Brixton walking tour - Saturday 12 October 2024 10.30am
Regular price £19.50Join Open City for a walking tour exploring the changing architecture and varied townscape of Brixton – one of south London’s most unique and convivial town centres.
This insightful walking tour — led by spatial designer and writer Betty Owoo — will tell the story of Brixton’s local communities and how they responded to and shaped the architecture around them to create a bustling town centre full of conviviality which continues to flourish to this present day.
From rising rents to rapid gentrification, the identity of Brixton is shifting in the present era, and it is often these complex issues that prevail in narratives and media coverage about the neighbourhood. In the face of mounting pressures including market-led regeneration, relentless land acquistion and the fire sale of assets, this tour will explore how Brixton is continuing to foster its convivial spirit and create space for its diasporic communities.
The walk will celebrate civic-led stories about an area that is experiencing immense change, covering sites including Windrush Square and the Black Cultural Archives, George Finch's Grade II-listed Brixton Recreation Centre, Brixton Windmill, Edward "Ted" Hollamby's Blenheim Gardens Estate, and much more.
Five highlight buildings which feature as stops on the route:
1. Brixton Recreation Centre
2. Brixton Rec Quarter Regeneration Zone (Pop Brixton, Nour Cash & Carry, 20-24 Pope’s Road)
3. Black Cultural Archives
4. Blenheim Gardens Estate
5. Brixton Windmill
This tour is an updated version of a format developed by the Architecture Foundation Young Trustees for Open House Festival 2021. Called "Civic Rituals: A Love Letter to Brixton" the tour celebrated local pride, overlooked histories and forgotten memories and invited local stakeholders to share what Brixton means to them. The format was developed by Betty Owoo, Katie Fisher, Jasmin Yeo, Maria McLintock, and Quincy Haynes.
Key information
Tour start point: Brixton Recreation Centre Undercroft - opposite Brixton Station - Brixton Station Road entrance)
Address of Brixton Recreation Centre: 27 Brixton Station Road SW9 8QQ.
End point: Brixton Windmill Windmill Gardens, 100 Blenheim Gardens SW2 5DA. Limited tickets for Windmill tour on this date may be bookable via their website.
Distance: 1.5 miles / 2.4 km
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Betty Owoo is a Croydon-based spatial designer and writer interested in the potential of public service, policy and culture to shape urban environments for the better. Trained in architecture, she is energised by urban landscapes, and is curious about the intersection between architecture and ecology in the city. Her practice centres around championing underrepresented groups in the public realm.
She currently works at the Greater London Authority's Design Unit promoting quality and inclusion in the built environment through policy and development management. She is also a founding member of PATCH, a multidisciplinary group that uses writing as a springboard to create spatial interventions and design ephemeral events. She has written for Dezeen, the Architectural Review, the Architects’ Journal, Design Council, and Urban Design Group Journal. Betty joined the Open City tours team in 2024.
Tickets are non-refundable and tours go ahead rain or shine.
* Please check for any planned transport engineering works, planned strike action or large scale events that may affect your journey before making your ticket purchase *
If you find you can no longer make the tour for any reason we are unable to transfer you to another date, but please feel free to pass your booked place onto a friend to go and enjoy the tour in your place.
In the event your tour date is cancelled you will be issued with a credit note (with no expiry date) that you can use to
- book onto a rescheduled date
- book onto any other tour from our programme
or you can request a refund.
All ticket purchases are in support of the work of our organisation including our pioneering education programmes. We really appreciate your support!
Get in touch with Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.
Please select solidarity pricing to help Open City offer the concessionary tickets rate for student and jobseekers.
Our concession pricing (£9.50 for walking tours / £19.50 for boat tours) is available for students and jobseekers only.
If you find you can no longer make the tour for Covid or any reason we are unable to transfer you to another date, but please feel free to pass your booked place onto a friend to go in your place.
In the event your tour date is cancelled due to Covid or any other reason you will be provided with the opportunity to book onto a rescheduled date, book onto another tour, provided with a credit note (with no expiry date) or you can request a refund.
All ticket purchases are in support of the work of our organisation including our pioneering education programmes. We really appreciate your support!
Get in touch with Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.
Gift Aid is an income tax relief designed to benefit charities. If you're a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid increases the value of your charity donations by 25% because as a charity we can reclaim the basic rate of tax on your gift at no extra cost to you.