London Festival of ARchitecture History - 2019 - Boundaries

Basking in a myriad of lights and colours, Alan Parkinson’s unforgettable architectural installation sparked curiosity in the minds of many, as visitors navigated their way through a spectacular inflatable maze. From dazzling paths to luminous tunnels and subtle soundscapes, these ‘cathedrals of air’ have attracted more than 3 million visitors worldwide,...

In October 2018, the LFA launched an open call for submissions for a design intervention that would sit on the Thames’ North Bank Riverside Walkway, in partnership with the City of London Corporation and Illuminated River Foundation. The open call asked designers to respond to a lack of available public seating, a lack of visual or other interest, an absence of programmable space and a lack of accessibility.  The winning interventi...

Brought together by Austrian choreographer Willi Dorner, a group of local dancers, performers and free runners intertwined and stacked their bodies into the doorways, arches and alleyways of The City. Free and visible for all to see, this moving performance not only captured the imagination of a dedicated trail of followers, but of hundreds and thousands of pa...

For LFA2019 the Flanders Architecture Institute offered visitors a rare opportunity to experience the work of acclaimed post-war Brutalist architect Léon Stynen’s (1899-1990) work first-hand. Selected pieces from Stynen’s archive and photography by Filip Dujardin brought his work to new audiences, while a new architecture installation outside the Silver ...

Colour Palace was the second edition of the Dulwich Pavilion, a design competition calling for a pavilion that would allow more people to feel welcome and included into the cultural space, by LFA in partnership with the Dulwich Picture Gallery Colour Palace by Yinka Ilori and Pricegore was a celebration of colour, pattern and light, drawing upon both European and African cultural traditions in creating a design that could be relevant ...

Happy Street by Yinka Ilori saw the transformation of the dark space beneath the old railway bridge in Wandsworth into a welcoming space for pedestrians and cyclists, which the local community can be proud of and feel safer with in. The project was the result of a Thessaly Road Railway Bridge competition organised by the LFA in partnership with Wandsworth Council and was the artist Yinka Ilori’s first public realm commission.

A marker of the Festival’s mission to champion emerging talent, this exciting project with the Design Museum launched in 2019 by highlighting the work of 10 emerging voices in architecture, who have each been nominated by established names in the profession, for their impact on shaping a new future for London. This sell-out event saw an evening of lively pub...

For LFA2019, LFA, Westminster City Council (WCC), and the Canal and River Trust collaborated  to create a new public realm intervention alongside the Grand Union Canal, in the Harrow Road area of Westminster, aiming to demonstrate how architectural and creative talent can revitalise forgotten spaces and how such initiatives can create welcoming and useful spaces for local communities. As well as providing moments of joy and conversations dur...

Using the Festival as a ‘springboard to engage with the local community’, a creative collaboration between Squire & Partners and design studio AWMA saw a series of workshops delivered to explore Brixton’s unique boundaries through the eye of its residents. An interactive installation shared some of these physical and emotional boundaries through illu...

Three miniature landscaped parklets popped up across the City of London in June 2019 as the result of a competition by LFA in partnership with the City of London Corporation. The project aimed to raise important questions about the boundaries between the individual and public realm within the city and invited architects, designers and artists to submit proposals for a bespoke public parklet to transform an unused kerbside space into a place t...

The second edition of the 'St Paul’s Plinth' - a competition by LFA in partnership with Cheapside Business Alliance - saw the installation of ‘Lunch Break’ by creative architecture studio KHBT in collaboration with artist Ottmar Hörl. The installation saw 35 gilded angels sitting on randomly arranged bars, suspended from the existing wire grid of the ‘St Paul’s Plinth’. Aiming to encourage people, to stop, look up and enjoy the s...

One of the key permanent changes to the city in 2019 came in the form of 'Buzz', a striking mural for the façade of an otherwise easily overlooked substation on Bermondsey Street. The project, a commission by LFA and Team London Bridge, UK Power Networks and Network Rail, saw artists Nick Woodford, Matthew McGuinness and Jason Page produce a series of murals captures food stories, using bright colours and harnessing the power of onomatopoeia...

Following a ballot entry, Woods Bagot offered a lucky select few the opportunity to catch a unique ‘behind the scenes’ glimpse of a prominent new hotel under construction on Leicester Square- The Londoner. With guided tours led by the project architects themselves, visitors had the chance to explore the pioneering project, learning more about the sch...

Part of the LFA2019 International programme saw the Finish Institute host a panel debate which not only explored the role of libraries in citizen activism, but also how architecture can better serve democracy - using the new central library Oodi in Finland as a starting point. Across the evening, a series of expert speakers came together to address the challen...

For Pride 2019, London Festival of Architecture (LFA) and Architecture LGBT+ launched its second design competition for a float to represent architecture and LGBT+ architects in London and at Manchester Pride. This project was a celebration of the diversity of the architecture sector, and offered an opportunity for architecture students, recent graduates, emerging practices as well as staff in more established firms...

Food for thought’ wasa tantalising evening, exploring the unique boundaries of architecture and food. A menuof conversation starters and mini talks were introduced by expert speakers including Gurmeet Sian, Founder of award-winning architectureand design studio Office Sian, Steve Wong, Placemaking Manager for New West End, Nasra Abdullahi f...

A deconstruction of the seminal work by Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, hosted at the London Hippodrome by drag queen Ginger Johnson was, for many, a typical evening with the LFA. Organised ‘for the sheer fun of it’ by Rob Fiehn, Bobby Jewell and Luke Neve, this extraordinary cabaret-style event brought together architects, writers and teachers incl...

2019 saw the launch of a new competition by LFA in partnership with the Royal Docks Team for a series of benches to be designed by emerging architects and designers, celebrating a fresh perspective on design, and offering imaginative places for the public to sit, relax and interact with the unique waterside setting. The chosen designs had innovative and creative visions for enlivening the Royal Docks’ distinct waterfront at the forefront of...

Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and footwork choreographed a powerful community dance which was both created and performed by professional dancers, architects and members of the community. Joined by pupils from local schools, the event not only celebrated social inclusion, but also helped to break down personal and cultural boundaries by empowering girls and women to ...

In October 2018, the LFA launched an open call for submissions for a design intervention that would sit on the Thames’ North Bank Riverside Walkway, in partnership with the City of London Corporation and Illuminated River Foundation. The open call asked designers to respond to a lack of available public seating, a lack of visual or other interest, an absence of programmable space and a lack of accessibility.  The winning interventi...

Brought together by Austrian choreographer Willi Dorner, a group of local dancers, performers and free runners intertwined and stacked their bodies into the doorways, arches and alleyways of The City. Free and visible for all to see, this moving performance not only captured the imagination of a dedicated trail of followers, but of hundreds and thousands of pa...

For LFA2019 the Flanders Architecture Institute offered visitors a rare opportunity to experience the work of acclaimed post-war Brutalist architect Léon Stynen’s (1899-1990) work first-hand. Selected pieces from Stynen’s archive and photography by Filip Dujardin brought his work to new audiences, while a new architecture installation outside the Silver ...

LFA2019 saw third edition of City Benches, a competition by LFA and Cheapside Business Alliance calling architecture and design students, recent graduates and emerging architects, to develop inspired bench designs and transform the streetscape one of the City’s leading destinations – Cheapside. From curled up dogs to city blocks. Find out more ...