The recently concluded edition of the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) of which STIR was a media partner unfolded as a dynamic, diverse and deeply rooted celebration of the city it inhabited. Defying the conventional archetypes of massive commercial design fairs that are often concealed behind closed doors, LFA 2025, akin to its previous iterations with the themes, Reimagine (2024) and In Common (2023), chose the streets, neighbourhoods, parks and public squares of London as its stage. Curiosity, engagement and exchange simmered across the city’s transformed fabric as citizens and visitors were invited to inhabit, question and co-create architecture as opposed to merely observing it—celebrating the voices that make the city.

With the theme Voices, LFA 2025 brimmed with many moments of reflection where the gaze shifted from architecture as an object to architecture as a collective and porous process. The concept of community participation persisted as a fundamental part of the architecture festival’s ethos, manifesting as meaningful acts of agency instead of a superficial or passive engagement with pre-made presentations. Across the comprehensive programme, people were welcomed to be co-authors of spatial narratives through sounds, stories, actions and emotions. Residents, youth groups, immigrants, artists and makers actively reimagined their built environments as equal stakeholders in synergy.

Exploring this central tenet of collaboration that permeated through the immersive walks capturing local histories, tactile workshops, forums that platformed marginalised voices and more, STIR looks back at the focal role of community at LFA 2025. Eight showcases across four thematic categories retrace projects where people across London stepped in as both subjects and storytellers.

Sonic narratives

A Space for Us?

Concept: People’s Museum Somers Town

In the heart of Somers Town—wedged between major stations and engulfed by rapid development—A Space for Us? offered a platform for local voices to reflect on themes such as gentrification and social housing. The installation by People’s Museum Somers Town presented archival footage and participatory recordings of local memories and responses to urban change. With walking tours, a hands-on workshop and screenings, residents and architects explored a century of social housing history—from the 1920s Ossulston Estate to Oakshott Court in the 1970s—and its emotional and spatial legacy.

Sounds of Wood Street

Concept: The London DJ&MC Academy CIC

Bringing beats to Barnet, Sounds of Wood Street transformed the neighbourhood into a vibrant, mobile celebration of local identity. Centred around a custom DJ van, this interactive installation organised by the London DJ & MC Academy CIC invited residents to learn DJ skills, share memories and record personal stories reflecting what Barnet means to them. Through live sets, spoken word and spontaneous storytelling at Wood Street College and a second public site, the project created an evolving audio portrait of the area. The recordings contributed to the festival’s wider sonic legacy and amplified voices that are often left out of conversations surrounding space and place.

Hands-on workshops

Reality Check: Reimagining a park through student voices

Concept: University of Westminster

The collaborative exhibition, Reality Check: Reimagining a park through student voices, amplified young voices in urban design, reimagining St Mary’s Churchyard and Paddington Green through the lived experiences of City of Westminster College students. With Dr Krystallia Kamvasinou from the University of Westminster’s School of Architecture and Cities at the helm, the project brought MA Urban Design students and local youth in workshops and site walks to address concerns such as safety, accessibility and belonging. The final design proposals underlined concepts of inclusive public spaces, advocating for an ‘All Play’ area to accommodate the needs of children with disabilities.

Who gets a say?

Concept: BoonBrown

Organised by multidisciplinary practice, BoonBrown, Who gets a say? placed the visitors at the centre of decision-making processes. Through a unique game, the exhibition nudged the participants into key roles shaping the cities—residents, architects, planners and developers.  As they navigated the different power and interest dynamics of the planning process, reflections on influence, compromise and agency that often evade common discourses became visible in the interactive experience. One primary question fuelled the thought exercise: whose voice truly shapes the spaces we live in?

Cross-border collaborations and immigrant initiatives

TOP DOWN BOTTOM UP! Collective Action for the Just City

Concept: Citizen Architects and Just City Working Group Kenya

Hosted at NOW Gallery, TOP DOWN BOTTOM UP! invited Londoners to co-create a 1:300 scale model of Bondeni, an informal settlement in Nakuru, Kenya, using recycled materials and interactive design software. The exhibition, led by Citizen Architects and the Just City Working Group Kenya, delved into the nuances of democratic placemaking, tracing colonial roots of urban inequality and showcasing Kenya’s constitutional right to participation in the planning process. The project was rooted in cross-continental dialogue, offering lessons in collective action for an inclusive future.

Voices of Wandsworth

Concept: Catja de Haas Architects Ltd

In Voices of Wandsworth, over 200 residents—from schoolchildren to elders—crafted miniature rooms in shoeboxes, each telling a personal story of home, belonging and care. These individual creations came together as a striking Giant Dolls’ House installation, built in collaboration with Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees for Refugee Week and the London Festival of Architecture. Supported by Catja de Haas Architects, the project celebrated the borough’s diverse voices and highlighted the powerful work of local charities and communities, showing that in Wandsworth, community is a superpower.

Envisioning spaces of sensitivity

Voices of Abuse

Concept:With Voices

Curated and produced by With Voices Studio, Voices of Abuse culminated architectural investigation and lived experience to expose the spatial realities of domestic abuse.

As part of LFA 2025, the showcase examined how the built environment can contribute to and potentially support survivors of domestic abuse. The conversation brings architectural research into discussion with lived experiences from survivors. Structured around three key narrative moments drawn from the survivors’ accounts, the architecture exhibition explored ‘the weaponisation of the home,’ ‘the role of neighbourhood in escape’ and ‘post-abuse recovery’. Presented through imagery, text, poetry, film, drawing and an interactive tapestry, the showcase was driven to intentionally prioritise care and ethical storytelling.

Inclusive City and Deaf Barrier

Concept: My Utopia Series

My Utopia Series invited visitors to engage with animated short films spotlighting the lived experiences of disabled and neurodivergent individuals in the city. Through screenings of Inclusive City and Deaf Barrier, audiences encountered impactful stories of navigating public space as a wheelchair user and as a deaf person. Attendees were encouraged to share their own ideas for inclusive design, with mini cards available for story contributions—particularly from disabled participants. The project amplified voices often sidelined, envisioning a more empathetic, accessible city shaped by all.

LFA 2025 reaffirmed that architecture thrives beyond blueprints—within the voices, stories, and actions of those who inhabit the city. By turning streets into stages and citizens into co-authors, the festival championed collaboration over spectacle, proving that a truly inclusive urban future emerges when every voice is heard and every space invites participation.