21st Century Architecture: Stratford Waterfront

Bob Allies and Eimear Hanratty are talking about the Stratford Waterfront at The Gallery on Thursday 5 November, from 6:30pm to 7:45pm. The talk is run by the C20 Society, and it centres on the new cultural cluster taking shape at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park — billed as the UK's largest cultural project in generations. It's a massive stretch of East London that's bringing together new venues for the London College of Fashion, the Victoria & Albert Museum, BBC Music and Sadler's Wells, alongside 600 new homes and community spaces.

Allies and Hanratty are two of the architects behind it. Bob Allies, co-founder of Allies and Morrison and Professor of Architecture at the University of Bath, presents the new buildings for the London College of Fashion and BBC Music. Eimear Hanratty, Associate Director at O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects, covers V&A East and Sadler's Wells Dance Theatre. After the presentations, they'll talk through the joys and pitfalls of working on projects of this scale, with Sandy Rattray — a Southbank Centre governor and C20 chair — in the chair. The whole thing coincides with the C20 book 100 21st Century Buildings (2026, Batsfords).

It's a hybrid session, so you can be there in person or join online via Zoom. If you can't make the night, it's recorded as a catch-up lecture for two weeks. The venue is The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ, with doors opening at 6pm. Tickets are £11 for C20 Society members and £16 for non-members; young C20 members and their guests get in free, and students plus a guest are £5.