workshops for current and prospective students and young practitioners within architecture and the built environment. Mentors from the studio are available to guide and offer feedback, while the aim is for participants to receive information ahead of the event in order to prepare and make the most of their session.

THE TOUR: Design and Disability – Inclusive exhibition tour

When: Tuesday 17 June, 9.30 - 10.30
Where: Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington

Design and Disability opens at the V&A in South Kensington on the 7th June, aimed at celebrating and informing. Described as 'both a celebration and a call to action,' the exhibition fittingly highlights the contributions of Disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent people and communities to the world of design; and this inclusive tour by Sam Brown (V&A Design Studio) Natalie Kane (exhibition curator) and The DisOrdinary Architecture Project (Exhibition Accessibility Consultants) ensures that everyone can experience the show.

THE FILM SCREENING: Give Voice to locals! Night at the Museum

When: Thursday 26 June, 18:30 - 21:00
Where: A space for us, People's Museum

This would make for a perfect LFA ending. The event celebrates local voices via the medium of film, screening short documentary films by local filmmakers from the London areas of Euston, King's Cross and more. Offerings include the films Spirit! and somerstownwishes. Retro music from a vinyl record player follows the viewing, ensuring the night ends with some summer partying.

The London Festival of Architecture 2025 takes place across London from 1–30 June 2025

londonfestivalofarchitecture.org

The 2021 London Festival of Architecture is upon us. Returning for its 17th year, the beloved annual summer architectural celebration is anchored this year on the issue of ‘Care' – and quite fittingly so, given the wealth of old and new challenges the ongoing pandemic has brought to light. Responding to the world's changing needs and Covid-induced restrictions in the UK capital, while celebrating London architecture, the festival this year blends a programme of physical and digital events to ensure there's something for everyone. Topics range from the relationship between art and architecture, and London's architectural icons, to pressing issues around climate change, and diversity and inclusion in the industry and beyond – coming to you in film, talk, installation and tour format, and anything in between. Here's our pick of some of the events that are not to be missed.

30 Objects 30 days

For the second year of this initiative, the London Festival of Architecture organisers have asked 30 key figures in the industry to ‘nominate an object that they feel best represents this year’s festival theme of “care” and “architecture” and share a video explaining why'. The result will be released in the form of a video each day during June – the first three are by multidisciplinary studio Projects Office; spatial designer Betty Owoo; and architect Steve McCloy of McCloy + Muchemwa.

1-30 June

Home Fronts

Touching upon the ever-pressing issue of housing, this north London installation looks at the legacy of social housing in the London Borough of Haringey ‘through a series of 30 black-and-white photographs of dwellings that reflect a societal sense of ‘care’’. Set to remain open throughout June at the Hornsey Library, this event explores its topic while instigating a discussion on housing in the UK capital and beyond. 

1-30 June, 6am-11.45pm

City Benches

From a giant teacup to a wave made of recyclable materials, the winners of the annual City Benches competition have just been announced by the 2021 London Festival of Architecture. Fun, imaginative and engaging, the structures were selected for their functionality that provides valuable seating space in the City of London, as well as their ability to make us smile. Part of the festival’s hybrid programme this year, which spans both physical and digital events, the benches are a summer staple that appears yearly in the streets of Cheapside and, for the first time in 2021, Aldgate. 

1-30 June

Illuminated River

Created by New York artist Leo Villareal, London architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, and Atelier Ten, Illuminated River is a free and open art installation on and around London's bridges. Now, especially for the festival, Atelier Ten has created a PDF map of the installation offering further information and interesting facts around each section, so visitors can use it to tour and enjoy the artpiece. 

1-30 June

Modelmaking Workshop – Casting Materials and Silicone Moulds

Atelier La Juntana and 4D Modelshop, with the support of Axalta Powder Coatings, are leading this one-day workshop on modelmaking. Did you always want to learn more about the techniques of producing jaw-dropping architectural models? Or are you an experienced model-maker seeking to further hone your skills? This is the event for you, touching upon various methods, including the use of silicone moulds and casting materials. The workshop will be run virtually. 

26 June, 9.30am-2.30pm

RA Lego Challenge

The RA Lego Architecture Challenge is open to architecture practices as well as the wider public, and contestants are invited to show off their creations using the beloved architectural toy to construct a ‘caring city'. The installations can be built from the comfort of your own home and can be as large or as small as you like. 

18-25 June

‘A building, a body’ – an architectural tour of the Royal College of Physicians

It wouldn't be the London Festival of Architecture without visits to some of the capital's beloved landmarks. This tour takes visitors through the halls of the Royal College of Physicians. This iconic piece of modernist architecture, conceived in 1958 by architect Denys Lasdun, is set to spark conversations around how the design ‘cares' for its occupants and its history.

17 June

Signstrokes – Architectural Terminology and Sign Language

Signstrokes is a linguistic project by Adolfs Kristapsons and Chris Laing that discusses sign language and its role in architecture. ‘Deaf people are not new to architecture as a practice, but face significant barriers because the sign language vocabulary of the profession is not standardised and lacks breadth/complexity,' they say. 

28 June, 2pm-3pm

The Architecture Bake Off

Architecture, creativity, play and cakes; there's nothing not to love about the festival's architectural bake-off. The much-loved event returned in 2021 in a hybrid form, mixing physical and digital, home cooking with ambitious architecture and collaboration, and inviting everyone to take part in delicious icon-making. Ready, steady, bake! 

2-6 June

The London Society Architecture School 

A series of three talks during the festival will form the basis of this year's Architecture School, an initiative by The London Society that aims to open architecture and the discussion around it to all. The events will focus on presentations and discussions around not-for-profit designing and the effect this has on our urban space, democracy and infrastructure. Speakers include architects Dinah Bornat and Nisha Kurian, and architectural historian Neal Shasore. 

3, 10 and 17 June, 6.30pm-7.30pm

The People’s Pavilion – Caring About Co-Design

Launching mid-festival, this interactive installation is designed by young people but is open to all. The show celebrates the designs submitted for the inaugural People’s Pavilion design competition: ‘a powerful demonstration of why we must ensure everyone has a voice in shaping the built environment'. The People's Pavilion is an open, community space to be created by young Londoners later this summer. 

14-30 June

What is Net Zero Carbon?

A summer-long window installation, ‘What is Net Zero Carbon?' is the brainchild of architecture firms Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Thomas Matthews. ‘An overwhelming majority of UK citizens are unaware what the term “net zero carbon” actually means,’ says the team. ‘This colourful installation aims to debunk the mystery, taking the audience through the journey of understanding from why the planet is heating up, to what we are aiming towards, and how collectively we can reduce our impact on the environment.'

1 June-31 August, 6am-11pm

Who Cares?

