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OVER A QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE ATTEND THE LONDON FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE 2008

> More than a quarter of a million people attended over 600 events during the month-long, city-wide London
Festival of Architecture 2008.
> Events ranged from 60,000 people enjoying the Sites and Sounds event in Exhibition Road and 1,000 people
attending David Chipperfield’s keynote lecture, to the ‘Vocaleyes’ tours of some of London’s most interesting
buildings for small groups of blind and partially sighted visitors.
> Hailed as “reaching out beyond the profession and inspiring people from all walks of life with the beauty,
pleasure and vitality of London's architecture” by participant and Blueprint Big Breakfast speaker,
Loyd Grossman.
> The Festival had an international flavour with the Embassies Project: 23 countries organised exhibitions
of their own architects’ work, which included a cedar wood structure from British Columbia installed outside
of the Canadian High Commission in Trafalgar Square.
> The National Architecture Student Festival brought together students from across the UK and Europe with
pupils from London schools and community groups culminating in a series of temporary interventions in key
public spaces, including a stunning ‘wave’ structure by the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne on
the Thames walk in front of Tate Modern.

The biennial London Festival of Architecture 2008 came to a close this weekend after a month that saw
a buzz of activity move through five Hub areas across the city, bringing large scale temporary structures
and major street closures animated by art, music, dance and other events as well as exhibitions,
walks, talks, boat and bicycle rides and performances to London’s architecture novices and industry
experts alike.

‘The Festival has exceeded all expectations this year’ says LFA Director Peter Murray, ‘and as well as making
architecture engaging and exciting for a new audience, we addressed important issues such as how we
improve public space in cities, how architecture impacts the environment and generally how we make London
a better place to live and work in. Architecture is now at the forefront of the cultural agenda and the Festival
has shown that it is an essential consideration for the many rather than a specialist interest for the few.
It was exciting to see the Festival expand across a large part of central London, and areas and organisations
not included this year are already asking us if they can be involved in 2010.’

Launched by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson at Somerset House, the Festival saw sold-out talks from
international names such as Daniel Libeskind, David Chipperfield, Rafael Viñoly, Cesar Pelli, Rem Koolhaas
and LFA President Peter Ackroyd along with inspiring, interactive temporary structures and installations
from the likes of Foster + Partners, Tonkin Liu and Carmody Groarke.

Richard Rogers, whose firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners designed Madrid’s Barajas Airport, said:
“The quality of the design of buildings and public spaces affects our lives. A wider understanding of
architecture through The London Festival of Architecture has helped us to better appreciate and experience
these buildings and spaces.”

Events such as the Blueprint Big Breakfasts brought architectural debate to a broad new audience, with high
profile speakers discussing their view on London, and world, architecture. Loyd Grossman, Broadcaster and
Chairman of the Campaign for Museums and Public Monuments, said: “I was lucky enough to speak at one
of LFA's Big Breakfasts and was delighted that there were only two architects in the audience. Delighted
because it was such a vivid illustration of how the Festival is reaching out beyond the profession and
inspiring people from all walks of life with the beauty, pleasure and vitality of London's architecture.”

The Festival also worked with organisations to broaden the scope of issues covered during the month of
activities and events from whole day events to talks, seminars and performances. Christine Cohen, Chairman
of the City of London's Planning and Transport Committee from City of London said: “working with the Festival
for Cheapside Day on 19th July was a fantastic way to make usually-specialist subjects, such as urban
planning, accessible and interesting to those they actually affect. The day was a huge success, bringing
thousands of people to the City, and raised the profile of our recently-launched public consultation
on planned retail development in the area with both the media and the public.”

By 20th July, over 600 events had brought architects, artists, designers, public figures, celebrities
and members of the public together to explore architecture, and investigate its importance to everyone.

Other highlights included:

> London’s Largest Living Room, installed in Somerset House for the opening weekend, incorporated oversized
furniture by designers Studio Weave and decorated with a pattern by Eley Kishimoto with a carpet designed
by Studio Myerscough. The furniture was then placed in different public spaces across the city throughout
the Festival.
> Mayor Boris Johnson launched his renewed London Plan at a Festival reception at City Hall, while his newly
promoted deputy, Sir Simon Milton, gave a keynote speech at the hugely popular Planning in London
conference about the impact of planning on maintaining London’s position as a leading global city.
> Sold-out trips on the Limehouse Canal, led by key figures from the ODA and British Waterways, offered
the public some of the first views of the 2012 Olympic site in Stratford.
> The 160-metre NLA Skywalk, designed by Carmody Groarke, created a dramatic viewing platform, outdoor
exhibition galleries, turfed seating areas and performance spaces in Montague Place, the street at the north
entrance of the British Museum.
> A temporary lido with paddling pool, sauna, film screening and living accommodation designed by French
architectural collective EXYZT turned waste land along a railway viaduct in Southwark into a popular attraction
for locals and visitors.
> Geese paraded down Poultry in the City for Cheapside Day, when the road was transformed into
a contemporary version of the medieval market for which it became famous.
> The Architectural Jelly Banquet which took place in the UCL Quad saw jellies designed by top practices
Foster + Partners, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Will Alsop. Tonkin Liu were crowned winners for their
‘Fresh Flower’ jelly.
> The RIBA London Dark Waters project, co-curated by Peter Ackroyd, which created sound installations
on six piers across London, linked by a Thames Clippers boat service to carry Festival-goers between
the Hubs.
> A series of food-related events that encouraged Londoners to think about food production, distribution and
consumption as well as offering ideas for how they can ‘grow their own’. Author Carolyn Steel launched her
book with the sold-out lecture ‘How Food Has Shaped London’ while What-if: projects placed grow bags
across London to promote the use of vacant, neglected and undefined inner-city spaces for the growing
of vegetables.
> Housing also came high on the agenda, with the HausWork* lecture series showcasing new international
talent from Wallpaper* magazine’s architects directory and the Matthew Lloyd/mae Architects-curated exhibition
‘A Building Should Be to the City as a Brick is to a Brick Wall,’ accompanied by the well-attended breakfast debate
What's Social About Housing?
> Bike rides across the city saw cyclists reclaiming the streets for fascinating tours of London’s architecture,
led by leading urban thinkers such as Ricky Burdett and Wayne Hemmingway, while creating a noticeable
presence for surrounding traffic.