The Phoenix Road Performing Gardens, LFA 2022 © Luke O’Donovan
This summer the London Festival of Architecture (LFA), a month-long celebration of architecture and city-making, returns across London from 1-30 June. LFA 2023 will once again deliver a rich cultural programme across London’s neighbourhoods with a series of installations, exhibitions, workshops, talks and special events which bring together the public and the profession.
LFA is a collaborative vehicle for ideas and exploration. By opening up discussion around architecture, testing new ideas and uncovering and promoting new talent, the LFA aims to bring a critical lens to city-making while looking forward with hope, so we can make our city greener, healthier, more inclusive and equitable – a London by and for all Londoners.
The call for events for LFA 2023 is now open, inviting individuals and organisations to submit event proposals that explore the theme of ‘In Common’. LFA’s ‘open call’ model aims to democratise the discussion around architecture in London, meaning that anyone with a passion for architecture and the built environment can propose a project or event. Events and projects can range from workshops to panel discussions, community activities, performances, installations, and much more.
Key deadlines for LFA 2023 are as follows:
• 13 Feb 2023: submission deadline for early-bird event proposals (excluding LFA’s sponsors)
• 3 March 2023: final deadline for submission
• 17 March 2023: final deadline for submission for LFA supporters
Events for LFA 2023 will be taking place all over the capital, and organisers from all corners of London are encouraged to participate. There will also be particular attention to selected areas, which form the LFA Destinations. Featuring some of London’s most architecturally significant and diverse areas, the 2023 Destinations will range across Greater London.
This year, for the first time, the outer London boroughs of Barnet and Bromley will join as 2023 Destinations, as will the South London neighbourhood of Brixton in Lambeth. LFA also welcomes back the City of London, South Westminster, and Clerkenwell and Holborn as LFA Destinations in central London, and the Royal Docks in the east.
Each LFA Destination offers the public the opportunity to appreciate the architectural quality and culture of the area, as well as attend a wealth of events taking place on curated routes within a concentrated neighbourhood. Event organisers and local communities will have a voice over the future of their area not only as part of a citywide Festival, but also on a hyper local scale.
The Park Through New Eyes, LFA 2022 © Luke O’Donovan
LFA and its partners will be delivering a series of installations and public realm interventions across the city, which will propose creative design solutions to several issues facing London today, including climate and energy crises and equal access to public space. Through both temporary and permanent schemes, these projects will test new ideas for reshaping the public realm on a variety of scales, from improving and greening the high street in Notting Hill Gate to stimulating economic growth through wayfinding and place-shaping in Wilcox Road.
The events for LFA 2023 will respond to our theme of ‘In Common’. The theme encourages us to reflect on what we share, including the finite number of natural resources we have left and the physical ‘commons’ public spaces we use, but also what we don’t have in common, ensuring we work with those with different lived experiences who interact with cities in the ways that we don’t. Throughout the Festival, event organisers should explore and interrogate how the experiences we do and don’t have in common are central to the evolution and development of the city.
The theme of ‘In Common’ was selected by LFA in collaboration with the LFA Curation Panel, who also help to shape the programme. Previous themes have included ‘act’ in 2022, ‘care in 2021’, and ‘power’ in 2020.
LFA 2023 Curation Panel:
• Tara Gbolade, Mayor’s Design Advocate and Director of Gbolade Design Studio
• João Guarantani, Senior Programme Manager, Architecture, Design and Fashion at British Council
• Melodie Leung, Associate Director at Zaha Hadid Architects
• Fiona MacDonald, Co-Founder and Director of MATT+FIONA
• Nic Monisse, Design Editor at Monocle Magazine
• Binki Taylor, Partner at The Brixton Project
• Jordan Whitewood-Neal, architectural researcher, designer and founder of Dis
• Hadi Yassine, first year Architecture student at Kingston University and London Neighbourhood Scholarship Trust Scholar for 2022/3
LFA 2023 will also see the return of Studio Lates, where architecture practices open their doors to both the public and the profession every Friday in June. To further enhance the programme of activity, LFA will also be working with a number of cultural partners, schools of architecture and embassies on special projects and activity, including the Design Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Academy of Arts.
Rosa Rogina, Director of London Festival of Architecture, said: “LFA 2023 will be our second year of a post-pandemic Festival, and we’re delighted to spotlight both Central and outer London boroughs to engage with both hyper-local and London-wide communities. ‘In Common’ could not be a more appropriate theme – what do Londoners share, and what can we learn from our different geographies? This question will be key for event organisers to explore, and I’m proud to spearhead a Festival that welcomes commissions and activities from everyone, acting as a testbed for permanent ideas to be implemented across our capital.”
