The London Festival of Architecture and the City of London Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have revealed ‘Street Assemblies for the Square Mile’, four architectural interventions around the City.
Urban Radicals have designed four Street Assembly platforms across the City of London, which re-imagine alternative parliament typologies and forms. The installations aim to make the idea of civic assembly accessible to a diverse audience, prompting Londoners to actively engage in shaping the city’s discourse.
Aldgate Connect, Culture Mile, EC BID, and Fleet Street Quarter, partnered with the London Festival of Architecture to commission the trail.
PUBLIC ASSEMBLY is a street auditorium for public debate, discussions, performances, summer screenings and small community gatherings. Delivered in partnership with the Fleet Street Quarter BID who will be bringing a wide range of cultural programming to their street auditorium from partners including London Metropolitan University, KCL and Troubadour Stageworks.
Highlights taking place at Public Assembly:
Reimagine Soundscapes | London Metropolitan School of Art, Architecture and Design, London Metropolitan University
Pop Up Art Workshop with Bella Gomez | Fleet Street Quarter
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Fleet Street Quarter
ROUNDTABLE is a table for shared meals and discussions that, informally or formally, invites the public to sit down for exchange and deliberation. The table is crafted from modular pre-fabricated and found elements, including industrial concrete pipes, decking panels and utility poles.
Plants housed in the table carry stories of origin, narrating the movement of people to the UK, representing the vibrant multi-cultural communities of London.
Roundtable is delivered in partnership with the Culture Mile BID.
Highlights taking place at Roundtable:
Materials Buffet at the Roundtable | Urban Radicals
SPEAKERS’ PLINTHS: Referencing Aristotle’s school of peripatetic philosophy (walking and conversing), a series of plinths along Vine Street, adjacent to the historic City Wall, encourage the voicing of individual opinions, the sharing of reflections on the city, stories of origin, as well as prompting informal discussions and connections held along a walkable route.
Speakers Plinths is delivered in partnership with Aldgate Connect BID
Highlights taking place at Speakers’ Plinths:
London Youth Choir Performs | Aldgate Connect BID
VOICING POD: A mini seed museum showcasing an archive of seeds historically imported into London, will narrate stories of migration and cultural exchange. The intervention will also act as a two-person podcast space for dialogue, interviews, and public broadcasting. Delivered in partnership with EC BID, there will be a number of well-known podcasts recorded throughout the Festival in June.
Highlights taking place at Voicing Pod:
Bringing the Outside In, Macca (NTS Radio) | Audio and Video
In addition to expanding who engages with conversations around city-making – with over 1 million people engaged in 2023 alone – the London Festival of Architecture provides a test bed for new ideas and creative solutions for problems across the city, with temporary reimagining of public space during the festival leading to long term positive change for communities and spaces across London. The series of installations across the City of London, and the assemblies and performances that will be hosted at them throughout June, exemplify this mission and build on the 2024 Festival theme of ‘Reimagine’.
Ruth Duston OBE, CEO of Primera which operates the City’s business improvement districts, said: “We are pleased to be working with the team from Urban Radicals, Millimetre and AKTII on this exciting project as part of the London Festival of Architecture’s 20th anniversary. Throughout its 2,000-year history, the City of London has adapted, evolved, and transformed to meet the needs of the future. As the City continues to evolve, now is a good opportunity to look at what the next iteration of the Square Mile could look like, through a lens of design and architecture. We look forward to welcoming visitors to this celebration of the Square Mile, in June.”
Nasios Varnavas, Partner at Urban Radicals, said: “We are excited and honoured to have been selected to Reimagine the Square Mile. This is an important 20-year milestone for the London Festival of Architecture, and we hope that our work will nurture the same openness that LFA has been advocating for over the years. Our project will reimagine forms of assembly at various scales, both as material processes as well as social catalysts.”
Benjamin O’Connor, Director, NLA said: “We are delighted to once again be working with the City of London BIDs to deliver meaningful interventions that improve the public realm. These creative and innovative installations create a welcoming, inclusive environment for all those that live, work and play in the City today. We look forward to assembling with our fellow Londoners to enjoy these new spaces throughout the Festival.”
