Purcell Designs Float for LGBT Pride

Purcell entered a national design competition run by The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) and Architecture LGBT+ for a float to represent architecture and LGBT+ architects at Pride events in London and Manchester. Now in its second year, the project celebrates the diversity of the architecture sector, and is open to architecture students, recent graduates, emerging practices as well as staff in more established firms.

The winning design team will be commissioned to design and deliver the float for the Pride in London parade on 6 July 2019. There is an estimated £8,000 budget for design and delivery, with Sir Robert McAlpine managing the float build and providing a flatbed truck for it to sit upon.

The judging panel consists of 7 representatives including Evan Davis, broadcaster and presenter, and the founder of Architecture LGBT+, Tom Guy.

Alexandros Tzortzis de Paz and Joshua Spitter led the float design for Purcell. Their inspiration came from the theme of this year’s pride, marking 50 years from the Stonewall Riots in NYC, a happening that is widely considered to have given birth to the gay liberation movement. They extracted the typology of the Stonewall Inn façade, New York and integrated it with cutouts from the iconic 1969 riot photographs and its protagonists. They mounted the exploded typo-logical elements onto a colourful frame for participants to occupy with the intent of visually blending the past with the present. After its use, the float innovatively takes the form of an informal educational centre/ installation showcasing 50 years of LGBTQ history archived on its façade.

The winner of this year’s exhibition will be announced at an event in Borough Market this evening.