London Festival of ARchitecture History - 2022 - Act

The London-based design and architecture practice, NOOMA Studio, were the winners of Somers Town Acts, a design competition by LFA in partnership with Camden Council which aimed to explore alternative scenarios for Phoenix Road which is an area of planned regeneration in the coming years. During June, NOOMA Studio envisioned a street garden for the people of Somers Town, to facilitate performance, showcase the spirit of the local community. Throughout the road closure on 24-26 June, the installation was activated by an abundant programme of events which activated the street and pavilion structures, organised by Camden Council in partnership with local organisations, which were free to attend.

Find out more about the project here. 

Families, children, students and adults were welcomed to Hackney Bridge to reimagine London through a day of big building and creative making with architecture educators, MATT+FIONA as part of LFA2022. Using cardboard, para-cord and neon fabric, the team show how simple but effective techniques can create a high impact, colourful alternative world. MATT + FIONA were also using the workshops as way to talk to participants of all ages about access and opportunity for careers in architecture, engineering as well as the role of education in design.

Wiggle Wonderland is a touring pavilion and exhibition space activated by artists and communities by Lucy Grainger and Beau McCarthy. As part of LFA2023 we were able to bring the installation to St Giles Square with support from Almacantar, to host a series of events and workshops across the month. The banners on the pavilion were created by children from schools across London in response to themes of gender, equality, climate activism and racism, and which were further explored through workshops with with leading artists and design facilitators including: Fandangoe Kid, Leap then Look, Matilda Ellia, Maya Kincaid, Grrl Zine Fair and A&E. 

Following the success of the City benches project over the previous four years, LFA, Cheapside Business Alliance (CBA) and Aldgate Connect BID commissioned a urban forest installation design by Wayward to be installed during LFA2022. Mobile Arboretum focused on the market history of the two locations – medieval produce and poultry in the case of Cheapside and fabrics from Petticoat Lane in Aldgate – using this as the framework for a new arboreal legacy. The installations emphasised each site’s history as hubs for trade by housing saplings and other young plants in market barrows and carts.

Find out more about the project here.

A collaboration between the renowned Finnish architect Sami Rintala and architectural students from the prestigious School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster, in association with the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, saw the creation of a one-of-a-kind sauna in central London for LFA2022. LFA audiences were able to watch as the co-design and build project came to life on site , led by the architects and student, and were able to book sessions using the Sauna once completed. Following it's time at Victoria Embankment Gardens, the sauna took on a new life in the Isle of Wight.

The first week of June saw Osamu Okamura and Manijeh Verghese provide a crash course in urban planning, inspired by Okamura’s book City for Everyone, and using their respective experiences from Prague and London. Okamura and Verghese shared examples of good practice to help us understand what complicated, tightly packed and fragile organisms cities are and how to make them equitable and liveable. This event was hosted by Czech Centre at the Czech Embassy Cinema, London. 

Festival attendees were offered the exclusive opportunity to go behind the scenes of one of the largest cultural schemes happening in Europe as part of LFA2022. Lead by architects Stanton Williams with the Museum of London, participants learned about the challenges of transforming a campus of listed market buildings into a 21st century cultural destination, while also saving the historic site for generations to come. With high vis and helmets on, participants entered the now construction site to see the progress and ambitions of the new cultural venue first-hand. There were three tours in total all selling out within 20minutes of publication!

‘Over Here’ by Iain Jamieson in partnership with artist Zoë Power was a project which explored possibilities for 'temporary bike parking' at Victoria Station. The project was part of a design competition by LFA in partnership with Network Rail, in response to the growing lack of spaces for bike parking in the city, following the rise in cycling across the borough and city.Over Here wass a multi-coloured bike rack that used an efficient, easy-to-use mechanism to make bike parking spaces clear from afar. Each bike parking space featured an upright, artist-designed marker – with the original design created by Zoë Power. Behind the parking spaces is Zoë Power’s bold and playful mural, which brings life and colour to the station’s entrance.

Find out more about the project here.

LFA2022 saw LFA Patrons EPR Architects highlight their Life Without Limits Centre for RSBC (Royal Society for Blind Children) with a series of immersive touch tours and immersive sensory clay workshop led by Clayground Collective. Both events aimed to encourage participants to fully engage in the centre, which is an exemplar of inclusive design, as well as think of their interpretation of an animated city.

Interpreting the theme ‘Act’ physically, participants were invited to join an active walking tour of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with a difference – using Parkour skills the group re-interpreted the design of the Park through movement with discussion around access, safety and ownership continuing throughout. Led by Parkour Generations and the landscape team from LDA Design this event presented a new way to approach landscape and public realm design which put exercise, movement and creativity at the forefront.

Responding to the ‘Act’, this series of events documented the 'three - year battle', in which a group of diverse elders led by British-African Caribbean Co-Chair, Mrs Anne Okokon, joined forces with community activists and architectural mavericks, in an attempt to prevent demolition and restore their "Modernist Gem" of a Sheltered Housing Scheme by Kate Mackintosh- changing architectural history. The exhibition, film and talk series was lead by campaign co chair Susan Okokon and hosted at The Rotunda Hall, Cressingham Gardens.

For the LFA 2022, LFA launched the third edition of the Pews and Perches competition in partnership with the Royal Docks, which invited architecture and design students, recent graduates and emerging practitioners to share their unique perspective on sustainability within the Docks through the design of a bench that actively engaged its users and the visitors to the Docks. Five winning designs were selected to be installed at various locations in the Royal Docks and remain in place for one year. The winning benches were What-A Water Waste! by Leroy Yuen and Gemma Louisa Holdaway, GAM By Fiona Hartley and James Parkes, A Cautionary Bench/Mark by Andre Kong Studio, Sail-Phone by Lo² (Alcina and Benjamin Lo) and The Turning Tide by Mvuu.

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

As part of LFA2022, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) hosted a tour and panel discussion exploring the concept of delivering an inclusive design legacy. Exploring the tools and processes delivered in the QEOP and how we can use these lessons to collectively act and create a more inclusive London. Contributions came from LLDC, Good Growth GLA, Built Environment Access Panel, Global Disability Innovation Hub, Legacy Youth Voice and PRP Architects.

The close of LFA2022 saw a group of children and young people from charity and inclusive theatre company, Chickenshed, explore RIBA HQ in advance of its refurbishment and respond in a performance using movement, music and dance. The powerful performance aimed to illustrate the need for inclusive access to spaces. A similar performance formed part of the LFA2023 programme, over in Camden.

The University of East London, in collaboration with Grimshaw and with the support of the Royal Docks and Tate & Lyle, organised a hands-on session exploring the potential of carbon neutral innovative materials in architecture and design. The one-day workshop enabled participants to explore agricultural by-products such as hemp, sugar cane or straw, mixed with different binders including locally sourced clay, as new building materials. Following the workshop, the group calculated the carbon footprint of the materials made.

Encouraging people to explore the city post pandemic, the second edition of the Showroom Showcase competition called for a series of innovative paper installations by emerging architects and designers displayed in some of London’s leading design showrooms. The installations included Choose Love by It’s a local collective with Tom Tse at Billi UK, UNFURLED by HagenHinderdael at Gaggenau, Lateral Flow by WallaceLiu at Siemens Home and The Floating Column by Space A at VitrA Bathrooms.

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