University students create folding stalls for south London market

The installations, including a stall of interactive games and a cocktail-making machine, were the result of a competition set by university architecture lecturers Pedro Gil and Christo Meyer, who are also founders of London-based Studio Gil.

Called Live Projects, the students were required to research Carnaval del Pueblo (organisers of Latin American Carnivals and festivals) and the Latin American community in Elephant and Castle, south-east London, in order to design an installation to be situated in the weekly East Street Market, one of London's oldest markets.

“We actively try and create as many projects as possible which bring academia and architecture practice together,” said Pedro. “It’s really important to give students the opportunity to work on real-world projects, with real stakeholders and clients. This gives them a head start in the world of work.”

“The project was challenging as we asked second and third year students to design the installations to fit into a small space, and these had to be safe as they were in a public domain. We were really pleased with their creative ideas.

“We chose two of the students’ projects to be erected as part of the festival. The first, by student Josh Dobson, was designed to distribute information about Carnaval del Pueblo. It was painted orange and two shades of yellow to stand out in the market. The second installation was James Goreings' pink- and blue-painted structure, which makes Brazilian Caipirinhas cocktails.”

The live installations are an extension of a long-running partnership between Studio Gil and Carnaval del Pueblo , together they have curated a series of events, called The Latin Corridor, as part of RIBA's Open Studios initiative for the London Festival of Architecture – a month-long programme of events and installations in the UK capital.

Pedro said: "The project was seen as threefold in its outcomes: as a learning device for architectural students, to promote Carnaval del Pueblo's work, and to celebrate the vibrancy of East Street market."