London festival of Architecture

A reminder, folks about the activities going on just now...

Major change to the shape of London will be brought about over the next ten years as the eyes of the world focus on the east of the capital, with the impending arrival of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the development of Stratford City, expansion around Canary Wharf, densification on Greenwich Peninsula, and linking of the area’s network of green spaces and waterways.

The London Festival of Architecture (LFA2008) Canary Wharf, Stratford & Greenwich Peninsula Hub activities will celebrate and investigate that change. The quality of the area’s built environment is improving dramatically as plans for the 2012 Olympic Park, Stratford City, the extension of Canary Wharf and Thames Gateway regeneration are turned into reality, and the promise of the Greenwich Peninsula is realised following the rejuvenation of The O2.

LFA2008 events will look at how this process of transition can be harnessed to benefit the lives of east Londoners, and how the best thinkers in urban design are being attracted to the area to complement the ambition of its communities.

Highlights include a major weekend of family-oriented activity at Canary Wharf with public art installations and architectural film screenings. Greenwich Peninsula will host a series of interactive outdoor installations, to accompany tours of the area’s art and architecture. A special boat shuttle service will take visitors across the Thames, connecting the Greenwich Peninsula to Trinity Buoy Wharf, Leamouth, to view exhibitions, tour the historic lighthouse and visit open studios in the Container City. The Hub is anchored in Stratford by a series of events and exhibitions aiming to communicate plans for the Olympics and Stratford City to residents of Stratford. The waterways of the area are also key, with a debate on the development of London as a ‘water city’ engaging key policy makers and urban designers.
EDAW Water City Debate
Other events within the Canary Wharf, Stratford & Greenwich Peninsula Hub include an exhibition on new housing developments, Vocal Eyes audio-described tours of The O2 Arena, and canal boat tours linking Canary Wharf to the Greenway, a public cycle and walking route that overlooks the Olympic Park under construction, and which will play host to an installation by the ODA and the Royal College of Art.

25 June My Architect screening in the East Winter Garden
26 June EDAW ‘London Water City’ Debate about London’s new waterfront developments in an international context at the Clifford Chance auditorium in Canary Wharf.
27 June Focus on new plans for Stratford and the Greenway. Evening lecture by Cesar Pelli, the major Canary Wharf architect
28 June Focus on Greenwich Peninsula and Trinity Buoy Wharf with interactive, outdoor installations and guided tours
29 June Family events at Canary Wharf including artists’ installations and screening of Sketches of Frank Gehry. Canal boat tours from Limehouse Basin to the picturesque Old Ford Lock.
1 July Evening debate on the politics of public art at the Museum in Docklands.
27 June/1 July Blueprint Big Breakfasts featuring Gill Hicks (peace ambassador and survivor of the 7/7 Tube bombings) and Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger at the Wapping Project