The London Festival of Architecture allows untrained enthusiasts like me to see this amazing city through an architect’s eyes. Every year I look forward to seeing what places and buildings the festival will bring to life through their vast range of talks, tours, screenings and installations. This year’s theme of memory is the perfect way to do just that, bringing all the different layers of London to life through the stories and memories engrained in the fabric of the city’s buildings. So how do I plan my month of June and see as much as possible?
This year, one of the LFA’s key focal points is on the regeneration of the Nine Elms area. Living and working in Battersea, I am looking forward to getting a first glimpse inside some of the new and repurposed buildings and public spaces, and hearing the stories of their past and future.
For example, the first cultural and events venue to open at Battersea Power Station is The Village Hall. There are several events taking place in this venue over the Festival and I am particularly looking forward to hearing from artist Michael Warren who has painted the Power Station for over 30 years and has a catalogue of anecdotes on historic attempts to repurpose the Power Station. At the same time, I will be taking in the beautiful Entwine installation, the first public artwork to bring that new stretch of riverside to life. Across the road, the New Covent Garden Market is a wealth of history and anecdotes from traders over the years and I’ll be eager to see these brought to life by Chocolate Films at LOST Theatre.
Walking along the Thames to the Southbank, as I can never resist a guided tour, I am looking forward to learning more about one of my favourite buildings, the National Theatre. Finally, further along the river still, The Brunel Museum is hosting a talk on the re-use of lost infrastructure, something that could be useful for the next stage of the Power Station regeneration!
