London Festival of Architecture 2008 - architeria.eu

ARCHITECTURE FESTIVAL
London Festival of Architecture
London, United Kingdom

London Festival of Architecture 2008 - a major international celebration
20.06 - 20.07.2008

The London Festival of Architecture next summer will be one of the world’s major celebrations of architecture
and the built environment. It includes over 500 events for visitors as well as architecture professionals. Events
will take place at national cultural institutions like the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, high
profile outdoor public spaces, and places of architectural interest across the capital.

London’s landscape will be transformed during the spectacular month-long Festival - organised in association
with Design for London, the Mayor's architecture and urbanism unit - giving a preview of how the city might
look in years to come. Major streets with planned changes such as Exhibition Road and Cheapside - Britain's
oldest high street - will, for designated weekends, become traffic-free cosmopolitan public spaces for
outdoor talks, architect-designed pavilions, film-screenings and family events.

The Festival will look to the future of the city and the impact of major changes to the built environment such
as the 2012 Olympic Park, the new Eurostar St Pancras International rail link and the Thames Gateway
regeneration area.

LFA2008 collaborators include international organisations such as the British Council, Visit London, Royal
Institute of British Architects Trust, The Architecture Foundation, RIBA London Region, New London
Architecture and CABE, plus museums and galleries including the British Museum, the Royal Festival Hall,
the V&A Museum and the Design Museum.

Exhibitions showcasing international architecture, a specially created Thames river boat service and cycle
routes linking some of the city’s most exciting buildings and places, an architecture variety show at the Royal
Albert Hall, headline talks by some of the world’s most acclaimed architects and public figures and an urban
treasure hunt are among the other Festival highlights. It will focus on fresh air, fresh thinking, fresh talent,
fresh approaches and fresh food through events such as:

> Talks by Stirling Prize winning architect David Chipperfield and LFA2008 Honorary President, author
Peter Ackroyd;
> An international Festival including over 20 international Embassies and Professor Peter Cook, the renowned
founder of radical sixties architecture and publishing group Archigram;
> A National Student Architecture Festival where temporary structures spring up across the city, offering
shelter and demonstrating how unused spaces can be transformed
> A project with celebrity chef Oliver Rowe of Konstam looking at how fresh food can be sustainably
produced within the urban environment

Architect Zaha Hadid says, ‘London always inspires architectural projects that are unpredictable. I think it’s
a great city. 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, very layered. Going
through London is like time travel – you go from one city to the next city to the next city. It’s great that London
can celebrate this through the London Festival of Architecture’

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone says, 'London has the most vibrant architectural scene of any city in the
world which values architectural heritage as well as new emerging talent and ideas. This is crucial if London
is to retain its character while meeting the needs of a diverse population and rising to the challenges posed
by climate change. The London Festival of Architecture is a wonderful celebration of London’s architecture,
and one which I and Design for London are proud to support.'


CREDITS:
Text and logo: The London Festival of Architecture