This year, the Landscape Institute curates 10 landscape walks for the London Festival of Architecture (LFA: 1-30 June 2015). Taking place on Wednesday and Thursday evenings in June the walks explore London’s varied and eclectic mix of spaces and landscapes and are tied in with the New London Architecture exhibition Public London.
From the old, new and proposed architecture, side streets and public spaces of East London, the beauty of paving, railings and bollards in Southwark to London’s major transformed landscapes like the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Clapham Old Town and Nine Elms the walks are inspired by this year’s LFA theme ‘work in progress’.
Visit www.landscapeinstitute.org/events/ for more information and to book.
10 June: From the Sebright Arms to the Ten Bells (and everything in between).
18:00 to 20:30
Explore an oblique slice of East London taking in the eclectic mix of old, new and proposed architecture, side streets, local history, social history, public spaces, immigration, notorious criminals, art and fashion.
11 June: Hampstead Heath: preventing flooding in London
18:00 to 19:30
A walk exploring the history of the site as well as the current plan for flood risk avoidance and the choices to be made in making the Heath safe for the next fifty years.
11 June: The beauty and history of paving, railings, trees, the Thames and other landscape things – a walk through Southwark
18:00 to 20:00
An exploration of the many beautiful (and not so lovely) paving materials present in the streets and open spaces of this historic part of London, including York stone and cobbled courtyards, Victorian kerbs, and 20th century concrete, as well as railings, bollards and other street furniture.
11 June: A walk in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: function and beauty in landscape
18:30 to 20:30
A tour of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, exploring how the site was influenced by the River Lea, the River Lea navigation and the other canals. Find out how the river and canals were moved, deculverted and managed to make the site what it is today.
17 June: A wander along the Strand
18:30 to 20:30
This walk explores the edge of the River Thames and uncovers some of the grand houses and other important sites that lined this stretch of river.
18 June: Clapham Old Town and Venn Street – developing new street design typologies
18:30 to 20:30
A walk around the award-winning public realm refurbishment of Clapham Old Town taking in the creation of social spaces with pedestrian and cycling priorities using the principles of shared space and naked streets.
18 June: A walk through ‘throwntogetherness’ in Woolwich: stories of migration and changing local places
18:30-20:30
This walk takes the park, Plumstead Common, and the square, Gordon Square, and explores how the civic nature of these spaces is expressed and experienced by communal identities shaped by ethnicity, gender, age and class.
18 June: Everywhere a sign
This Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia walk looks at how the urban landscape has evolved to provide cues to human behaviour to improve (or curtail) our freedoms in the city and to facilitate (or hinder) the construction of civil society and public realm.
24 June: The Thames Path – Battersea to Lambeth Bridge: the Nine Elms
19:00 to 20:30
The Nine Elms riverfront, stretching from Battersea to Lambeth Bridge is the context for this walk around one of London’s emerging pieces of public realm.
ENDS
For further information contact:
Sarah Harrison, communications@theparksalliance.org
Website: landscapeinstitute.org
Twitter: @talklandscape
For further information please contact Sarah Harrison on 07768 372892 or sarah@sarahharrisonpr.com
Notes to Editors
The Landscape Institute
The Landscape Institute is the royal chartered body for landscape architects. It represents professionals in the UK working across planning, design and the management of urban and rural landscape. The Landscape Institute campaigns to protect conserve and enhance the natural and built environment for public benefit. Through its advocacy programmes it champions landscape, and the landscape profession, in order to inspire great places where people want to live, work and visit. For information about other policy work, including Housing, Water Management, Flooding and Public Health visit www.landscapeinstitute.org/policy and www.landscapeinstitute.co.uk/awards/
London Festival of Architecture
The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) celebrates London as a global hub of architectural experimentation, practice and debate. Taking place throughout June, the annual festival provokes questions about the contemporary and future life of the city, and promotes positive change to its public realm. The city-wide programme is delivered with leading cultural and academic institutions alongside associated projects by practices and individuals. www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org
#LFA2015;@LFArchitecture; facebook.com/LondonFestivalofArchitecture
Public London: 10 years of transforming spaces
Showcases the best public space projects and initiatives in London over the last 10 years. Until 11 July 2015. http://newlondonarchitecture.org/programme/exhibitions/2015
