‘City Views’ Winner Announced: Bamidele, Farouk & Livia (bafalw) with Red Collective to Transform the Eastern City

Image: Bamidele, Farouk & Livia (bafalw) with Red Collective

London Festival of Architecture (LFA), in collaboration with Eastern City BID and the City of London is delighted to announce Bamidele, Farouk & Livia (bafalw) with Red Collective as the winners of the ‘City Views’ design competition.

Launched in early 2025, ‘City Views’ invited architects, designers, and artists to propose creative public realm interventions enhancing wayfinding and visibility of key destinations across the Eastern City Cluster. The winning design will improve access to four public viewing galleries—The Garden at 120, Horizon 22, The Lookout, and Sky Garden—while introducing public seating and celebrating lesser-known sites at street level. The final installation will launch in June 2025 as part of the London Festival of Architecture.

A Vision for Playful Urban Connections

Bamidele Awoyemi, Farouk Agoro & Livia Wang, known as bafalw, collaborate across disciplines including art, film, placemaking, education, and curation. Working alongside Red Collective, a London-based fabrication studio specialising in large-scale sculptures and architectural interventions, their proposal explores the interplay between ground and sky, creating a series of site-specific installations that enhance navigation and public engagement.

The winning team said: “We see the project as an exciting opportunity to treat each site as part of a series of unique experiences of intervention—sharing the same thread and language, but differing in the way they connect, interact, and form. Working with the Eastern City BID and City of London, our ambition is to explore how playful details and connections can be experienced materially via these pieces acting as bridges between the ground and the sky.”

Transforming the City Experience

Through the theme of ‘Voices’, the London Festival of Architecture 2025 encourages projects that amplify diverse perspectives within the built environment. ‘City Views’ aligns with this vision by reimagining public spaces as more accessible, interactive, and inclusive.

Rosa Rogina, Director, London Festival of Architecture, said: “Architecture is about engaging with people, places, and stories. ‘City Views’ reimagines movement through the Eastern City Cluster, enhancing wayfinding and encouraging discovery. We’re excited to see bafalw with Red Collective bring this vision to life, crafting interventions that celebrate the City’s architecture while fostering deeper connections. Their standout approach to vertical storytelling—wayfinding through ground-level interventions—goes beyond aesthetics, and their youthful energy and interdisciplinary expertise make them a team to watch.”

Kate Hart, Chief Executive, Eastern City BID, said: “We’re delighted to be taking part in the London Festival of Architecture for the third year in a row, this time in collaboration with the City of London Corporation. We share the vision of improving the Square Mile’s navigability and making it an even more appealing destination for visitors. Projects like this play a crucial role in highlighting all that the Eastern City has to offer, and what better place to host an urban design competition than a district with one of the world’s most iconic skylines?”

The ‘City Views’ project will be installed in June 2025, for approximately two years, offering Londoners and visitors new ways to experience the Eastern City’s unique skyline and urban fabric.

For more information, please visit here.

#CityViews

-ENDS-

EDITOR’S NOTES:

For press inquiries, please contact:

• Chris Forsdike
• Senior Communications Manager, NLA
• chris.forsdike@nla.london
• 07805038904

About London Festival of Architecture: The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) is a month-long celebration of architecture and city-making, taking place every June across London. Now in its 21st year, LFA’s mission is to open up discussions around architecture, test new ideas and promote emerging talent. LFA brings together the public and built environment professionals for the whole month of June and seeks to inspire and engage our audience with a programme that showcases London as a global architecture hub. LFA is run by NLA, London’s built environment community.

• londonfestivalofarchitecture.org
• Instagram: @londonfestivalofarchitecture
• X: @LFArchitecture
• LinkedIn: @LondonFestivalofArchitecture
• About Eastern City BID: The Eastern City is the Business Improvement District working to promote and enhance this unique and globally renowned part of the City of London. We are funded by local businesses and developed through collaborative work with the public sector. Together, we focus on priorities like improving public spaces, hosting cultural events to support tourism and the nighttime economy, driving sustainability initiatives, connecting communities and creating social value.
• easterncity.co.uk
• LinkedIn: @Eastern City BID
• X: @easterncityldn
• Instagram: @easterncityldn

About the City of London: The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally successful UK.

• cityoflondon.gov.uk
• Facebook: @City of London Corporation: City View
• X: @cityoflondon

About Bamidele, Farouk & Livia (bafalw) with Red Collective: Bamidele Awoyemi, Farouk Agoro & Livia Wang, also known as bafalw, are a collective that has an ambition to engage with different groups and communities in the projects they do. Their work has crossed into disciplines of art, film, placemaking, education, programming, curation and collective building. Red Collective is a London based fabrication studio. They’re experts in technical design, manufacturing and on-site installation. Amongst their skillset they provide in house precision machining, metal finishing and welding. Specialising in sculptures and large-scale objects, they work closely with artists and architects to realise their ideas in physical forms.

• bafalw.co
• Instagram: @bafalw, @redcollectivelondon