The Caro guide to the London Festival of Architecture Third Space, Studio SAAR © Edmund Sumner
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The Caro guide to the London Festival of Architecture

The theme for this year’s London Festival of Architecture asks how Londoners can shape a more equitable, accessible and sustainable city – a London by, and for, all Londoners.

The curation panel has worked hard to unpack the theme and to explore the necessity of change in the face of challenge – it features leading names from across the sector, including Poppy Levison of DSDHA and the DisOrdinary Architecture Project. Check out Poppy’s itinerary

There are hundreds of events, talks, exhibitions and more, available throughout the month, across the city – here are some of our top picks.

Exhibitions, awards and pavilions

In the face of an ongoing housing shortage and climate crisis there is an urgent need to reimagine what the ideal home of the future might be. This year’s edition of The Davidson Prize called for teams to select an existing non-residential structure/s and explore how it could be upcycled, retrofitted and/or mined to provide exemplary sustainable housing. Join us at the live ceremony on Wednesday 19 June, where the winner will be revealed live.

Anglo-Indian practice Studio Saar hosts an exhibition Friday 7 – Saturday 15 June at the Crafts Council Gallery, celebrating its vision of creating uplifting spaces and places. Craft, Community, Connection brings together models, photographs, drawings, visualisations and film of Studio Saar’s most significant projects to date, both in the UK and India. Part 1 students are invited to join a design workshop exploring and reimagining the way we use and design public spaces and parks in London, hosted by the studio.

Throughout June the London School of Architecture continues its reimagining of architectural education with a pavilion inspired by mid-sixteenth century cabinets of curiosities. The pavilion will exhibit work from the Part 0 campaign, which engages with local 11–19-year-olds, as well as hosting a public programme of discussions, workshops, and film-screenings in collaboration with Young Hackney, Rio Cinema, and others.

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Workshops and clinics

At Pilbrow & Partners, a chance for young people to reimagine the city and their place within it, in collaboration with Neil Pinder and HomeGrown Plus on Saturday 8 June.

At Caro HQ we’re hosting our first ever communications surgery day on Thursday 27 June– find out how to create and develop strategic thinking to support your visionary and inspiring ideas.

In Whitechapel, architects NIKJOO and conceptual designer-developer Flawk are hosting a design clinic and tour of their most recent project – a newly renovated post-war terraced house – across Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June.

Studio lates

The ever-popular series, which sees practices open their doors to visitors, returns this year in Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury on Thursday 6 June, and in Clerkenwell and Shoreditch on Thursday 27 June, offering a chance to see behind the scenes at practices like Howells, Price & Myers. GROUPWORK X B3 DESIGNERS, Pilbrow & Partners, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, Haworth Tompkins and more – check out the full programme.

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Talks and tours

Gain insight into how architects can reimagine existing buildings in a behind the scenes tour on Wednesday 12 June, of the Kensington Building, a 1970s brutalist department store transformed by Pilbrow & Partners.

That evening Part W will host Reimagining Women’s Work, an opportunity to hear about and get involved with the collective’s ongoing remapping of London’s female-centred spaces.

How can we reimagine design, construction, and materials to reshape our cities for a greener future? Zaha Hadid Architects and Holcim are finding innovative ways to meet these challenges and create economically and ecologically thriving cities. On Monday 17 June at the ZHA gallery, a panel featuring Shajay Bhooshan, Nollaig Forrest and Hanif Kara, moderated by Edwin Heathcote, will discuss this work.

At the VitrA London showroom in Clerkenwell on Thursday 13 June designer and UNEP Champion of the Earth, Dr Leyla Acaroğlu will discuss opportunities for circularity in design and architecture.

Stephen Proctor, of Proctor and Matthews joins a day-long conference on Thursday 6 June, hosted by the Urban Design Group and University of Dundee/ School of Art and Design, exploring solutions to ‘neighbourhoods in crisis’, alongside some of the UK’s leading researchers and practitioners.

The London Festival of Architecture is a month-long celebration of architecture and city-making, taking place 1-30 June, find out more and explore the programme.

© Caro Communications 2024