Open City Float

The Lord Mayor’s Show is a historic event, deeply rooted in London’s cultural heritage for over 800 years. It has been immortalized in works by Samuel Pepys, Shakespeare, Canaletto, and even featured in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel, Dr. No. In 2017, we were thrilled to collaborate with Open City and Canary Wharf Group to design a float for this iconic event. The project celebrated Open City’s 25th anniversary, showcasing the public’s favorite 25 buildings from their Open House weekend—a renowned event that opens over 800 typically inaccessible buildings across London to the public.

Our design concept was inspired by Open City’s mission to make architecture accessible, reflected in their green-hued, 2-dimensional ‘icons’ of London’s most beloved structures like the Gherkin, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Royal Festival Hall. Drawing on the rich tradition of merging architecture and costume, such as the 1931 Beaux Arts Ball in New York, we transformed each of the 25 buildings into costumes for Open City volunteers to wear during the parade. These costumes featured laser-cut masks and black capes, echoing the new branding in their monochromatic green. The float itself depicted a stylized city skyline, creating a striking backdrop as the volunteers brought the cityscape to life with dynamic ‘capriccios’ along the parade route.

Location: London
Client: Open City + Canary Wharf Group
Value: £10,000
Status: Complete November 2017.