Catching sight of LFA pink while walking through the city is enchanting. I like to think of members of the public who aren’t engaged with the festival stumbling across an installation or fortuitously wandering into a party. London is full of unexpected moments of inspiration and opportunity, it is also chaotic and at times unwelcoming. This is why this year’s broad theme of ‘identity’ resonates well, it delivers a far-reaching programme of events exploring the meaning of architectural, cultural and community identity. And perhaps those who accidentally find themselves in middle of a festival project will identify with the city differently, or at the very least feel welcome.
Requiem for Cross Bonesand St Pauls Gateway grabbed my attention, both are set to give passers-by unique experience in the city.
I will take a peek at Battersea Power Station’s regeneration exhibition. View Pictures are documenting the changing identity of this iconic building. It seems bizarre to visit a partial construction site to see photos of a construction site, but I find these spaces endlessly fascinating and the sight of a numbered building core curiously pleasing.
The Future of London’s Built Environment Report Launchlooks interesting. The Building Centre led an ideas competition and exhibition on the night time economy with Amy Lamé for LFA 2017, so it will be great to see how the conversation has progressed.
Peter Barber rightly said at one of our recent events that the country should be marching in outrage against government housing policy. My marching boots are ready, but in the meantime I’m looking for a bit of hope from Designing for Public Good.an event on 12 June exploring creative interventions for improved public spaces and buildings. On the same evening is Regeneration and good growth, an event that promises a lively debate on who benefits from regeneration. Also on the 12this an event on data centres, join Tom Ravenscroft of Dezeen who will explore the architectural identity of these secretive mega-sheds – if you’re not already fascinated by data centres you should be, they’re alarmingly vital.
Well worth a mention is D-Construction, a hip-hop performance on identity and boarders. And a visit the Serpentine to see the work of Frida Escobedo during LFA2018 is a must, I think it’s the law.