This installation – located at architecture studio Squire & Partners' headquarters, The Department Store, in Brixton – focuses on the idea of caring within the community. What does caring in this context mean? The piece is brought to life by the studio together with AWMA. It combines work collected through an open call for submissions and an installation inspired by prayer flags. 

1-30 June

Perfect Spaces: Paintings by Ben Johnson at V&A virtual gallery

For this year's festival, the V&A has teamed up with Make Architects to launch the Vault of Contemporary Art (VCA). This virtual space's inaugural show zooms in on the work of artist Ben Johnson, experienced through 12 digital pavilions that can be accessed through a dedicated website. The show is located in the virtually transformed John Madejski Garden at the South Kensigton museum's grounds. 

16 June-1 September

The Davidson Prize

This event presents a virtual exhibition of the shortlisted, finalist and winning entries of the inaugural Davidson Prize – the gong set up in memory of Alan Davidson, the pioneer of architectural visualisations. Created around the theme Work/Home, the designs touch upon issues such as home working, community impact, biophilia and retrofitting. The entries were judged by a panel including Alison Brooks, Thomas Heatherwick, Michelle Ogundehin, Narinder Sagoo and Sonia Solicari.

9-30 June

INFORMATION
londonfestivalofarchitecture.org

From a giant teacup to a wave made of recyclable materials, the winners of the annual City Benches competition have just been announced by the 2021 London Festival of Architecture, which kicked off this week across the capital. Fun, imaginative and engaging, the structures were selected for their functionality that provides valuable seating space in the City of London, as well as their ability to make us smile. Part of the festival's hybrid programme this year, which spans both physical and digital events, the benches are a summer staple that appears yearly in the streets of Cheapside and, for the first time in 2021, Aldgate. 

There are nine winning designs and they include: It Takes Two by 10F, which is installed at the Nomura Building; Quick Getaway by Ex Architectures with Flu-or Arquitectura and the The Friendly Blob by Jelly Collaborative, both at the Bow Churchyard; Plant Yourself Here by Lisa McDanell Studio outside the Leman Locke Hotel; Do you care about your city? by Nick Green at 150 Cheapside; Conversation by NVBL with Webb Yates Engineers and The Stone Carving Company at the Aldgate Pump; Sobremesa by Pebble Haus outside the Royal Exchange; Monuments to Mingling by Sohanna Srinivasan in collaboration with Joyce and Joyce Joinery and A Small World at Toynbee Hall; and A Cuppa by The Mad Hatters at 20 Middlesex Street. 

The winning teams span various disciplines and countries, and offer emerging studios the possibility to make their designs reality in central London locations, improving the public realm. Experimentation is always important and the materials used this year are suitably diverse, ranging from eco-friendly ones that promote sustainable architecture, such as Smile Plastics, to stone and wood. 

‘City Benches is now an established fixture in the London Festival of Architecture’s public programme, and it’s exciting to see how the programme has expanded for 2021. Despite the constraints of the pandemic, this year’s diverse group of emerging architects and designers has risen to the challenge with a fantastic series of installations that enliven the City of London and Aldgate, and bring architectural creativity to new public audiences,' says London Festival of Architecture programme director Rosa Rogina.

The City Benches competition is led by the London Festival of Architecture with Cheapside Business Alliance and Aldgate Connect BID.

INFORMATION

londonfestivalofarchitecture.org

The central focus for the 2021 London Festival of Architecture has been announced. LFA 2021, which is set to take place from 1 to 30 June 2021, pandemic restrictions willing, has a starkly simple and compelling theme, ‘Care’. A deliberately broad topic that is also incredibly relatable in this age of pandemic, ‘Care’ is at the heart of the LFA’s annual call for proposals, which stays open until 7 March 2021.

Tamsie Thomson, managing director of New London Architecture, which co-ordinates the London Festival of Architecture, describes this year’s focus as a way for architecture to find common ground with empathy, emphasising the importance of both in the process. Traditionally, the LFA’s programming has been diverse, with events and installations scattered around the capital. Naturally, last year was digital-only; 2021 will hopefully mix online activities with live events.

‘This year’s London Festival of Architecture is a chance to examine "care" in all its forms, and perhaps an exhortation for us all to care more,’ Thomson says, and the LFA’s Curatorial Panel is doubtless hoping to be inspired by entries from all facets of society. The panel includes journalist Will Hurst, architects Manijeh Verghese, Dipa Joshi and David Buckle and the broadcaster Suzy Klein, among others.

The organisers hope that ‘Care’ encourages contributions from every sector, from the purely practical world of healthcare to ongoing ways of making urban spaces more inclusive and accessible. Sadly, it’s the failings of care that have dominated recent headlines, as layers of complexity have to be staunched by emergency planning or peeled back by public enquiries.

Care for the environment is also top of the agenda for 2021, which also sees the COP 26 Summit in Glasgow this November. Back in 2019, there were around 600 physical LFA events across the city and 800,000 visitors. Here’s hoping that Thomson and her team can harness the capital’s creative energy to get 2021 into better shape.

INFORMATION
londonfestivalofarchitecture.org

In the City of London five new colourful public benches have popped up. These designs are the finalists of a London Festival of Architecture (LFA) design competition for young architects and designers. The benches are refreshing islands of creativity in the heavily built up financial district of the city.

Usually running through June, the LFA saw itself following a more digital format due to the pandemic this year. The new benches are a great opportunity to show how people are slowly returning to the public spaces and the central areas of the city safely.

The annual competition aims to showcase new design talent, and the benches encourage people to stop, observe and spend time thinking about the city in new ways. This year there has been a particularly international cohort of designers involved with studios from Denmark, Belgium, Italy and the UK.

Ellie Stathaki, Wallpaper* architecture editor, joined the judging panel, alongside Tamsie Thomson, director of the LFA, and Dieter Kleiner, director, RCKa Architects, and others, to select the most striking and original designs exploring this year's festival theme of ‘Power'.

In front of the Royal Exchange, Studio mxmxm's bench made from laser-cut powder coated steel plates and titled 51°30’48.6” N 0°05’17.9” W challenges people to locate the bench through coordinates. The Two-Seater Rule by Iain Jamieson with Dave Drury features two facing chairs, positioned at a safe two metre distance, to encourage conversation. While Oli Colman's colourful eyeball bench encourages people passing by to look up at the surrounding architecture.

Two of the benches were inspired by the history of architecture in the City of London. A concrete pineapple bench by Hugh Diamond, Archie Cantwell and Cameron Clarke was inspired by Sir Christopher Wren's original plans for St. Paul’s Cathedral which featured a golden pineapple atop the dome, and the fruit's connotations with hospitality, trade and power. While PROFFERLO drew on the typical Victorian house chimney, designing a backrest to the bench from traditional chimney pots.

