What is most striking about London’s skyline? St Paul’s? ‘The Gherkin’? Or simply the fact that it’s always changing? This month the London Festival of Architecture invites you to see blueprints for the future, and to look again at some of the existing buildings you might have missed, with a special programme of hundreds of events
FOR THE PAST 10 years London’s skyline has
been a battleground. The spire of St Paul’s
Cathedral has been fighting for its right to
prominence amid rotating wheels and gherkinshaped
skyscrapers, whilst digital drawings
promising vast shards of glass and new
‘blobitecture’– the current trend for buildings
with organic, bulging forms – appear in our newspapers
every day, each more futuristic and fantastic than the last.
“London always inspires architectural projects that are unpredictable. I think it’s a great city,” remarks Zaha Hadid, the Baghdad-born ‘starchitect’ who continues to take the industry by storm. She is a British citizen and based in the capital. “There’s a uniqueness to London – the education, the amount of research and invention. Anything you want, you can get someone to advise you on. It’s a global city that has become very layered. Going through London is like time travel,” she continues. “You go from one city to the next.”
This famously disparate city has always been comfortable with contrasts in its streets and public buildings, from the ornate Tower of London – which has undergone several redesigns since its 11th-century beginnings – to the brutalist style of the National Theatre and industrial flair of Tate Modern, as well as iconic 20thcentury housing developments such as the Barbican. London has never been about a clear unity in architecture or design, but a pragmatic acceptance of new alongside old, beauty beside beast (though this is endlessly arguable). That’s the spirit behind the London Festival of Architecture, which runs until 20 July, with over 500 architecture-related events, talks, exhibitions, debates, film screenings, walks and cycle tours taking place all over the city.
This hugely ambitious event is not like anything that has taken place in London before. It blows London Design Festival, which takes place in September, out of the water by its sheer volume of events and timespan. It was previously known as the London Architecture Biennale, but this year the organisers, chairman Peter Murray, managing director Nick McGeough and deputy director Sarah Ichioka, have given the festival a very different attitude. Instead of a closed shop approach from architects to their fellow practitioners and students, this year’s event is held mostly in the public domain, with an international line-up of speakers, designers and curators. The theme for the festival is “Fresh”, and the team has been encouraging participants to put forward events focusing on themes related to food, transport, sustainability and talent. The last London Architecture Biennale in 2006 had 70,000 visitors, but by the time this festival winds down, organisers are predicting a figure closer to 200,000.
London is an appropriate setting for this kind of
debate because it has a strong history of pushing radical
architecture. It is home to some pioneering buildings,
from Richard Rogers’ high-tech Lloyds Tower – the eerily
beautiful, distinctive stainless steel structure near Bank
tube station, built between 1978 and 1986 but destined to
always look ‘futuristic’ – to the once highly controversial
Millennium Dome, now successfully rebranded as The O2
stadium venue; not to mention almost every structure on
London’s South Bank. This year’s festival doffs its cap to
the events of the 1851 exhibition and the Crystal Palace.
The spectacular building, which burned down in 1936, was
made only of glass and steel and it is going to be recreated
using helium balloons by Penoyre & Prasad architects.
There’s also an exhibition devoted to Skylon, the sculpture
which was built for the Festival of Britain held in 1951.
Street closures are one of the ways the festival organisers are trying to help visitors get a better view of the city’s architecture. The opening stages of the festival already kicked off with the closure of Exhibition Road – the street that is lined by the Science Museum, Natural History Museum and V&A. This month, Montague Place in Bloomsbury has also been closed and the winner of Young Architect of the Year, the Carmody Groarke firm, will build a temporary structure designed to re-interpret outdoor spaces. The street, which is surrounded by world-class academic institutions, will then be ready for open-air theatre performances from RADA, world music from SOAS, and family workshops from the team at the British Museum.
One of the most ambitious of all the events is a new urban lido. The temporary bathing pool, designed by Paris-based collective EXYZT (www.exyzt.net) and filmmaker Sara Muzio, is open from 9-13 July on the South Bank. It has a mobile sauna for a hammam-like atmosphere, beach hut changing rooms and a children’s paddling pool. Perhaps just as eye-catching will be a very different kind of installation by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, who is presenting his portfolio of projects in Lego form. His presentation is in association with Storefront for Art and Architecture, a New York-based gallery (www.storefrontnews.org).
While not part of the official festival, building buffs shouldn’t miss this summer’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, either. Each year, a temporary structure is built beside this Hyde Park exhibition space and this time it’s the turn of ‘celebrity’ architect Frank Gehry, the creator of the spectacular Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
It seems everybody wants to get in on the architecture
act. For the first time, at this year’s festival all the
international embassies in London have been invited
to present their countries’ best architectural projects,
present and future. Look out for new propositions for
buildings made from sustainable materials, from
forward-thinking Denmark and Italy.
WHO’S WHO IN ARCHITECTURE IN THE UK NOW
6a www.6a.co.uk Famous for: Oki-ni clothes store on Saville Row. Current projects: The Contemporary Art Foundation, a new gallery in Spitalfields, east London; a new boutique hotel in Amsterdam. House style: Square, wooden forms; sandy colours. Awards include: D&AD Yellow Pencil, 2006.PLASMA STUDIO www.plasmastudio.com Famous for: Hotel Puerta America in Madrid; 136 Old Street, an office space in London. Eva Castro and Holger Kehne, who founded Plasma Studio in 1999, count Zaha Hadid as a fan. Current projects: See the firm’s website for news. House style: Twisting geometric patterns. Awards include: The Architecture Foundation’s Next Generation Architects award, 2008; Building Design’s Young Architect of the Year Award, 2002.
