So we enter Endgame. Architecture week and the London Architecture Biennale (LAB) draw to a close this weekend. And we still haven't figured out how to pronounce 'biennale'. Here’s our pick of the final flourish.
Friday
Walks: A bevy of novel guided walks are available on Friday. The Borough Market Experience (£5, 9am) tours the Victorian marketplace, highlighting both its ancient roots and its modern refurbs. Shakespeare, Social Space and Design (£7, 10.30, George Inn) follows in the footsteps of the great, bald playwright and the Bankside theatres of his day. Back to the future, with ‘The Gherkin and Its Neighbours’ (£6, 11 am, Moorgate Tube) – fairly self-explanatory. And finally, the National Gallery Inside and Out (FREE, 1pm) ignores all the paintings and concentrates on the building.
If you weren’t lucky enough to get a ticket for the sell-out Big Debate with Rem Koolhaas on Friday night, why not head over to Clerkenwell Green for the Party on the Green. Live bands, DJs and world foods will act as an early closing ceremony for the LAB.
Saturday
Bike Tour: Meet at the Diana Memorial logflume (10.30 am, £7) for a cycling tour of London’s ‘hidden’ waterways. Surely they’re not going to freewheel along the Fleet sewer?
City Psyching – Geocaching: Not one for technophobes. Like a big treasure hunt using GPS and ‘local hooded youths’ to uncover ‘low-tech invisible architecture’. Baffling. This free activity starts at 11 am and 1 pm at the British Library.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? Another chance to see St Etienne’s documentary about the pre-Olympic Lea Valley. 6pm at the British Library Conference Centre, if it’s not already booked up.
Mother of All Parties: Well, not quite, but, after last night’s LAB celebrations, Architecture Week has its own bash to coincide with the summer solstice. Performances, bands and DJs at Beaconsfield, Newport Street from 8pm.
Sunday
Looking With Your Feet: Another guided walk, this time incorporating one of those ancient ‘beating the bounds’ traditions. The jaunt traces Clerkenwell’s boundaries from the Fleet to the old cattle run of St John Street. A free event from 11 am, 26 Clerkenwell Close.
A Mobile Park: Now here’s a grand idea to finish off. ‘Bring plants from home and join the ‘walking-urban garden’. Drop off plants in places that need beautifying. Marvellous – let’s do this every week. The event is free and meets at Columbia Street flower market at 2pm.
See the official website for further details.
Photo of fake plastic sheep at Clerkenwell House by M@.
