NLA confirms Westfield Stratford City for its next pop-up residency

Monday 28 February 2022

NLA continues its exploration across London by positioning its next pop up at Westfield Stratford City. The placement forms part of the upcoming Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park programme: a major piece of research, exhibition, publication and programme of events on the planning, design, engineering, and construction marking the Park’s 10-year anniversary. The gallery will open to the public on 21 April 2022.

Benjamin O'Connor, Director at NLA, said: “The London 2012 Olympics was a historic moment that celebrated London’s diversity, talent and dynamism. The legacy of the Games continues to bring people together from all over the UK through the delivery of world class public spaces, culture, homes, sports facilities, and more. We are thrilled to take up residency at Westfield and lead a programme in celebration of the Games.”

The gallery pop up will centre its six-month residency around the New London Model, with a display welcoming public audiences and a small café. The venue will act as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park programme ‘hub’, introducing visitors to the research and directing them towards different outposts in the Park.

Focusing on the 10-year period since the Games, the research and publication will also cover 10 years of land assembly, remediation, planning, design, and construction in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - looking at what is in store for the next 10 years.

The Park will also be one of the official Destinations of the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) 2022, bringing installations, events and trails to celebrate the legacy of places, buildings, public spaces and facilities on the site, as well as the richness of people's stories and experiences in and around the Park. The theme of LFA 2022 is act.

Lyn Garner, Chief Executive of London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), said: “Being an LFA Destination helps shine a spotlight on the attention we give to high quality design at both a strategic and detailed level. We are creating a new piece of city, anchored by a fantastic Park that is welcoming to both visitors and local residents alike.”

Mark Robinson, Head of External Affairs at LLDC, echoed this, saying it was “great to see NLA’s new gallery helping to shine the spotlight on this new part of the city 10 years on from the London 2012 Games.”

The new residency follows the nine-month pop up gallery in Coal Drops Yard, which will close on 27 March. Our mobile gallery aims to enliven high streets and places around the capital, supporting the organisation’s ultimate ethos of making London a better place to live, work and visit.

We look forward to welcoming visitors to Westfield in spring, acting together to shape a better city!