Header photo: Colour Palace at Dulwich Picture Gallery 2019 © Adam Scott
This summer, the London Festival of Architecture (LFA), the world’s largest annual architecture festival, returns for its 13th edition across June. LFA 2022 will once again transform London’s neighbourhoods with a series of installations, exhibitions, talks and special events that will bring people together as London continues to reopen. Following the transition to the digital realm in 2020 and the hybrid edition in 2021, we’re delighted to announce that LFA 2022 will see a return of in-person events alongside digital events across the capital.
The call for entries for LFA 2022 is now open, inviting individuals and organisations to submit event proposals that explore the theme of ‘act’. LFA’s unique ‘open call’ model aims to radically democratise the discussion around architecture in London, meaning that anyone with a passion for architecture and the built environment can propose a project or event. Most of LFA’s events are free and curated by a core festival team, working alongside architecture and design practices, leading cultural and academic institutions, artists, community groups and many others.
Key deadlines for LFA 2022 are as follows:
- 11 March 2022: Submission deadline for free event proposals (excluding LFA’s sponsors)
- 25 March 2022: Deadline for free submission for LFA’s sponsors
- 8 April 2022: Deadline for finalising event details
LFA 2022 will see the return of the festival at full power with the biggest programme of activity since 2019. Events will be taking place all over the capital, with particular attention to selected areas, which form the LFA Destinations. Featuring some of London’s most architecturally significant and diverse areas, 2022 Destinations will include London Borough of Camden, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, City of London, and South Westminster. Each LFA Destination offers the public the opportunity to appreciate the architectural quality of the area, as well as attend a wealth of events taking place on curated routes within a concentrated neighbourhood. Further Destinations will be announced in the coming weeks.
LFA 2022 will also see the return of the much-loved Architecture Bake Off, a public competition inviting bakers to create cakes in the shapes of iconic London buildings, and Studio Lates, where architecture practices open their doors to both the public and the profession every Friday in June. Additionally, LFA 2022 will feature a wide range of competitions including the LFA Symposium in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts, and Showroom Showcase.
The events for LFA 2022 will respond to our theme of ‘act’, which is a natural choice as we continue to emerge from the pandemic. The next edition of the festival will look at ways architects should act in the face of the climate emergency, social injustice, and the needs of a changing society. Previous themes have included care in 2021, power in 2020, boundaries in 2019, identity in 2018, memory in 2017 and community in 2016. The theme is selected by LFA in collaboration with our curation panel, which also helps shape up the programme. LFA 2022 Curation Panel:
- Farouk Agoro (artist and architect)
- Amanprit Arnold (senior infrastructure policy officer, Greater London Authority)
- Zoheb Iqbal (architect, entrepreneur and start-ups mentor and supporter)
- Prudence Ivey (editor, London Evening Standard Homes and Property)
- Priya Khanchandani (head of curatorial, Design Museum)
- Chris Laing (architectural designer, activist, and founder of Signstrokes)
- Vicky Richardson (head of architecture and Drue Heinz Curator, Royal Academy)
Rosa Rogina, Director of London Festival of Architecture, said:
The success of LFA lies in the diversity of our programme and our ability to produce the unexpected. We’re thrilled to see how our audience will respond to ‘act’, especially in light of recent events including COP26, Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.
I’m particularly thrilled to reveal LFA 2022 Destinations, which offer our network of events’ organisers the opportunity to discover unique areas across London through curated walking trails of activities. This will be a unique chance to act now, and celebrate and support London boroughs, whose communities have been affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
