Conference participants at the Centre Building, LSE
We held our AIA International Conference from September 29th to October 3rd, hosted in London by AIA UK and in collaboration with AIA Continental Europe. Each day centred on explorations of different areas of London. Thursday's opening reception was held at Japan Centre on High Street Kensington. Friday focused on Kings Cross and Camden Town, Saturday focused on Kingsway and the London School of Economics Campus, while Sunday was based at Bishopsgate with an emphasis on the City of London, and those that chose the extension day toured the numerous Nine Elms developments near the new U.S. Embassy by Kieran Timberlake.
Friday's focus began on the redevelopment of the King's Cross area with talks at Samsung KX inside the Heatherwick designed Coal Drops Yard, and then after lunch in the grand St Pancras Renaissance Hotel moved further north towards Camden Town, for a talk and tours of the AHMM Hawley Wharf Masterplan. Departing Hawley Wharf, we crossed to the Sterling Prize-nominated 100 Liverpool Street by Hopkins Architects for our AIA International Design Awards Gala evening - congratulations to all the recipients!
Saturday opened in the Rogers Stirk Harbour-designed London School of Economics Centre Building for lectures. We toured the sublime concrete acrobatics of the LSE Marshall Building by Grafton Architects, before lunch and a session by Bertie van Wyck at our sponsor Herman Miller's showroom. From there, we divided into 5 separate walking tours each with its own focus, before making our way towards Tower Hill. There we embarked aboard the paddle wheel steamer the Dixie Queen for a river cruise and Gala Dinner evening on the Thames, with the famous Tower Bridge opening specifically for our vessel to pass underneath! Several stayed on afterwards for more refreshment when our architectural historian exclaimed, "You've never seen the Lloyds Building!?" before taking us on a midnight walking tour of the city and architectural pilgrimage to see the Grade 1-listed Lloyds of London building by Richard Rogers Hon. FAIA and the grand Victorian Leadenhall Market, itself the former site of the Roman forum and a market for over 700 years.
Sunday's focus on the City of London, the historic Roman area which is now a finance and insurance district, started with breakfast at the recently completed 22 Bishopsgate, the tallest tower in the city cluster. Our lecture sessions Sunday included the designer of 22 Bishopsgate, Karen Cook AIA and a virtual presentation by Jean-Paul Hautekeer from our sponsor Dow.
During the conference, I was happy to help both as a volunteer member of the local chapter, and wearing my other hat as Secretary of AIA International. I was delighted by the real resumption of our International dialogue with an in-person setting. We had guests from as far away as Japan, Nigeria, Alaska, Brazil and Sri Lanka, as well as closer countries such as Switzerland and Italy. One of the most important aspects of the conference was the connections people made. I was thrilled to introduce emerging professionals from Mexico to mentors in Milan and the President-elect of the Royal Institute of British Architects to members from our various chapters and AIA International Country Representatives. I enjoyed listening to some of our FAIA members bantering with each other, clearly resuming conversations started several conferences ago. We were also joined by the former President of AIA, Jane Frederick FAIA and Past President of the RIBA, Jane Duncan Hon. FAIA. We greeted several familiar faces that have moved around globally since we saw them last. Through the hard work of the AIA UK conference committee chaired by Etain Fitzpatrick AIA, we had a program full of lectures and events that got at the heart of current practice in London in all its magnificent variety. Attendees were able to gain new insights, whether they were visiting London for the first time or on the most recent of many trips over the years. We would all like to thank the generous sponsorship that supported this conference!
To experience London 2022: Transformations day by day, through a special series of Conference articles, please see the AIA UK newsletter here.
Alex Miller, AIA
Secretary, AIA International
