London Festival of Architecture 2024
London Festival of Architecture 2024
The London Festival of Architecture is a month long celebration of architecture and city-making, taking place every June across London. In 2024 they are celebrating 20 years of the festival and have a wide range of events to enjoy, you can find out what’s happening across London here.
The Archive Pod
The EC BID is delighted to be taking part in this year’s festival with the Archive Pod by designers Urban Radicals. The installation has a mini seed museum showcasing an archive of seeds historically imported into London, whichs narrate stories of migration and cultural exchange. The intervention acts as a two-person podcast space for dialogue, interviews and public broadcasting which is open for all to enjoy.
- 18th June – 31st July 2024
- Lloyd’s of London (Publicly accessible ground floor facing Leadenhall Street)
- Free to visit and open to the public
Listen to some of the podcasts that have been recorded here
The Archive Pod features a Seed Exhibition: ‘SEED STORYTELLERS: A BOTANICAL ARCHIVE OF LONDON’S SQUARE MILE’
Text and illustrations by LEELA KESHAV and Designed and curated by URBAN RADICALS
What seeds are meaningful to you? A seed is a wondrous being. A single seed carries an archive of histories and the promise of countless potential futures. Unlike rooted plants, seeds are transient. As they move, they carry stories of the worlds they encounter on their journeys.
Pay attention, and you’ll see seeds everywhere: drifting through city streets, sprouting in community gardens, sold in supermarkets, carried in bird droppings, and even served at your favourite restaurant. Yet seeds—co-inhabitants of our city—are often overlooked, undervalued, and commodified. Their perceived value shifts over time and depends on who you ask: some plants once considered beautiful are now detested and marked as “invasive,” “alien,” or “weeds”.
Why are seeds important? The lives of plants and people are intertwined: we rely on each other. Plants have rich lives of their own, and they have much to teach us. In tracing their origin stories and their entanglements with human histories, this exhibition centres seeds—as storytellers, urban actors, and beings-in-motion—to bring a new dimension to the Square Mile’s history.
Events
To accompany this exciting installation, the EC BID will be delivering a series of exciting events with LFA as part of the wider festival celebrations. Events include:
LFA Migration Museum x City BIDs – City of London Migration History walking tour
Tuesday 6th June | 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Join the Migration Museum and the City BIDs to discover and celebrate how migration has shaped the City of London and Britain as a whole. Explore the streets of London and uncover thousands of stories of thousands of years. From Jewish Synagogues to hidden monuments, iconic buildings, and so much more, this tour shines a light on the role that migration has played in shaping London’s past, present, and future. Starting at the Spitalfields Market opposite Gun Street, the tour lasts two hours and ends near Fleet Street.
Location: Gun Street / Brushfield St (at the Herd of elephants sculptures), 16 Brushfield St, London E1 6AT.
Book here
Poetry Takeaway
Thursday 27th June | 11.30pm-4.00pm
The Poetry Takeaway serves high quality, personalised Poetry to visitors, written, performed and wrapped up to Takeaway. Our diverse group of poet chefs are the heart of The Poetry Takeaway, along with the people we meet, the stories they share with us, how we tell them and the amazing places in which we find ourselves. Join for your personalised poem which will take around 20 minutes to write, if you are short of time you can collect it at a later time in the day or you can have it emailed to you as an audio file.
Tuesday 2nd & Wednesday 3rd July
Visit the Archive Pod and leave your message to the City! Share your favourite memory, story or reason why you love the City of London which will be recorded by our team and created into an audio file.
Skyscraper City Walking Tour with Stumble London Tours – Led by Mark T Cox
Friday 5th July | 2:00pm – 3.00pm
The City of London is on the up, with new tall buildings rising out of the ancient streets every year. Explore the story behind them, who designs them, and why they look the way they do. Join us for a lunchtime walk, as we visit some of the tallest structures in Europe, discuss vertical living, the architectural challenges and the City’s vision for the future. Tour led by curator and tour guide Mark T Cox.
Start Point: 120 Fenchurch Street – Walking Talkie (Fenchurch Street side)
End Point: Lloyd’s Building