LONDON, May 27 — The London Festival of Architecture returns this June, celebrating the English capital as a global hub for architecture. This year, the festival offers over 400 events curated around the theme “Boundaries”. Here are five installations to watch out for.

‘Yinka Ilori: Happy Street’, June 22-30

“Yinka Ilori: Happy Street” is a large-scale public artwork displayed under the railway bridge on Thessaly Road, in London’s South Bank. The cheerful installation features a rainbow of colours, inspired by the hues observed at sunset over the River Thames.

The project was organised by London Festival of Architecture and Wandsworth Council, as part of a package of improvements to the public realm in Nine Elms.

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An accompanying exhibition “Yinka Ilori — Types of Happiness” will be on show from May 8 to June 23 at StudioRCA.

‘Liminal’, June 1-30

“Liminal” is an architectural painting created by award-winning artist Wolfgang Buttress around the River Thames.

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The site-specific artwork behaves like a kaleidoscopic lens, reflecting the ever-changing nature of the river. Blurring boundaries between 2D, 3D and 4D, it features a variety of mirror, bright, satin and matt aluminium panels and will also incorporate sound. It will be on view throughout June on the north bank of the Thames, opposite the Tate Modern.

‘Lunch Break’, June 1-30

“Lunch Break” is an installation by architecture studio KHBT in collaboration with Ottmar Horl. The project was the winner of a design competition to create a new artwork for “St Paul’s Plinth”, located outside of St Paul’s Underground station.

It features 35 gilded angels sitting on randomly arranged bars, which are suspended from the existing wire grid of “St Paul’s Plinth” — which was originally created by ScottWhitByStudio and Arup for the previous edition of the London Festival of Architecture.

Rendering of Wolfgang Buttress’ installation ‘Liminal’, along the River Thames in this image courtesy of Wolfgang Buttress. — AFP pic
Rendering of Wolfgang Buttress’ installation ‘Liminal’, along the River Thames in this image courtesy of Wolfgang Buttress. — AFP pic

‘Don’t Walk, Walk’, June 8-29

This interactive installation — whose title references American traffic light — will be located in the lobby of London’s iconic skyscraper One Canada Square. The artwork creates an architectural boundary between the tower’s corporate environment and the structure’s experiential space.

Created by LBMV Architects, “Don’t Walk, Walk” was assembled on site from regular lengths of wood, demonstrating how affordable building a basic shelter can be.

‘The Quintessential English Garden’, June 10-July 12

What does it mean to be a native? This question was the genesis of Lily Jencks Studio’s installation “The Quintessential English Garden,” which will be on view at Cabot Square in Canary Wharf.

The project was inspired by the world-famous Stourhead garden. It recreates a miniature Stourhead, where leaf-shaped landform seats are arranged around a large printed image of the renowned English garden. Trees and perennial plants will further complete the illusion, raising questions about the history and language of the terms native/exotic, and natural/man-made.

The 2019 edition of the London Festival of Architecture runs from June 1-30, 2019. See more at www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org. — AFP-Relaxnews