As a proud patron of the London Festival of Architecture – now for a second year running – we’re incredibly excited about this year’s fantastic line-up of over 400 events. We’re taking part in a few, ourselves, which include the following:
Open Studios
As part of the ever-popular Open Studios programme, we’ll again be opening our London studio at 32 Cleveland Street in Fitzrovia to the public on Friday, 8 June from 5–8pm. Visitors can expect models in all shapes, sizes and materials, 3D printers going full-tilt, project photos, friendly Makers, and the chance to experience virtual reality with our HTC VIVE headset. They can also visit our lovely neighbours upstairs, Glenn Howells Architects and Fletcher Priest Architects.
City Benches competition
In April, Make director Katy Ghahremani was a judge for the LFA’s City Benches competition, in which emerging designers and architects were invited to submit designs for a one-off £800 bench to enhance the public realm within the City’s ‘Eastern Cluster’, around the Bank Station area. The ten winning entries will be constructed during the LFA.
‘Thresholds of Broadgate’
Make is also taking part in Thresholds of Broadgate, an exhibition organised by the University of East London, British Land, Sir Robert McAlpine and Scott Whitby Studio. It’s the culmination of a programme organised to give UEL architecture students experience of working on site; this year they’ve done so at AHMM’s refurbishment of 1 Finsbury Square, where the exhibition will run from Thursday, 21 June to Wednesday, 4 July. The theme centres on raw and found objects from building sites, with exhibits demonstrating the in-progress nature of the design process, including materials, studies, early ideas and finished works.
Make’s exhibit will celebrate 5 Broadgate, our London headquarters for Swiss investment firm UBS, which sits along the northern edge of the estate, just behind Liverpool Street Station. Sir Robert McAlpine, who invited us to take part, noted that due to the scheme’s role in “priming and announcing changes to the campus”, it would be a fitting exhibit for this year’s LFA theme of identity. We couldn’t agree more.
City Sculpture Fest
Make is also a patron of this year’s Sculpture in the City festival, which is working with the LFA to put on the first-ever City Sculpture Fest on Saturday, 30 June. The event promises free activities like Sculpture in the City tours, drawing workshops and a family treasure trail.
Great Architectural Bake-Off
Lastly, Make will again be entering the Great Architectural Bake-Off on Saturday, 16 June at Guildhall Yard with a Tower Bridge cake, complete with a bridge-raising mechanism. Bring your sweet tooth!
Supporting the LFA
There are hundreds of other events taking place the entire month of June, from family activities and walking tours to academic talks and architectural installations.
The LFA’s work couldn’t come at a more important time. According to research they published in 2017, London’s architecture sector is a £1.7 billion industry, “with growth far outstripping the creative industries and the London economy as a whole”. It contributes £437 million to the UK economy and employs 22,800 people. These findings are vital to promoting London as the world’s architecture hub.
You can visit the LFA website to discover all the other exciting events taking place this coming month. The only hard part will be choosing which ones to go to.
We hope you enjoy – and maybe see you at one of our events!
