London Festival of ARchitecture History - 2012 - The Playful City

As part of LFA2012, RIBA architects took over a disused industrial tract at Royal Docks, and transformed it into the 'London Pleasure Gardens', a new cultural venue for the East End, combining architectural showcase with urban renewal and increased footfall. Led by RIBA London, partnered with London Pleasure Gardens and consulting engineers Price and Myers, the project saw five bold structures erected in the site by some of London's most innovative architects and designers, including: An Oyster Bar by Visitor Studio, Hanging Gardens by Foster Lomas Kristy Gosling, A Pleasure Pool by Fourks-Lyons/ Bisgaard/ Smith, Per Speculum Folly by Nickolas Kirk Architects, and Monopoly Houses by Nuns With Guns Design.

Part of the British Council's International Architecture and Design Showcase 2012, Architecture of Change was the international hub of the Festival at the University of Westminster's Ambika P3 gallery. With individual exhibitions from the Caribbean, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa and Taiwan, the hub presented architecture, cities, structures and ideas that had undergone radical shifts around the world. From South Africa investigating the impact of mega events on cities, to Taiwan's Chinese Culture University environmental design department studying Taipei as an eco city, to the Caribbean's exploration of sustainable design from across the region, visitors were able to take an architectural trip around the world, all under one roof!

Architecture as antidote: should cities make us fit? was launched as a keynote debate for LFA2012. Responding to annual theme of 'Playful City', the debate explored the meaning of the 'Healthy City' and examined the role architecture can play in keeping us fit through the design of buildings and the built environment. Contributions included those from the Institute of Ideas, the comissioner of New York Department of Design & Construction, Lancet magazine, Director and chief curator of Montreal's Canadian Centre for Architecture and the LFA. 

The King's Cross neighbourhood came alive with a series of 'Urban Actions' aimed to improve the city during LFA2012. The programme invited visitors to follow a trail of actions and discover the past and present of this ever-changing part of London. Curated by The Architecture Foundation and Squire and Partners, the area saw a petrol station transformed by Carmody Groarke, an urban picnic, an imagination playground designed by David Rockwell, and dance performances by Sadler’s Wells. A specially commissioned Urban Actions Field Guide was available during the weekend also, with ideas and inspiration of how to create urban actions of your own!