Sky’s the Limit

Architects must feel that too many of us walk the city streets with our heads downif it’s more than 20 above eye level, we’re just not seeing it. And in London, that means missing out on a lot. Tall buildings are lifting the skyline, and some of the city’s major hubs, from the shabby (King’s Cross in the north) to the tacky (Elephant and Castle in the south), are getting face-lifts. For a neck-craning look at some of these renovations and more, make time for the second London Architecture Biennale, which runs June 16-25. The event showcases the city’s architecture and creative talent and explores the architectural evolution of form, infrastructure and landscape through talks, walks, exhibitions and film. “It’s important people understand the way the city was made [into] what it is today,” says Biennale founder and director Peter Murray. Highlights of the program:

SHEEP DRIVE Heard the one about the farmer, the shepherds and the five dogs herding 60 sheep through the city? London’s changed just a bit since the woolly ones regularly walked the streets to market, so to contrast old and new uses of London’s roads, the animals will be driven between Borough and Smithfield markets via the ultramodern Millennium Bridge that spans the Thames. Norman Foster, the bridge’s architect, plans to lead the way.

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PETER ACKROYD’S THAMES On the same bridgethe first to be built in London in more than 100 yearsbone up on the history of the river and the city it slices at a neat little exhibition put together by London biographer Peter Ackroyd. Its layout mirrors the capital’s: displays on the bridge’s east side map the dark, grimy, industrial face; cross to the west side for the regal and religious.

TALKS Head to Southwark Cathedral for the “sermon” by Renzo Piano, co-architect of Paris’ Pompidou Center, on the grand design for his London Bridge Tower. Dubbed the “Shard of Glass,” it should stand as Europe’s tallest building when completed in 2010. Then drop in at the Barbican to hear Rem Koolhaas, a fierce critic of skyscrapers, at the Big Debate on London’s soaring skyline.

PASSEGGIATA Armed with a bit more knowledge, it’ll be time to hit the streets. On the Passeggiata (Italian for a walk), you’ll take in architectural gems, temporary installations and exhibitions on a stroll from south to north London. All that, and refreshments, from coffee and pastries near Borough market to dessert at St. John’s Square. Thanks to the architects, you’ll have seen the city from a whole new angle. londonbiennale.org.uk