Thomson said: ‘City Benches is a fantastic programme, giving opportunities for fresh design talent to respond to the streetscape of the City of London, and to engage with the thousands of people who will encounter their creations. This year, creating new seating in the context of Covid-19 restrictions was an additional challenge, and one that this year’s cohort have risen to brilliantly with benches that can brighten any day while allowing more socially distanced outdoor space.'

INFORMATION

londonfestivalofarchitecture.org

cityoflondon.gov.uk

Long-time Wallpaper* contributor, Leandro Farina’s striking experiments with light and photographic techniques have seen him carve out a distinctive reputation in still life photography, with collaborations with the likes of Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford under his belt. Here, for a personal project, he throws the spotlight on something a little different: Ernö Goldfinger’s vertical vision for London, cemented in the brutalist architecture of Balfron Tower. Farina gained access at a rare moment, in the early stages of a regeneration project that has stirred a debate on gentrification. This poignant visual narration, titled Balfron, Brownfield, Estate, uses an arresting light inversion technique, which, as he explains, felt like an appropriate application for Balfron Tower’s ‘second life’.

Wallpaper*: When and how did the idea for the project Balfron, Brownfield, Estate come about?

Leandro Farina: In 2017 and 2018. I had shot an interiors project for the developer and asked if I could get access for my own project. I don’t live too far from the estate – which made it easier to return frequently – and I always regarded it when I walked past.

After my visit, I was struck by how building projects take place. This kind of transformation happens in relative seclusion: a curtain goes up at the beginning and when it’s finished, is taken away again, so you don’t really get to see the process. I liked the idea of taking pictures in a place and creating an archive of it periodically. This meant that every time I returned, lots had changed; I could never take the same picture in the same place twice – a new version of the scene would emerge.

W*: What do you find so intriguing about the architecture and story of Balfron Tower?

LF: I think of Goldfinger and Balfron as interesting London characters and I love how the building has been used in the past. Balfron has been the backdrop to quite a few films and books and I had read J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise in my 20s. Somehow that always sticks in the mind when walking around London especially when it’s grey. But I think my interest in the project was more opportunistic. I stumbled into it and how it looked affected me somehow, so I started to think, ‘why?’.

I think that Brutalism, in general, frightened me as a child growing up in London. To me, the austere and functional design and the incongruousness of the monolithic concrete towers rising from behind rows of two-storey Victorian houses were fascinating and repellent in equal measure. 

I’ve always been attracted to interiors because I like to think about the people who lived in those places previously and try to understand the story of a place at a certain time. As the tower stood completely empty in a state of deconstruction, it let me look at these layers of habitation in linear stages going backwards. I saw it as a portal to a kind of different time in an otherworldly landscape.  

W*: Can you talk a little about your photographic approach to this? 

LF: I usually work with tabletop-sized things, but also work on larger projects for Wallpaper*, photographing (set build) interiors, I always try to think about these projects from the point of view of the people who might use them and create the spaces with that in mind. I love architecture, but don’t take pictures of it professionally so I just approached it in the same way I work in the studio. I had an idea of what the pictures should look like and I went looking for them in the building.

Once I had all the pictures I could take, I sat on it for a quite a while and wondered if I could do more than just create a record and perhaps make the image-making process more integral to the subject matter. I experimented with various processes but kept coming back to a kind of solarisation process; inverting the light seemed to feel somehow appropriate to the building’s second life.

W*: What were some of the most interesting objects or elements of the building that you came across? 

LF: I tried to look for anything personal that was left behind or that might indicate the passing of time. The Margaret Thatcher room was an interesting surprise. The entire room was covered in postcard-sized images of Margaret Thatcher's face in an animated sequence, like film slides laid out next to each other. I have no idea why, but the mystery is compelling. Balfron has 146 flats; many of the floors in the building were already stripped so I could see all stages in the process.  A couple of the floors still had elements of previous tenants’ interiors, wallpaper or modifications to the interiors – I tried to look for as many of these as possible. 

W*: Do you have any plans to publish the series? 

LF: I’m planning to publish it as a book, hopefully towards the end of the year.

INFORMATION

leandrofarina.com

Three miniature landscape settings have popped up in London, temporarily transforming pockets of pavement into public ‘parklets’. As part of the London Festival of Architecture, in partnership with the City of London Corporation, the three urban interventions have been designed by emerging London-based practitioners.

The parklets respond to a brief, which called competition entrants (of which there were more than 90) to reclaim unused spaces for pedestrians and showcase the potential of city streets as a connected urban park.

Architecture studio PARTI has placed its project, Rocks and Reeds, which takes the form of an undulating bench and reed sprouting sofa, on Billiter street. Construction rubble from demolition works taking place next door has been placed in a Corten steel cage which comprises the reed bed. The parklet helps shelter passers-by from over spilling dust and helps clean the air with the use of grasses that will grow to 1.5m high.

‘We wanted to create something playful, that hinted towards domestic furniture — turning a raw, heavy and austere palette of materials into something playful, welcoming and light,’ says Eleanor Hill, founding director of PARTI. ‘We want to bring back elements from the river and marshes to reconnect the passer-by to the story of London as a marshland.’

At Smithfield Market, pollution is also on the agenda. A decommissioned London black cab has been turned into a place for sitting, relaxing and playing by Fatkin architects in The London Cablet. The former diesel guzzling, noxious fume spewing machine now boasts plants that absorb pollution, subsequently providing an unexpected habitat for pollinating insects.

Lastly, artist Patrick McEvoy repurposed the kerb on St Martins le Grand as an open-air artist's studio and gallery. Drawing on the York stone slabs, which are commonly used as a canvas by London’s pavement artists, The Pavement Art Gallery, encourages those wandering by to draw upon York stone slabs that have been placed on three easels. The parklets will remain in London until September.

INFORMATION

londonfestivalofarchitecture.org

The City of London – the Square Mile that contains St Paul’s, the Barbican, and the Gherkin amongst other architectural landmarks – is known as London’s financial district, yet recently, with the news of Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s concert hall and Foster’s tulip-shaped tourist tower, it seems the City is going in a new direction. Five new home-grown cultural attractions will be found in the City for the month of June – a series of eccentric benches designed by young Londoners with ambitions to add some delight to the daily life.

Partnering up with the London Festival of Architecture, the City of London Corporation and Cheapside Business Alliance commissioned five new benches for the Cheapside area – choosing the winning designs through a competition open to young architects and designers. The challenge was to design an ‘imaginative place for people to rest amidst the bustle of their city surroundings.’

The group of judges (including Ellie Stathaki, Wallpaper* architecture editor) got together to sift through nearly 100 entries from a whole range of architecture and design students, recent graduates and emerging practices. What stood out to them this year – the competition is in its second iteration after its success last year – was bold colour, unconventional shapes, curves, hearts and dogs – all in all, the designs seem to be seeking to bring a little bit of happiness to the streets of London.

