The London Architectural Biennale and Architecture Week kick off proper tomorrow. Don’t be put off by the user-unfriendly names. Most of the events are aimed squarely at us everyday Londoners, and you’ll need no architectural knowledge to enjoy the activities.
However, you will need very good organisational skills if you don’t want to miss out. There are such a staggering number and variety of events to consider that you might want to hire a personal secretary to plan it out for you. Alternatively, we’ll be lassoing the daily highlights for you and corralling them up into bite-sized posts.
So, to kick off, here are the best ongoing events from the festivals, which open tomorrow and continue till the 25 June.
Peter Ackroyd’s Thames: The Millennium Bridge hosts a free exhibition in which opposing sides of the bridge deal with the ‘noble’ and ‘darker’ aspects of the Thames.
Railings Exhibitions: More than 40 temporary exhibitions dotted throughout town describing local history and architecture.
Big London Brainstorm: What would you change about the city? Pop in to Smithfield House (Smithfield) to air your views. While you’re there, check out the Motionscape exhibition from TfL, which looks at how transport has shaped London.
The World in one City: The Gallery in York Way is showcasing ‘visionary projects for London’.
Ruta Rota: ‘Dynamic designs’ will appear on bus stops across London. (Nothing to do with this www.londonist.com/archives/2006/04/bus_stop_art_fu.php.)
Clerkenwell Green: gets an ‘interactive, naturally powered centrepiece’ for you to play with – 24 hours a day.
Transit: a film by Emily Richardson projected onto the vaults beneath Smithfield.
