“The London Festival of Architecture is a month-long celebration of architecture and city-making, taking place every June across London. The Festival’s mission is to open up discussions around architecture, test new ideas and uncover and promote new talent.”

Started in 2004 as the Architecture Biennale, the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) has grown into a month-long annual event in London. The LFA team, a curatorial panel and the committee all contribute to bringing the public and the architectural profession together.

In 2017, the LFA was named by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan as one of his design advocate organisations and together the team continue to work to make London a better city.

Each year a different theme is selected, responding to real world issues and the challenges that everyone faces. Previous themes have included Change, The Playful City, Community and Memory, just to name a few. The events are organised by event type, collection and formats, so there is something for everyone.

The types of events range from family events, workshops, film screenings to larger scale events like exhibitions and installations. Each event is then grouped into a collection, with categories such as activism, climate change, students and the international community. Many of the events are available in an online format, some are in person and some are a combination of the two so that they are all available to everyone, regardless of your location.

One of the collections this year is 30 Objects in 30 Days, where the LFA team has asked 30 key figures in the architectural community to nominate an “object”. This year’s theme is “act” and “architecture” and the idea is that the “object” nominated needs to represent their interpretation of this theme. Vanessa Norwood, Architecture Curator & Consultant and Creative Director at the Building Centre for example chose Festivals as her contribution and you can watch her interview here.

Whether you are interested in architecture, or interested in design, the festival offers a multitude of opportunities and formats for you to experience the depth and breadth of London as a city and as a community.