Crossing the threshold

JRA presents CROSSING THE THRESHOLD, an installation that invites Londoners to share where they feel they belong – and where they don’t.

Through a public call-out, visitors are invited to pin a quote onto our map of London in response to the questions: When does this feel like your city? What welcomes you in, and how would you improve your city?

Focusing on everyday thresholds and the boundaries of commercial and office spaces, the installation gathers lived experiences to explore how design can make places more open, inclusive, and inviting.

Participants are encouraged to share a place that matters to them, the feeling it evokes, and one change they would make.

Collaborations:

University of Westminster

Created by final-year Architectural Technology BSc students at the University of Westminster, this interactive exhibit explores ideas of belonging through collective city-making. The installation is a conceptual puzzle-like map that invites viewers to build their own version of a city. With no right or wrong outcomes, the installation encourages connection, creativity, and participation, reflecting belonging through the perspective of the next generation of architects while creating an open, shared experience for all.

London School of Architecture

The exhibition will also display work created by the children at Golden Lane Estates, in collaboration with the London School of Architecture. As part of its outreach programme, the London School of Architecture and JRA hosted a creative workshop for local young people at Golden Lane Estate.

Inspired by JRA’s work at Great Arthur House, participants used a laser-cut model to reimagine spaces where they feel they belong, transforming it with colourful façades, gardens, waterfalls and places shaped by their own ideas, experiences, and aspirations.