This year’s London Festival of Architecture promises to be a rich exploration of memory, architecture and the city. With the year opening to declarations that we live in a ‘post-truth’ age, the idea of memory, and the question of what role it plays in constructing the narratives we inhabit, feels particularly timely.
During the festival, I plan to slow down and discover some of the histories and spaces hidden within the city. I am particularly looking forward to the walking tours in the programme, including the tour of Walter Segal’s remarkable self-build project in Lewisham. As housing continues to become ever more unaffordable in London, I’m interested to see what a project like Segal’s might teach us in the present. I’m also looking forward to the tour of London Bridge, providing a unique opportunity to see the new concourse in advance of its opening in 2018.
And last but not least, I hope to attend some of the talks that will be taking place, including those with David Adjaye and Kengo Kuma. A personal highlight is the conversation between Joseph Rykwert and the artist Miroslaw Balka, whose practice has powerfully explored the limits of memory, trauma and their relationship to materiality. What lessons his work might hold for architecture is something I look forward to discovering.
