Urban Street Hunt

The neighbourhoods south of the River Thames are full of undiscovered spaces and architectural treasures, from forgotten railway arches to iconic cultural landmarks. The Urban Street Hunt encouraged the public to discover, and rediscover, this local architecture using digital photography and a treasure hunt format.

One of the headline events for the Southwark & South Bank Hub of LFA2008, The Urban Street Hunt was curated by The Architecture Foundation with content from designer Jonathan Legge. Southwark & South Bank area is rich in a wide range of architectural anomalies that all too often go unnoticed: old and new, large and small, complementary and contentious, but mostly overlooked. The genuine magic and intrigue of the area is unlocked during the Urban Street Hunt by encouraging visitors to explore and residents to observe where they live and work, allowing them to interpret the spaces they inhabit for themselves.

Teams of people worked together to take photographs in response to treasure hunt clues, taking a fresh look at their surroundings across a playing field that spread from the River Thames to Elephant & Castle, from Waterloo and Southbank Centre to the Design Museum. Prizes were awarded for the most creative photographs and an exhibition followed the event, showcasing the best images at the Southbank Centre.

How it works: The Urban Street Hunt takes the form of urban orienteering. Once enrolled each participant receives an illustrated map of the locality with eight clues to points of interest. Participants are asked to solve the clues and take photos as answers. The most creative and original photos win prizes - no photography skills necessary. Those who wish to take part can do so in groups of 2-4 people.

Designed & developed by Jonathan Legge

Graphic Design: Europa

Photographs from the Urban Street Hunt:

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