In late 2019, the London Festival of Architecture ran a competition for emerging architects to design a bench, which could offer a fun and creative place to sit, rest and play along the Royal Docks waterfront.

Over the last few weeks we have been sharing some of the conversations we had with the designers. Click on the videos below to hear each of the designers tell us the story of their bench.

Alternatively, you can download the Pews and Perches self-guided walking tour by heading to our Building Sounds podcast feed via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify Pocket Casts, or by searching for ‘Building Sounds’ wherever you normally get your podcasts.

Peekaboo by Portia Malik

Royal Breath by Studio Who

The Buoys are Back in Town by McCloy + Muchemwa

Roly Poly by Nasios Varnavas and Era Savvides of Urban Radicals, in collaboration with Millimetre and Sanne Visser

Semaphore by Parallel Collective

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You can learn about these benches from the comfort of your own home. However if you happen to be in the docks, you can find the benches by using the map below.

From left to right:

Peekaboo by Portia Malik [dock edge in front of The Crystal]

Royal Breath by Studio Who [dock edge in front of ExCeL]

The Buoys are Back in Town by McCloy + Muchemwa [dock edge near Building 1000]

Roly Poly by Nasios Varnavas and Era Savvides of Urban Radicals, in collaboration with Millimetre and Sanne Visser [RAD London]

Semaphore by Parallel Collective [Royal Albert Wharf]

If you enjoyed this series you can also find our latest series Power Podcasts: Revealing the Silent Structures of the Royal Docks here.