LFA is a city-wide celebration of architecture in London, which was held from June 19 to July 4, 2010. The LFA hosted a series of events to highlight London’s status as an international architectural hub, and brought public and professionals together to stimulate greater understanding of the power of good design. The temporary installations will become permanent and is expected to leave a lasting legacy of this year’s festival.

The first weekend looked to the west-end and in particular the ‘Nash Ramblas’ route with events taking place all the way down from Regent’s Park to St James’s Park. Highlights were: Will Alsop, Paul Finch and Roger Zogolovitch dressed up as John Nash, the Duke of York, and the Prince Regent respectively.

The second week saw all eyes turn to the east, with an emphasis on the Olympic Park. There was a whole museum on the location. High Street 2012 was animated with student projects, bus tours and feld72’s Hyperlympics.

The third and final weekend focused on the delights of the South Bank, ranging from the beautiful Union Street Urban Orchard, to the building of the new Jellyfish Theatre. There were sugar sculptures, food exchanges, architect guided tours and debates in ROSY, the bubble. The legacy of the Festival lies with this weekend as the Orchard and Jellyfish Theatre will remain open until September 2010.

Various awards were presented in the festival. The Embassy of Japan beat strong competition to win the inaugural Silver Pigeon Award for the best project in the International Architecture Showcase with their exhibition, IE ≈ Home, involving work by architects Hiroki Kakizoe, Masaki Kakizoe, Akira Kindo, Tokuichiro Oba and Michiko Sumi.

For the first time, this years LFA collaborated with Sky to produce a series of cycle rides led by architects and cultural commentators. LFA also saw on of the best parties in the architecture world for a long time. Around 1000 people came to LFA HQ to celebrate the Festival.

The International Architecture Student Festival (IASF) took on an international element this year with students from the UK and Europe participating in the fabrication of installations across the city looking at the brief’s four parameters – Äì Reveal, Reuse, Signpost and Inclusive. The winners, as announced at the IASF Final Review held at the Whitechapel Gallery, were: Äì Urban Gardening by the University of Innsbruck in the Reveal category, Nomadic Allotments by Cardiff University in the Reuse category; It’s the Bag that Counts by Central Saint Martins in the Signpost category; and the London Flapjack Association by Central Saint Martins for the Inclusive category. An overall prize was also awarded for best project to the London Flapjack Association. Walk the Line by the University of Innsbruck also received a special mention from the judges.

To celebrate the festival’s Love Your Street initiative, the street outside NLA was transformed into a pocket park designed by Moxon Architects, featuring Price & Myers’ Hy-Pavilion. The park was used for a series of free lunchtime talks, dance workshops, tai chi, and open-air theatre. The park was in constant use throughout the day and showed how an under-used car park can be transformed into a magical area of green London.

The LFA 2012 will take place from June 23 to July 8, 2012 and will highlight London’s architecture to a global audience just weeks before the start of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.