London Festival of ARchitecture History - 2021 - Care

An algae factory, a nest-like timber mound and giant slices of a decommissioned wind turbine blade formed a series of new ‘green interventions’ installed on London’s Exhibition Road during the summer of 2021. Together they supported the post-pandemic recovery of London’s arts and science district, and demonstrated how plants, greenery and biodiversity can be creatively embedded in London’s public realm, reclaiming space for nature amidst the bustle of the capital. The winning designs were The Algae Meadow by Seyi Adelekun and Wayward for the V&A, Home Away from Hive by Mizzi Studio for the Science Museum, Windflower by Urban Radicals with Adam Harris for the Geothe Institute, as well as commissioned piece The Wildian by Fran Kirk and Patrick McEvoy. Find out more about the project and hear from the designers here. 

As you're passing by, designed by Muslim Women in Architecture (MWA) was a prototype exhibition concept that tested out how station users’ experience could be enhanced and test the future of exhibitions in stations. The intervention consisted of a series of mobile ‘suitcase’ modules, with each featuring two double-sided display panels made of ply sheets which slot together for easy on-site assembly. A range of tactile and tech features created a shared space for learning and engagement that felt accessible and comfortable to visitors of all ages and backgrounds. 

The project was the result of a design competition with LFA, in partnership with Network Rail. Find out more about the project here. 

The Architecture Bake Off has been a staple of the LFA for many years, with architecture practices battling against each other to create cake-based representations of some of London’s most loved buildings. Following the success of the online public format the previous, we decided to repeat and expand a little the format this year and bake one of five cakes – loosely related around our theme of ‘care’. Following the bakes, over 2000 people chose their top bakes, along side a panel of 'baker-tects'.

Rainbow After The Storm was a colourful and interactive pavilion designed by a team of young architects working at Foster + Partners to celebrate Pride 2021. Despite the cancellation of the 2021 Pride in London parade, the lightweight pop up was installed in the gardens of St Anne’s Church in Soho, celebrating the contribution of LGBT+ architects to architecture past and present. ‘Rainbow After The Storm’ was also in place for Inside Out Festival and the Soho Live festival. ‘Rainbow After The Storm’ stood as a reminder that, for the LGBTQ+ community, Covid-19 is not the first pandemic of recent times.

The project was the result of an design competition by LFA and Architecture LGBT+. Find out more about the project here.

The return of our annual collaboration with the Royal Academy saw shift of the symposium to an online format, to examine our theme of ‘care. Split into three sub themes – Access for All, Politics of Extraction and Exploitation and Community Care, the afternoon consisted of a series of presentations and discussions. These were followed by two keynote lectures from Adrian Lahoud looking at the close connection between inequity and climate change, and Akil Scafe-Smith and Tatiana Bilbao (founder of the eponymous on community-based and collaborative design exploring community-based and collaborative design.

The 2021 City Benches saw a fresh new take on the concept of a 'bench' and brought people back together post pandemic, providing a safe and inviting environments for people to meet again and enjoy the capital. Designed by an emerging group of international and interdisciplinary architects and designers, this series of benches brought life to the public realm across the City with their bold and imaginative designs, as London began to welcome visitors, commuters and locals back to its streets post pandemic lockdowns.

The project was part of a design competition by the LFA, Cheapside Business Alliance and Aldgate Connect Business Improvement District. Find out more about the benches and hear from the designers here. 

Ealing Benches was a series of three benches situation in the newly created space at North Acton Square. The project invited some of London’s best emerging architects a chance to explore new ideas of what a bench can be and also to shine a light on a dynamic and fast-changing area of London. The result was three colourful but very different creations that allow people to sit and enjoy the new North Acton station square. The project was commission by Ealing Council in partnership with City and Docklands, Imperial College and OPDC.

The benches included VVV by Kommune, The Life Bench by MS-TC Studio and Tod Chair by Michela Damone.  Find out more about the benches and hear from the designers here. 

Following the success of the project the previous year, we asked 30 leading figures in the design and architecture world to nominate one object which they felt best represented architecture and ‘care’ – and asked them to produce a short two minute video explaining the reason behind their nomination. Nominations ranged from the humble face mask and Franklin Collins electronic spellchecker to Walworth Community Garden and Roman Road (E3).

See the collection using the video series below. 

Music Matters – Musical Strength, a radio programme on BBC Radio 3 saw the station visiting BoldTendencies at its unique home in Peckham’s former multi-storey car park and speaking to the organisation’s founder Hannah Barry, the acoustician Dave Parsons, the pianist Samson Tsoy and producer Fraser Smith, to learn how the building’s fabric impacts sound quality and informs artistry. This conversation was part of a wider programme with radio three this year.

In 2021, the London Festival of Architecture launched a design competition inviting emerging architects and designers to create unique, small-scale architectural installations in the showrooms of some of London’s most respected design brands. Working only with paper, the designers demonstrated the intricacies and design potential of a seemingly simple material in these installations, which were on display throughout the month of June.

The chosen designs were Fragment by Inclume at Gaggenau, Made in Italy by Nathan Ward at Smeg, ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS by Urban Radicals with Eftychios Savvidis and Mariza Daouti at Poliform, The Pleat Garden by Unit 8 at VitrA, The 3 Little Bricks by Ten Tectons for EH Smith and Loop fruits by Delve Architects for Fisher & Paykel at Halcyon Interiors.

Find out more about the designs and hear from the designers here.