© Joe Howard, BAR Productions
At LFA we champion sustainability and circularity in the built environment. This is a mission that acts as the basis for so many of our Festival events, installations and competitions, not least ‘Common Ground’.
As part of LFA2023, LFA partnered with the City of London BID, Cheapside Business Alliance, on the commission of ‘Common Ground’, a bench-like structure installed at Bow Churchyard.
The installation was created by design team Urban Radicals and Saqqra. They used recycled materials salvaged from nearby sites of manufacture, which built upon the church’s legacy of layered reconstruction and re-use. The assemblage of various salvaged components included: crushed aggregates from ceramic building elements, brick ‘rejects’, coping blocks, surplus facade cladding tiles and other traditional building elements discarded by their owner.
© Joe Howard, BAR Productions
‘Common Ground’ now ensures circularity, as its elements have been repurposed and re-homed for communities across London to enjoy.
The ramps in the installation, for example, have been donated to their original neighbouring church, St Mary-le-Bow, to ensure wheelchair access to the central aisle of the church.
© Nomad Community Gardens
Seating elements of the installation have been re-homed in Stratford’s Nomadic Community Gardens, located just behind the Lighthouse building at 38 Celebration Ave. Nomadic Community Gardens is a small social enterprise – part of Hadley Property Group – that seeks to increase the access and utility of empty spaces and turn them into vibrant community resources.
The Community Gardens are open to the public Wednesday – Sunday 10am-sunset. There’s a children’s play area, as well as planters for residents to grow vegetables and more. Nomadic Gardens welcomes visitors from near or far to make use of the space – check it out!