The five winners were then let loose with budget of £800 to create and manufacture their benches, and as a result, some very unexpected objects have descended on the city. One bench (Whippet Good) designed by Delve Architects with DragonSmoke Construction, is shaped like a giant, curled up whippet dog, plopped onto the pavement. Anna Janiak Studio’s bench is inspired by life-sized astronomical instruments and Armor Gutiérrez Rivas and Atelier La Juntana’s heart-shaped loveseat might just inspire some romance over a Pret sandwich or two over the next month.

The concept of play has been incited by all designers and architects involved: Astrain Studio Architects’ colourful design of interlocking geometric forms was inspired by children’s building blocks, and Sarah Emily Porter with James Trundle’s bench promises to shake up the daily commute with a rhythmic take on the shape lifted from the London tube map.

‘Together, the benches demonstrate not only the brilliance of London’s emerging architects, designers and artists, but also how small interventions can make such a difference to how people can experience and enjoy London’s streets and spaces,’ says Tamsie Thomson, Director of the London Festival of Architecture.

These benches are simple, creative, democratic urban tools that add to city life in so many ways. Instead of packing people into a lift to ship them up into a bulbous bar above the city, they are open to all to enjoy the city daily – designed by young Londoners with bright ideas, they are pops of colour and humour to uplift the urban fabric, and add to the social layers of life at street level.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the London Festival of Architecture website

Yinka Ilori: Types of happiness

Flying a flag of optimism through patterns and colour, artist Yinka Ilori brings London ‘16 different types of happiness’ through different pieces of furniture that ‘explore the art of sitting down’ in an exhibition at StudioRCA. The exhibition is inspired by his design for an underpass in Nine Elms – his first public commission which he won by competition. Ilori’s graphic and colourful work is being splashed across the city this summer – he has also designed the Dulwich Pavilion in collaboration with Pricegore, opening in June for the London Festival of Architecture. 

1 – 23 June, 12:00 – 18:00
StudioRCA, 1 Riverlight Quay, Nine Elms Ln, London SW8 5AU

In anticipation of this year’s Dulwich Pavilion – south London’s younger sibling to the Serpentine Gallery pavilion – we stepped behind the scenes with architects Pricegore and artist Yinka Ilori to see the fabrication stages. The design's colourfully patterned timber louvres work together in tandem to reflect the joy of multicultural London.

Collaborating with structural engineers eHRW and fabricators Raskl, Pricegore reached the decision that all the timber parts would have the same slender proportions to create the most interesting optical effect. Douglas Fir timber was chosen because of its ability to be cut into slim pieces – and due to the open, ventilated design, in the likelihood of rain, it will dry out quickly. As well as passing around the exterior, the design invites visitors to climb up to walk within the structural frame, to be fully immersed in shifting colours and pattern.

From the cerise pink, canary yellow, granny-smith-apple green and bright sky blue, you’ll quickly be able to see why the pavilion is titled ‘The Colour Palace’. ‘The different colours and combinations were inspired by the beautiful shades that make up Balogun market – a luxurious fabric market in Lagos, Nigeria. In Balogun Market you can purchase Swiss Voile Lace, Aso-oke and Dutch Wax prints; its literally the Colour Palace,’ says London-based Ilori, who is of Nigerian heritage and blends Nigerian traditions with contemporary design across his work.

These bright colours will positively bounce off the demure, Sir John Soane-designed gallery building. ‘The Dulwich Picture Gallery is a building we know well and greatly admire so we wanted the pavilion to respond with confidence,’ say Peckham-based architects Dingle Price and Alex Gore of Pricegore. ‘Like Yinka, Soane was a master of colour, often using tinted glass and mirrors to create atmospheric interiors – we like to think he would have enjoyed the colourful optical qualities of the pavilion.’

The overall effect of the pavilion will playfully vary as you explore around it: ‘The large geometric patterns on the facade work at the scale of the garden, and from a distance you would not be aware that the building is made up of thousands of individually painted elements. Close up to the pavilion you will be able to see how the complex visual effects are created in a simple way by painting each face of the timber louvres a different colour,’ say the architects.

The Balogun Market was an inspiration for Ilori because of its ‘rich energy’ and capacity to bring people together – which is exactly what The Colour Palace will do in London with its programme of public events this summer. By 12 June, the painted timber louvres will be assembled in the leafy gardens for the summer, and thanks to its modular design it might be spreading happy vibes elsewhere in the future too.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Dulwich Picture Gallery website, and the London Festival of Architecture website

With the mission to support London’s architecture talent, celebrate innovation, and promote positive change to the public realm, the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) returns this June with a 400-event strong programme.

The line-up – featuring events such as a ‘migration walk’ in East London, a ‘comedy safari’ of classic Londoner experiences and a séance at the John Soanes-designed Pitzhanger Manor – is experimental. Refreshingly, the majority of events push way beyond printed images and text on the walls. While events span many types – from exhibition, installation, talks, workshops, family events, walking tours – there is an enthusiastic focus on group interaction and public engagement.

This year’s theme of ‘Boundaries’ has been approached from many different perspectives by the events – from physical boundaries found in the city, to the hidden gender and privilege boundaries that many architects face in the industry.

Helping participants and Londoners alike to make sense of 400 events, the LFA has carved out four festival hubs – the City of London; London Bridge; the Royal Docks; and the ‘Heart of London’ covering St James’s, Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Come June, we will offer readers a distilled list of the very best that the festival has in store – watch this space. 

INFORMATION

The London Festival of Architecture, 1-30 June 2019. For more information, visit the website

The City of London is one of this year’s London Festival of Architecture’s (LFA) key focus areas, and one of the hub’s big flagship events has just been unveiled; the winning designs of the City Benches competition that took place earlier this spring have just been installed at their respective sites.

The winners, a series of one-off benches, were selected via an open-call competition that sought to reward young, dynamic practices that submitted creative designs in a range of materials and styles. The process involved the winning designs being realised and installed in a specific location – designs were matched with sites by the organisers.

The nine selected pieces have now been unveiled at a variety of London locations, including London Bridge Station, the Royal Exchange, the Bloomberg Arcade, One New Change, 150 Cheapside, Bow Church Yard, Fen Court, Creechurch Place, and Jubilee Gardens. The studios behind the imaginative creations range in scale, and their approaches are equally varied, with benches produced in everything from concrete and wood to metal and ceramics. Some reference the locale’s identity, and for others, the author has found inspiration in more personal stories and readings of the city.

‘For the London Festival of Architecture – with our mission to change London for the better and support its emerging creative talent, City Benches is the perfect project’, says LFA director Tamsie Thomson. ‘The new installations demonstrate how small-scale interventions, in the hands of talented architects and designers, can make a big difference the city around us and will be enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people. We’re very grateful to the City of London Corporation, Cheapside Business Alliance and Team London Bridge for making this project happen.‘

The project was brought to life as a partnership between the LFA, the City of London Corporation and Cheapside Business Alliance. The benches will remain at their current location until the end of the month, when the festival closes.

