Learning from Others

In September 2012 David Kohn Architects was appointed by London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to carry out research into potential performance and live art interim uses on development sites within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP). Alongside five other similar studies, ranging in subject from sport to recycling, the aim of the project was to provide guidance on best practice in the QEOP under the title ‘Learning from Others’ and inform a series of mini masterplans locating interim uses on the QEOP as well as LLDC’s procurement and delivery strategies. The final report can be viewed online here.

David Kohn Architects, by focusing on the scale, character, infrastructure, history and future use of the QEOP, was able to find appropriate precedents by identifying five main interim use types: Site, being interim uses that use the site as its infrastructure; Mobile, being interim uses in mobile spaces; Occupy, being interim uses in existing structures; Build, being interim uses in new-build spaces; and Landscape, being interim uses in newly structured landscapes. Following this, David Kohn Architects extensively researched precedent cases for each interim use type, including: National Theatre of Wales; A Room for London; You Me Bum Bum Train; RSC Courtyard Theatre; and Parc de la Villette. David Kohn Architects then presented its findings and project specific recommendations, collated as ‘how to’ and ‘how not to’ guides, in a booklet published by LLDC.

LLDC has gone on to use the study to steer the commissioning of interim arts uses in the QEOP and to lobby for funding.