It’s the London Festival of Architecture this month

Take some time out and head down to the captial for this year’s London Festival of Architecture (LFA).

Hundreds of events are taking place across the London, including 11 installations and two wayfinding trails.

This diverse and engaging series of public events and installations is aimed at anyone with an interest in the city’s architecture and the spaces that surround us.

This year’s theme is “In Common”, reflecting on what we share, including the finite number of natural resources we have left and the physical common public spaces we use.

As part of the festival, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) commissioned an installation by photographer and filmmaker Jim Stephenson.

The Architect Has Left The Building reveals how people use the spaces created by architecture, left to their own devices.

Buildings are often documented at their point of completion but this exhibition explores what happens once the architect has returned to their studio and inhabitation has begun.

The work, edited and sequenced with photographic artist Sofia Kathryn Smith, features a soundscape composed by long-time collaborator Simon James.

A wide collection of projects and people are featured in the installation, ranging from Cambridge Central Mosque to galleries and museums stretching from Cornwall to the Lake District.

Jim Stephenson says: “During the making of this new film for the exhibition, we took the opportunity to slow down and reflect on the way our work forms part of a narrative that the buildings go through after completion and now we’re asking the audience to do the same.

“We hope that they’ll enjoy the chance to pause as well, and observe how these spaces are used, misused, what they have in common and what makes them different.”

The free installation takes place until June 30 at Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD.

*For more information on the LFA visit www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org

Photo: The architect has left the building - Agnese Sanvito 3