a village in the city
London
Inscriptions are possible until 1 April 2025.
In 1966, famed filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni traded the Italian sun for the urban violence of London to film his legendary film Blow-up. The film opens with a Land-Rover Series II on which a group of mimes are packed. The gang honks silently through the busy streets of London and through the inner grounds of Alison and Peter Smithson’s the economist building.
The opening scene is emblematic of Antonioni’s cinema but perhaps even more so of 1960s London. After the ravages of World War II, the city saw an opportunity to finally check the rapid, unplanned growth of the 19th century. The Greater London Plan by Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie was created and is perhaps best known for its progressive Green Belt. The city plan allowed developers to implement large-scale and visionary projects. The Barbican Estate, Alexandra Road Estate, Canary wharf and Wood Wharf on the Isle of Dogs or more recently the development of the King’s Cross area to name a few.
Historically, London is a polycentric city. It is a conglomeration of several villages around the city centre that merged with the advent of the railway network. It is not like many European cities where development evolves from the inside out. So we cannot simply think of London as one big metropolis with a centre and its suburbs. It is a network of smaller villages and more intimate city centres.
planopli builds on this and looks for the village within the city. A human scale that there is a constant desire for even in a metropolis of millions. We leave Norman Foster and David Chipperfield behind for a while and discover small-scale projects by young British architectural practices. We visit The Bleu Market Square and The Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary art by Assemble, The Garden Museum by Dow Jones Architects or still the Peveril Garden Community centre by Sanchez Benton architects. Neighbourhood projects where meeting and connecting are central, and where the city can unwind in all its awesomeness.
London
programme
subject to change
- House for an actress (2021), Sanchez Benton Architects
- Newport Street Gallery (2015), Caruso St John Architects
- Waterloo Cityfarm (2017), Feilden Fowles architects
- Studio visit Feilden Fowles
- Low Line Louis, Sanchez Benton Architects
- De Beauvoir Block (2017), Henley Halebrown
- The Sunken House (2007), Adjaye Associates
- The Mole House (2020), Adjaye Associates
- Blue Mountain School (2018), A6
- 168 Upper Street (2019), Groupwork
- Levy House (1936), Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry
- 168 Upper Street (2019), Groupwork
- Serpentine Gallery and pavillion (2025), Marina Tabassum
- Design museum (2015), OMA
- Brick House (2021), Sergison Bates
- Lisson Gallery (1992), Tony Fretton
- Reciprocal House (2023), Gianni Botsford Architects
- Maggie’s (2024), Studio Libeskind
- HG house (2021), A6
- Garden Museum, Lambeth (2020), Dow Jones Architects
- Hackney New Primary school and 333 Kingsland Road (2020) Henley Halebrown
- Goldsmiths CCA, New Cross (2018) Assemble
- Studio visit Assembly @ Fabric Floor, Brixton (2019) Assemble
- Bleu Square Market, Bermondsey (2022) Hayatsu architects + Assemble
- Peverill Garden and artists studios, Southwark (2022) Sanchez Benton Architects
- Holborn House, Camden (2020) A6 architects
- Central somers town, Camden (2021) Adam Khan
profiles
practical
The planopli tour guides will assist you in Dutch, English and French. Guided visits by local guides and/or architects will be in English (if necessary, planopli tour guides will provide a concise translation).
passport required
Belgian visitors will need not only an international travel passport, but also an electronic travel authorisation to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025. This Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) can be applied for using the ETA UK App or on the ETA UK Website.
Standard information for package travel contracts
payment info
€1.950 for 4 days
for a group of 20 travelers
single supplement: €375
INCLUDED
- Eurostar round trip Brussels-Midi – London St Pancras International
- 3 overnight stays with breakfast
- 4 day ticket public transport London
- 1 aperitif in Southwark in Low Line Louis
- use of audiophones
- permanent guidance and expert guiding by Renaud Baeckelandt and Elien Vannevel
- meetings with local architects and experts
- studio visit to Assemble architects
- gifts for the architects and private individuals who open their homes exclusively to us
- (exclusive) entrances to buildings
- entrances to museums and galleries included in the program
- group travel assistance insurance
- log guide: self-composed, designed and professionally printed travel guide with multipurpose cover, city maps, sketch chalk, postcard, pencil,…
NOT INCLUDED
- optional cancellation insurance (6,5% of total trip cost)
- lunches
- evening meals
PAYMENT
- registration is final
after payment of the advance of €800
to be paid into account BE25 7350 4701 5682
With this transfer you agree to the “general”:https://planopli.net/nl/terms#algemeen and “special conditions of sale”:https://planopli.net/nl/terms#bijzonder of planopli and declare that planopli is not liable for accidents, theft or lost objects that may occur.
based on art. VI.45, 11° of the Code of Economic Law, there is no reflection period. - balance 30 days before departure
- possibility of paying by credit card (if desired, please indicate on the registration form)