INFORMATION

For more information visit the London Festival of Architecture website

Cast into a skip in a car-parking space is a cartoon house by artist Richard Wood. It’s a suprising addition to Hoxton square in London, but Skip Gallery has a reputation for popping up in unexpected places – from residential squares to commercial districts of the city.

This installation, opening for the occasion of the London Festival of Architecture and running for the month of June, is titled ‘Upgrade’.

‘Shaping and altering our immediate surroundings is a fundamental part of being alive,’ says Woods, who hopes that the piece will make people question their surroundings and context of Hoxton square in a new way.

The project is a follow up from his ‘Holiday Home’ installation conceived for the Folkstone Triennial in 2017. This saw the arrival of six bright bungalows across the coastal town bringing attention to housing issues across the UK such as second-home ownership and the national housing shortage. 

INFORMATION

‘Upgrade’ is on view until 30 June. For more information, visit the Skip Gallery website

ADDRESS

Skip Gallery
The parking space opposite 19 Hoxton Square
London
N1 6PB

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

The London Festival of Architecture returns for its 13th edition, running from 1 – 30 June, centred on the theme of ‘memory’ and directed by Tamsie Thomson, previously director of RIBA London.

The festival brings together a diverse programme of over 450 events including talks from front running architects such as Richard Rogers and Kengo Kuma who have been strategic to shaping the city’s urban environments, as well as a plethora of walking tours and open studios across the capital, which offer more nuanced and focused angles on this year’s theme.

Architecture is central to how we formulate memories – we instinctively pin them to places and environments. A public square, doorway, park or even a curb, can recall an experience previously forgotten, as if you were retracing your own historic steps. Memory is an inherently human experience, and consequently a focus of the festival’s programming is housing estates, explored in relation to London’s current housing crisis.

Insight into the newest housing developments changing the landscape of London is revealed by WilkinsonEyre at Battersea Power Station and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners at the Riverlight development in Nine Elms conducting tours of the sites, while Alison Brooks presents an exhibition questioning future estate regeneration models, Mae Architects discuss the contemporary relevance of the decades old Boundary and Golden Lanes Estates and artist Mark Aitken presents a photographic series in the soon to be demolished Cressingham Gardens estate near Brixton.

Discover the top 20 events from the London Festival of Architecture

Many of the projects initiate collaborations between architects, artists, students, writers, academics and members of the community, creating a healthy space for critical, opposing and diverse opinions. And many architecture practices are throwing open their doors for visitors to explore studios, see exhibitions and meet the people working on projects across their city.

A must visit ‘hub’ of the LFA is the Royal Docks area, where the Carlsberg Tetley Building is hosting an immersive theatre experience and tours of the local Silvertown area are being led. This area is at the beginning of a period of redevelopment, so it is a nice moment to head east, explore some derelict buildings and make some memories.

For a further taste of architectural nostalgia, the ArchFilmFest, which is running concurrently in partnership with the LFA, will explore historic urban landscapes of New York through The Fountainhead (1949), Paris through Playtime (1967) and Liverpool through Of Time and the City (2008). While exploring how film can also create fictive environments (Los Angeles plays itself, 2003, or Synecdoche, New York, 2008) that might make us question where the line between memory and imagination falls.

In a city such as London that is constantly in flux, it is important to step back and consider which memories might be at risk of being forgotten, which ones should definitely be forgotten, and the role architecture can play in creating happy new ones.

INFORMATION

The London Festival of Architecture runs until 30 June. For more information, visit the website

‘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

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

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

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'

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

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'

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

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).

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

When it comes to reappraising London’s modernist housing estates as design destinations, the halo of recognition around the Barbican, the Brunswick and Erno Goldfinger’s additions tends to eclipse lesser-known gems scattered around the capital. The photographic exhibition 'Blueprint for Living', showing in Wandsworth as part of the London Festival of Architecture, highlights one of them, while revealing something of what we are missing a lot of the time.

Focusing on the Sir John Leslie Martin-designed 1950s Fitzhugh Grove estate on Wandsworth Common, fine-art photographer and resident Sharon O’Neill has created a series of interior images that consider how Leslie Martin’s particular utopian philosophy translates today. Leslie Martin, principal architect of the Royal Festival Hall, had published the book Circle with artist Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo in 1937. It explored the idea that a well-considered link of art, architecture and design could augment the quality of everyday life.

'As a resident on the estate, which is made up of just five buildings, I always had this notion that there had been a lot of thought and cleverness in the absolute simplicity of the flats,' says O’Neill of the general mood of the place that first piqued her interest. 'The quality of light that comes into the rooms is exceptional.' That observation alone confirms Leslie Martin’s vision as a real success in that he viewed the building as 'something in the nature of a living organism. Planning for air, sun and view is a question of feeling and not of knowledge… The implications are far reaching.'

O’Neill discovered that Leslie Martin’s environmental philosophy still chimes with those living on the Fitzhugh Estate today: 'Every resident I have spoken with absolutely loves living on the estate and the sense of space, greenery and trees surrounding them. Leslie Martin’s vision is really not lost on them at all.' But it wasn’t until she started researching the possibility of a project involving her own house that O’Neill discovered the estate’s rich architectural heritage.

'Sir Leslie Martin was part of the golden age of the London County Council Architects Department in the early 1950s where much of the best examples of post war social housing was conceived and built,' she says. 'I think it's important to highlight his work.' In her extended role as exhibition curator, O’Neill has also paid homage to the photographer Bill Toomey, a famed RIBA photographer, incorporating a series of archival photographs from the RIBA Collections of the construction, interiors and communal spaces of the Estate, documented mainly by him from 1956. Lift, a wryly touching film by BAFTA award winner Marc Isaacs, filmed in part on the Estate, is also on show.

Further research at the RIBA Collections Architectural Press Archive led to O’Neill’s discovery of Leslie Martin’s prescient The Flat Book. Published in 1936 and co-authored by his wife Sadie Speight, it offers careful advice on how to furnish the 'modern' flat.

'During my research I was thinking about how, even after the 1980's Right-to-Buy scheme passed over 30 years ago, council housing still exists in some form or another. Then I looked at the estate I live on and thought, "Where are we now?" O’Neill could see that the demographic had completely changed and so the seed for this insightful, sometimes poignant, body of work was planted.'

INFORMATION

’Blueprint For Living’ is on view until 4 June. For more information on the 2016 London Festival of Architecture visit the LFA website.

For more information on the project visit the website

Photography: Sharon O’Neill

ADDRESS

Fitzhugh Estate
Fitzhugh grove
Wandsworth
SW18 3SA  

View Google Maps

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

’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

This year's London Festival of Architecture focuses on the increasing use of unconventional workspaces across the capital. As the nature of work continues to change, so too does the working environment. Remote working has freed employees up from their workstations; at the same time, myriad start-ups and sole-traders have taken space in shared offices, which are springing up across cities worldwide.

