King’s Cross will come alive with a series of ‘Urban Actions’ organised in response to the Festival’s theme of The Playful City. Visitors are invited to pick up a specially commissioned Urban Actions Trail Map and associated Field Guide designed by Ken Kirton and learn about the past, present and future of this ever-changing part of London.From a petrol station transformed by Carmody Groarke, a picnic over the pavement by local architecture practice Squire and Partners, and an Imagination Playground designed Rockwell Group, to dance performances by Sadler’s Wells, the weekend is set to be full of positive and transformative activity.
Curated by The Architecture Foundation together with Squire and Partners, this weekend will see local businesses and organisations create a series of actions and events aimed to improve our city.
The LFA King’s Cross Focus Weekend is sponsored by King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership and the Urban Actions Field Guide is made possible through a grant from the Arts Council England. All events are family-friendly and free.
The London Festival of Architecture 2012 is organised by the Architecture Foundation, British Council, NLA and RIBA London and sponsored by Berkeley Group, Land Securities, The Mayor of London and supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The LFA’s mission, since its origins in 2004, has been to reveal the potentials latent within the city, in particular its public realm, by increasing access and suggesting alternative positive uses. The 2012 Festival is run by five co-directors: Peter Murray (Founding Director), Nick McKeogh (NLA), Sarah Ichioka (AF), Vicky Richardson (BC), and Tamsie Thomson (RIBA London), advised by a Festival Committee representing London’s key cultural institutions and built environment disciplines.
www.lfa2012.org
Founded in 1991 as the UK’s first independent architecture centre, The Architecture Foundation is a non-profit agency for contemporary architecture, urbanism and culture. We cultivate new talent and new ideas. Through our diverse programmes we facilitate international and interdisciplinary exchange, stimulate critical engagement amongst professionals, policy makers and a broad public, and shape the quality of the built environment. We are independent, agile, inclusive and influential. Central to our activities is the belief that architecture enriches lives.The Architecture Foundation is one of the key curatorial and delivery partners for the London Festival of Architecture, which in Summer 2012 will take the theme ‘The Playful City’.
www.architecturefoundation.org.uk
About King’s Cross Central Ltd. Partnership King’s Cross is a 67 acre development in central London, being delivered by the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership. After four years of investment, the estate opened in September 2011 with King’s Boulevard opening to the public and the University of the Arts London move to the Granary Complex. In total, the project is delivering 2,000 new homes, 3.4m sq ft net of office space and 500,000sq ft of retail space. There will be 20 new streets, 10 major public spaces and 20 historic buildings and structures are being restored and refurbished. King’s Cross is a new piece of the city, with a brand new postcode, London N1C.
http://www.kingscrosscentral.com/