London Festival of Architecture 2012 Events

The UK’s largest celebration of buildings and the city, the London Festival of Architecture (LFA), will return from June 13 – July 8, 2012. The event, held biennially since 2004, will reinforce London’s reputation as an international creative hub, as a varied program of exciting events take place all over the capital.

As potential medal winners limber up for their Olympic and Paralympic moment, the theme of the London Festival of Architecture in 2012 will be the ‘Playful City,’ proposing ways in which both Londoners and visitors can use the city and its buildings in a more creative, interactive and healthy way. From reinterpreting familiar places through new installations and animations and redesigning public spaces to encourage physical fitness, to testing new ways
of planning future urban development, Festival participants will be encouraged to play in, and play with the city around them.

Organized by four leading architectural and cultural institutions, The Architecture Foundation, the British Council, New London Architecture and RIBA London, and sponsored by Land Securities, the city-wide Festival will focus on three London areas over three weekends: City and Southwark (June 23-24), Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury (June 30 - July 1), and King’s Cross and Hoxton (July 7-8). Throughout the Festival the Royal Docks in East London will also be transformed into ‘London's Pleasure Gardens’, next to the Olympic venue at ExCel, with other events such as architects’ open studios and special exhibitions taking place across the city.

Peter Murray, Chairman of NLA and Festival Founding Director commented: “All eyes will be on London in 2012 and there is no better time to celebrate the city’s rich historical and contemporary architectural culture. This year’s ‘Playful City’ theme will seek to encourage thousands of people to develop a better appreciation of architectural design through a series of interactive and entertaining events all over the capital. Whether you’re a Londoner who has lived in the city for 50 years, or a visitor coming to the capital for the first time, this year’s Festival promises an abundance of fun for all.”

EVENTS OF LFA2012

Gibbon's Rent: Sponsor a Potted Plant

You are invited to play a key part in transforming Gibbon's Rent into a new community garden by pledging your support and donating a potted plant. The project will establish a framework of large potted plants with space for people to add contributions. Your support will be helping to transform a forgotten space into a green public space for the whole community to enjoy. Sponsor a plant today.

Rooftop Make Day

As part of the King's Cross Urban Actions trail The Honey Club - a social enterprise co-founded by Wolff Olins and Global Generation - will be hosting a Make Day on Saturday, July 7 asking visitors to the Festival to help create a useful structure for their rooftop garden space. Please come along, admire the view and join in. All materials will be supplied and workshops are free.

Industri[us]

Industri[us] is a competition-winning 'meanwhile' regeneration initiative, by architecture practice Fluid. A vacant site at Canning Town will be transformed into a celebration of all things upcycled from late June until September. The Industri[us] 'Festival of Upcycling' will launch with “Paint the Town...” - a family friendly event, in conjunction with Buro Happold and Guerilla Science, running over the LFA Royal Docks 'hub' weekend.

SpongeScraper City

John Robertson Architects is exhibiting a scale model of St Bride’s Church – in sponge cake. Clad in high performance icing and fully CREEAM certified, the 5 foot high cake will be accompanied by an exhibition and family friendly activities. Tea and cake (naturally) will be served with all proceeds going to the St Bride’s INSPIRE! Appeal.

Photo Competition

Space Syntax and Hype! are teaming up their skill sets for Public Life in London in the Olympic Year (PLOY) , a ‘Playful City’ photo competition project in collaboration with LFA 2012. The project aims to open eyes to ways in which people respond to the urban context and explore the use of technology as a means to communicate with others and to celebrate new ways of creativity and participation. Participants will be invited to submit their photos via mobile phones to the PLOY Blog, virtually geo-tag them and also to participate online in the democratic rating and judging of the competition entries.

Construction: Knowing Through Making

This one-day symposium curated by Patricia Cain will accompany the exhibition ‘Built’ at the Mall Galleries on 26th June. An array of high profile practitioners in art and architecture including Will Alsop RA, Rick Mather, Richard Wentworth and Anthony Eyton RA will discuss practices that involve coming to know through making things and why learning of skill is so fundamental to our creativity and imagination. Tickets are £25 and should be booked in advance.