The London-based architectural practice Gensler is exploring this phenomenon in its debate 'Why Keep Work in the Office When We Can Have the City?' The panellists will grapple with issues such as: How will office environments change to counter or embrace this trend? What will future 'Third Spaces' become? And how can these spaces respond in order to better support the industry clusters that they are embedded in?'

RIBA's event, 'The Changing Face of Workspace', pushes this theme further still, questioning whether these changes and the way we work have a greater impact on us than we might expect.

But it's not all co-working and coffee shops. Under the Archiboo banner, Carlo Ratti of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ponders the repercussions for how whole cities are designed in his talk 'The Future of Work: the New Ideas That Will Kill the Office'.

Meanwhile, as digital technology allows work to become ever-more invasive, the effect this is having on our sleep and well-being is discussed at 'Hypnos: The Architecture of Sleep'. This panel debate, which accompanies Sto Werkstatt's exhibition on sleep, asks: 'What does it say about a company that provides a bed, on the proviso that you are available 24/7?' Sleep neuroscientist Professor Jim Horne will be on the panel hoping to throw light on the subject.

This year's event illustrates many different futures for our working lives – but one thing participants do agree on is that almost continual change is now a given.

Creating a new community or cultural hotspot from scratch is an extraordinary and huge challenge, especially in an over-developed city like London, where space comes at a premium. But as this year’s London Festival of Architecture highlights, there is a plethora of new and ambitious regeneration projects underway in the capital. Seeking to create new neighbourhoods, in some cases the size of small towns, these new schemes are currently sprouting up in previously neglected pockets of the city.

‘I think it’s important that we create communities, places where people want to live and work,’ says Tony Pidgley, Chairman of the Berkeley Group, developers who currently have regeneration projects underway in London’s Blackfriars and Manor House, both of which are being opened up as part of the LFA’s programme of walking tours. ‘This is what regenerating London is all about - making places people can enjoy.’

The theme of ‘cultural placemaking’ is particularly strong at this year’s festival and is the focus of a talk organised by the Architecture Foundation that examines the locally-led garden city-style development that is planned for Ebbsfleet in Kent. Taking place this weekend, Ellis Woodman Director of The Architecture Foundation and Louise Wyman architect and Ebbsfleet UDC Masterplanning Director are set to discuss how the masterplan is taking shape at the offices of AHMM in Old Street.

For a preview of projects underway in the beating heart of the city, join Transport for London Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy, who will be driving his restored routemaster around the West End with representatives of London's leading developers. Acting as tour guides for the trip, the developers will highlight the work they are doing across Covent Garden, Regent Street, St James's, Mayfair, Fitzrovia, Victoria and Kings Cross.

For those interested in the impact that London’s array of new developments will have on the skyline, the Design Council has brought back its sell-out London skyline tour, in which Thomas Bender, the Cabe team’s Lead Advisor for Design Review, explores the skyline’s past, present and future.

At the other end of the spectrum, away from the glossy developments, research group Cass Cities has organized an exhibition and series of walking tours that draw attention to the uncertain future of London’s small businesses; specifically those of the middle Lea Valley (Haringey, Enfield and Waltham Forest), which may be the next to fall victim to the capital’s seemingly insatiable appetite for the new.

The London Festival of Architecture, the capital's annual celebration of architecture and the built environment, is back. The month-long extravaganza launches today with a wealth of activities all over London, promising something for everybody, around a central theme: Work In Progress.

Shining a spotlight on London's international character, this year's offerings - a striking collection of over 240 talks, exhibitions, tours and installations - include a key brand new initiative. Having a Focus Country does exactly what it says on the tin and this year's protagonist is Ireland. In collaboration with Irish Design 2015, a vehicle set up for the promotion and showcase of Ireland's creative design talent, the festival marks its launch by unveiling two pavilions on Kings Cross' latest public space, the Lewis Cubitt Square.

Naturally, both structures are designed by Irish practices - there is a vibrant yellow cubic shelter by Hall McKnight and a bright red structure, reminiscent of a stage set, by a group of young Dublin-based architects, including Clancy Moore, TAKA and Steven Larkin. Flanking the square, the vividly coloured structures were created in a record 10-days and were conceived as spaces for the public to interact and engage with architecture. 'They had to be interactive, dynamic and the public should be able to engage with them,' explains ID2015 Chief Executive Karen Hennessy. 'We wanted them also to be a performance.'

The notion of performance did indeed come into the discussion quite a bit, explains Andrew Clancy of Clancy Moore, as did ideas around collaboration and authorship, which were equally important to the team. 'Architecture is not a solitary discipline and for us, it would be more legitimate to do something were individual authorship is to that visible.' Creating something that would be part of the public space was central to the design process and the red pavilion was designed as a public installation that can be used - visitors can sit there, walk through, while it will also be used for events.

This is why the SmartPly Oriented Strand Board (a plywood alternative) and concrete installation was created to be open, as 'part of a large façade', he says. 'The façade of every building is its most public space. The places were people gather are often a type of threshold.' Even its colour was a carefully thought-out choice, referencing the iconic London telephone box, a space, Clancy says, that sits between a room and a piece of infrastructure.

The yellow pavilion, in contrast, is more enclosed. Inside, it hosts bricks from a row of terraced houses from Belfast, where Hall McKnight have their base. It was designed as an exploration of how 'the city is assembled from individual parts', explain the architects, which feels like a perfect fit for the festival's overall theme.

Kicking off with a big bash tonight, around the newly completed pavilions, LFA 2015 will unroll in the next four weeks with a host of explorations around its wide-reaching theme. We will follow the developments week-by-week, picking our highlights, from London's exciting ongoing developments to the future of workspace. Watch this space…

ADDRESS

Venues across London from 1 until 30 June

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

The architect Erno Goldfinger is indelibly associated with the Trellick Tower, the once-derided concrete edifice on London’s western fringes that bucked anti-Brutalist sentiment to become one of the capital’s most desirable designer pied-a-terres. 

About ten miles due east sits the Trellick’s still lesser-known sibling, the Balfron Tower. Completed in 1967, it predates Trellick by five years and was something of a testbed for the architect’s quest to perfect the interaction between apartments, services, and surroundings. After completion, the Goldfingers took their own apartment in the Balfron, number 130, and ran champagne-fuelled consultancies with the residents to hone the way the flats were laid out; ideas that were taken forward with the Trellick.  

The Balfron still stands as bold and robust as it did the day it opened. Living spaces are generous by today’s paltry standards, and every apartment is dual aspect, with views west over the City and east towards Essex. Of course, the Balfron also hasn’t been without its problems. Goldfinger embedded services deep within the core, making upgrading problematic, destructive and expensive. Fancy ideas like tennis courts and integral sandpits were never properly used and there were the usual problems with lifts, lights and insulation.