ROGERS STIRK HARBOUR & PARTNERS (formerly Richard Rogers) www.rsh-p.com Famous for: The Pompidou Centre in Paris; the headquarters of Lloyd’s of London; the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg; the Millennium Dome (now The O2 stadium venue) in London. Current projects: Three new London skyscrapers and a radical refurbishment of the Jacob K Javits Conference Centre in New York. House style: rounded forms. Awards include: The Stirling Prize 2006 for Terminal 4, Madrid Barajas Airport.
FOSTER & PARTNERS www.fosterandpartners.com Famous for: 30 St Mary Axe (nicknamed ‘The Gherkin’) and the Millennium Bridge, both in London. Current projects: The Aldar Central Market, Abu Dhabi. House style: Very contemporary, with strong organic forms. Awards include: The Stirling Prize 2004 for 30 St Mary Axe.
DAVID CHIPPERFIELD ARCHITECTS www.davidchipperfield.co.uk Famous for: The America’s Cup Building in Valencia, Spain; The River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, Current projects: The practice recently diversified by launching a range of contemporary furniture. House style: Mixing the classic and the contemporary. Awards include: The 2007 Stirling Prize for the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, Germany; The 1999 Royal Fine Art Commission Building of the Year award for The River & Rowing Museum.
RMJM www.rmjm.com Famous for: The Scottish Parliament Building; the Chemistry Research Building at Oxford University, which evokes test-tubes with its use of glass and vertical space. Current projects: A twisting skyscraper in Moscow called the City Palace Tower. House style: Academic buildings; buildings with form that echoes their function. Awards include: 2008 Civic Trust Award for a new building for the University of Kent.
GRIMSHAW ARCHITECTS www.grimshaw-architects.com Famous for: The Eden Project – the famous dome-covered botantical gardens and cultural venue in Cornwall – and the Thermae natural spa in Bath, which has a rooftop pool with a view of the city. Current projects: The St Botolph’s office building in east London for Minerva Plc. House style: Clean, rounded forms. Awards include: 2008 Architectural Practice of the year at the Building Awards.
ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS www.zaha-hadid.com Famous for: The BMW Plant in Leipzig, Germany; The Maxxi (National Museum of the 21st Century Arts) in Rome; Bergisel ski-jump in Innsbruck, Austria. Current projects: The Aquatic Centre for the London 2012 Olympic Park; The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan. House style: Striking metallic structures with clever use of negative space. Awards include: 2007 Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture.
A selection of London Festival of Architecture events happening this month
Skylon: London’s Lost Icon
This installation, curated
by Jack Pringle, remembers
the beautiful 300ft Festival
of Britain atomic-era tower,
designed by Philip Powell
and Hidalgo Moya, which
was demolished in 1952.
Venue: Jubilee Gardens,
South Bank
Date: 9-13 July
Times: see www.lfa2008.org
Price: Free
Southwark Lido Take a dip in the temporary bathing pool, relax in a sauna or chill on a sundeck. Organised by EXYZT and Sara Muzio. Venue: 100 Union Street, SE1 Date: 9-13 July Times: 9 July 7-9pm, 10-12 July 12noon-9pm, 13 July 12noon-7pm Price: Free
Architectural Jelly Banquet See 1,000 specially commissioned jellies at this huge party, and take part in jelly wrestling and more. Visitors are invited to come dressed as a dessert. Curated by architectural foodsmiths Bompas & Parr. Venue: University College London, Gower Street, WC1 Date: 4 July Times: 8pm-3am Price: £5
The Continuous Picnic An all-day picnic forms part of the Montague Place closure weekend event. Organised by Bohn and Viljoen Architects. Venue: Montague Place, WC1 Date: 5 July Times: 8am-8pm Price: Free
Montague Place Installation Montague Place plays host to talks, exhibitions, open-air theatre staged by RADA, world music from SOAS and family workshops. Venue: Montague Place, WC1 Date: 5 July Times: see www.lfa2008.org Price: Free
Storefront London Pop-up Storefront London presents an exhibition of recent works by Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group. Venue: (temporary): 1-5 Exhibition Road, SW7 Date: Until 20 July Times: 11am-6pm Price: Free
Architectural Bike Tour – The Great Freshway Hop on a bike and ride along the proposed Great Freshway, linking the major buildings of London. Venue: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7 Date: 19 July Times: 10:30am-4:30pm Price: £7
London-on-Film Pub Quiz Teams of five compete in this pub quiz on London locations and buildings used in films. Venue: Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1, +44 (0)20 7613 7498; www.richmix.org.uk Date: 15 July Times: 8-10pm Price: £5 per person (includes a free drink); free to spectators
Street Art An exhibition of street art goes on display around the Brewhouse Yard. The artists, sculptors and street furniture designers are all Londoners. Venue: 16 Brewhouse Yard, Clerkenwell, EC1 Date: 16-20 July Price: Free
Design Overtime – What Is This Place? An after-hours opportunity to view the Design Museum exhibitions, including Richard Rogers & Architects – From the House to the City. Venue: Design Museum, Shad Thames, +44 (0)20 7403 6933; www.designmuseum.org Date: 11 July Times: Until 10pm (last admission 9.15pm) Price: £8.50
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