If you’ve strolled around the streets of Soho recently, you may have noticed some rather cute Christmas lights illuminating your route. Well, they are the handy work of pupils from the local Soho Parish Primary School. With shooting stars, mince pies, a reindeer, a snowman, and even a festive crab (we love this so much) these Soho Christmas lights truly capture the fun, magical spirit of the season. Honestly, you can’t help but smile when you look at the designs.
The lights are the result of a collaboration between Architecture for Kids and the local school, this year marking its third annual edition. This year 130 pupils submitted designs, of which 14 were chosen to join the 35 from the previous year. Those are pretty stiff odds, but we’re sure the winning budding artists are positively beaming with pride.
The artistic kids, aged 5 to 11, hand-drew their masterpieces, all themed around Lighting, Identity of Place, and Fashion. The pupils used the architecture and heritage of their local communities to inspire their designs, even visiting the London Fashion and Textile Museum for inspiration. The designs were then judged by a committee of local residents and businesses, with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) selecting some of the pupils’ designs to receive an award for their outstanding design works.
Whether you’re in the area for a bite to eat, or a few drinks, be sure to take a look to the skies.
No doubt next year will see even more works joining them in the skies. The project was set up by Antonio Capelao architect and co-founding director of Architecture for Kids, and coproduced with Hannah Peaty, Assistant Head Teacher at Soho Parish Primary School, with assistance from many other local businesses as well. Soho was dazzled by the lights in a switch-on event earlier this month which was sponsored and hosted by Archer Street Bars. Each light panel features a QR code, with links to information about the project and you can also see all 130 of this year’s designs, and learn more about the display, at their website.
Now, excuse us while we go start a new tradition, inspired by the lights, and seek out a crab with Santa’s hat on…