Ultimately, while the Trellick benefited hugely from the uplift of its west London location, turning it into a desirable (and expensive) place to live, the Balfron lost out in the location stakes. Looming large over the approach road to the Blackwall Tunnel, close to East India Dock Road, it lords over a long-overlooked stretch of London that can practically touch the silvery towers of Canary Wharf; although didn’t have the chance to benefit from similar investment up till now. 

Change is afoot. Poplar HARCA, a local housing association, has a major refurbishment underway. Carradale House, the low rise Goldfinger block alongside the Balfron, has already been given a substantial overhaul, and the next step is to tackle the tower. 

In this interim state, the Balfron Tower finds itself the central hub of new British Council-led mini festival - itself part of the wider London Festival of Architecture programme. New Perspectives: A Celebration at Balfron on 21 June is described as a ’vertical carnival’, with a collection of in-tower installations by interior design students from the RCA, weaving narratives and performances around the building. 

As well as playing host to the RCA, the tower will contain an exhibition related to the British Council’s International Architecture Showcase, an ongoing programme that looks at how émigrés and outsiders have shaped the city. Pairing international architects with London firms, a set of ten teams are working on a new idea for the tower itself and its surroundings. Elsewhere, there are walking tours, artist talks, film screenings and a rooftop panel event, offering up London as a backdrop to a discussion on the émigré architecture in London over the decades. Seize a rare chance to take a skyline tour of London from a new perspective. 

ADDRESS

Balfron Tower, 
St Leonards Road,
London E14 0QT

View Google Maps

Wallpaper's annual Architects Directory has made the leap from page to exhibition space once again. Featuring 20 practices from 17 countries and four continents, the 'Future Capital' show is running for the rest of the month at Two Pancras Square in King's Cross.

The exhibition is being held in association with Ceramics of Italy and includes large-scale reproductions of the specially commissioned artworks featured in the magazine. Created by the London-based artist Richard Kolker, the works are showcased within an immersive, bespoke installation created by Robert Storey with lighting designs supplied by Davide Groppi. Pieces include the award-winning swaying, blade-like Sampei, Omar Carraglia's wall-mounted Mira display light, and Q, the concrete cube uplighter designed by Alberto Zattin.

Richard Kolker works extensively using photography and 3D rendering software to explore the physical world, whether it's recreating the floor plans of long-lost asylums as monolithic, anonymous entities, or recreating iconic artworks through either physical reconstruction or tools like Google maps. We spoke to Kolker about the commission and his approach to creating original artwork for 20 of the brightest and best young architecture studios around the world.

What was the brief and how did you respond to it?
Well, it was really open - an image to represent the work of each practice. I was concerned that I didn't just want to create a series of visualisations in a similar style to either the architects' drawings or photographs. Instead I wanted to create a unified set of images showing the diversity of the work while simultaneously offering a stylistically related series.

How have you reinterpreted these twenty houses?
I was given several hundred images, plans, visualisations and drawings of varying degrees of complexity from which I created 3D computer models of buildings, a single one to represent each practice. I created a virtual 'still life' set into which each building was placed, lit with a single, parallel light source to represent the sun and 'photographed' with a virtual camera and rendered out as a simple photographic, computer generated image. I took care to texture the models appropriately from the visual details I was given, but as my brief was visual, as opposed to an architectural one, I didn't worry if these were not 100% in line with the architects' design.

What's your technical approach (software packages, etc)?
I use Maxon's Cinema 4D for model making. I used to use Autodesk's 3ds Max, but switched to Cinema 4D several years ago. I feel it's designed as a more 'complete', fully integrated package. It's very intuitive, which makes complicated tasks far more manageable. I use Next Limit's Maxwell Render as my render engine. It's an unbiased render so it is technically very 'photographic', both in terms of use and results.

How does your work respond to the emergence of photorealist imagery in architecture?
I didn't want to create a photoreal representation of the building but, in most cases, a photographic representation of a model of the building. I didn't want to illustrate the environmental context of the work, but just the architectural elements themselves. Simulated photography is a large part of my practice, but the level of photoreality depends on the particular brief. Photoreal visualisations are a natural consequence of developments in software, rendering engines and hardware capabilities, not just in architecture, but in photographic advertising imagery too. Agencies are aware of these developments and commission increasingly realistic photographic style work.

'Future Capital' runs from 13 to 30 June at Two Pancras Square, King's Cross, London N1C 4AG. Opening hours are 10am - 7pm on Monday to Friday and 12pm - 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. The exhibition is part of the London Festival of Architecture.

When it was built in the midst of a bomb site nearly 40 years ago, the Museum of London represented the future of architecture. While that might now seem a quaint notion, visitors are being asked to contemplate the future of that same site with an interactive installation, launching today as part of the London Festival of Architecture.

House of Muses is conceived as a large stone architectural fragment inspired by the Church of St Alban down the road, built by Christopher Wren - the tower of which is all that remains. Moulded from white plaster and propped on a plinth of scagliola, the new structure follows the traditional dips and bows of a classical column, yet its simplicity makes it appear amazingly fresh and modern on the pallid deck of the museum. Architect Nicholas Lobo Brennan, of the Swiss architecture and design practice Gruppe, says that, rather than harken back to an earlier time, the column 'uses history consciously'.

Lobo Brennan and his partners Boris Gusic and Christoph Junk won the commission by bringing to light 'the clash of times and styles' of this area, bound by 2,000 years of history. 'We wanted to give an idea of what has been and what could be,' says Lobo Brennan, 'to begin the discussion of this place by adding another fragment.'

At a basic level, House of Muses provides a place to sit - on the smooth plinth within the fluted niches of the column. 'With people meeting and chatting, kids climbing up... the urban barrier is broken down,' says Lobo Brennan. 'For me, some of the great social spaces of London happen when it's raining heavily and everyone has to hide under the eaves. It's the same here - the architectural elements encourage social engagement.'

Visitors can also enter into the raw plywood interior, like backstage at a theatre, to jot down their thoughts on the Muse and its London Wall setting. A wood staircase circles up to the brim of the column, and if you're outside looking at it from a distance, you might occasionally see a head pop out the top. This was entirely intentional. 'One of the big problems with museums today is their monumentality,' says Lobo Brennan. 'Seeing a head poke out the top takes away the authority of the monument. On the one hand, we've communicated this architectural topic in a direct way, but we've also provided a genuine city moment.'

ADDRESS

Museum of London
150 London Wall
London EC2Y 5HN

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

A miniature rainforest would probably be one of the last things one would expect to see in the heart of central London, but that is exactly what visitors will encounter when walking past Bedford Square for the next two months.

Commissioned by the Architectural Association School of Architecture and designed by Chile-based Gun Architects, the Rainforest pavilion is one of the very first events of the month-long London Festival of Architecture (which officially runs from the 1 until 30 June) and was inaugurated this weekend, marking an unofficial, early start to the capital's architectural festivities.

Developed by the Chilean-German architecture firm, helmed by founders Jorge Godoy and Lene Nettelbeck, the new pavilion is based on the pair's 2011 project in Santiago, entitled Water Cathedral (part of the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program). Maintaining the project's basic elements - the stalactite formation, the slow water trickling and its open-air, public nature - the team revisited the original design, reworking it for the needs of Bedford Square. 'We wanted to see how the "stalactites" can be translated into a different typology, here in London,' says Godoy, who doesn't rule out resuming the theme for different projects in the future.

The public structure, sitting directly across from the school's main entrance, is designed to recreate an abstract rainforest environment. The pavilion's five-metre high tree-like structures hold groups of fabric stalactites, which gently drip water to the rocky ground, plant and pond landscaping below. Visitors are invited to sit underneath the dripping canopy and experience the serene microclimate of sounds, smells and touch.

An exhibition in the main AA gallery complements the installation, exploring further the architects' fascination with natural dynamics and water circulation and accumulation, while explaining their latest project's structural and conceptual evolution.

ADDRESS

AA Gallery
36 Bedford Square
London WC1B 3ES

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Chilean architect Smiljan Radic has secured the coveted commission to design this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Hyde Park. The Pavilion, a landmark project in London's annual cultural calendar, will be the fourteenth structure designed for the gallery and has been, as per the Serpentine's tradition, offered to an architect who hasn't had the chance to build yet in the UK.

The temporary Pavilion will open this June in Kensington Gardens and will follow last year's cloud-like design by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto; it will join the long list of celebrated architects who have worked on a pavilion before, including Rem Koolhaas, SANAA, Oscar Niemeyer and Herzog and de Meuron. Radic, whose work has been so far mostly concentrated within Chile, draws on his earlier designs to create a semi-translucent, cylindrical structure, designed to resemble a shell. The pavilion will span 350 sq m and its curved roof will rest on large quarry stones.

The multi-purpose social space will also host Serpentine's Park Nights series, eight site-specific events on art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory.

This has been a year of change for the London Festival of Architecture. Launching in early June, this year's architectural festivities stretch over a whole month (as opposed to 2012's two-weeks), while 2013 also marks the first edition of the festival since it turned annual, setting the whole celebration off to a different pace. 

Added to this, the 2013 festival - orchestrated by a quartet of initiating partners, including the Architecture Foundation, the British Council, RIBA London and the NLA - engages with many of London's cultural institutions that haven't been officially involved before, such as the Design Museum and the ICA. 'This year's festival throws the spotlight on the important role that architecture plays in the cultural life of London, with a programme of exhibitions, talks and events involving 25 organisations,' explains the British Council's Vicky Richardson.

The undercurrent of change can also be detected in several of the displays on offer this year. The Architecture Foundation show focuses on the work of Superuse Studios, promoting a change in our attitude towards material and energy re-use. The British Council's impressive Atlas of Unbuilt World designed by Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio, presents future projects from around the world, offering a glimpse of how the global landscape is changing; you can even 3D-print your project live, courtesy of printing agency 3Dpeasy. And RIBA's Welcome To The Social, created by architecture practice Hawkins\Brown, highlights the transformative effect of life - and design's - social aspect. 

After all 'change' has always been part of the Festival's agenda. The theme was even reflected in the keynote debate organised by RIBA London earlier in the month, entitled 'London Architecture: what would you change?'. 'I'll consider the festival a success if it generates debate and discussion about architecture, deepens our understanding of the subject and makes us think about it in new ways,' says Richardson. 'I also think it's a chance to break down the artificial barriers that often exist between architects, clients, and the public.'

Other Festival highlights include the small yet perfectly formed Lesser Known Architecture show at the Design Museum, created by Elias Redstone, Theo Simpson and Wallpaper's very own Ben Mclaughlin (the latter two form Mass Observation), which brings the cream of London's crop of hidden architectural gems to the spotlight. Open studios, architecture tours (including a bicycle tour of Brutalist London) and workshops are also part of the program. And summer staples such as the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition, the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (this year by Sou Fujimoto), and the architecture schools' summer shows - including the AA, the RCA and the Bartlett - are back as well.

And while most exhibitions opened during the festival's first week, events will be running throughout the month in both the core program and the fringe. More treats are in store for later too - the Barbican's playfully disorientating Dalston House installation by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich is not opening till the 26 June - so stay tuned.

With the 2012 London Festival of Architecture reaching a crescendo this weekend, we thought it time to bring you the highlights of what has been a fortnight of thought-provoking architectural celebrations. Under the theme of the 'Playful City' - referencing the impending Olympics, but also appealing to the child within use - this year's events spanned a variety of 'hubs' across the British capital.

The first weekend honed in on Southwark, where community events like the Gibbon's Rent Garden, the Union Street Printing Press, by Public Works, and the Reunion Public House ensured a lively couple of days. Our highlights also included the Architecture Foundation's gorgeous 'Bureau Spectacular: Three Little Words', featuring an installation inspired by practice founder Jimenez Lai's architectural comic strips (on display until the end of August).

Moving on to the City of London hub, we marvelled at the future face of the capital, as envisaged by the Developing City exhibition (on until 9 September). Meanwhile, architects competed to create the cleverest and best-looking structures out of cans at the Canstruction event in Canary Wharf. Squire and Partners were deservedly crowned the winners with their gazebo-style structure, incorporating 2,580 cans that were carefully secured in hand-cut wooden inserts.

The London Pleasure Gardens hub had to battle some bad weather, but launched triumphantly regardless a few days ago. Here, visitors can stroll among follies, pavilions and pop ups in the East London park, as well as sit down and relax on one of the pews and perches conceived by architects for the RIBA London competition.

The Fitzrovia and Hoxton hubs also pulled in the crowds. The recently renovated Villa Tugendhat flung open its doors, and architect Harry Dobbs created the imaginative 'Weather - It's Raining or Not' collection of parasol-shaped structures. Another witty play on the British weather obsession came in the shape of design studio Troika's 'The Weather Yesterday' light installation.

Last but by no means least comes the Kings Cross hub, which will close the festival with a bang this weekend. David Rockwell's Imagination Playground will make a guest appearance, while Squire and Partners are organizing a picnic over the pavement for visitors. And the recently opened Kings Cross Filling Station, designed by Carmody Groarke architects, will provide evenings of exiting conversation with its series of talks and events.

There is already talk about turning the biannual festival into an annual event. So, here's hoping London will play host to another inspiring selection of architectural events in the summer of 2013.