London Creates 2026, a major free-to-visit exhibition showcasing pioneering architects, engineers and designers shaping the future of design, will take place at The Truman Brewery from 16th to 26th July 2026.

Hosted by Archisource in collaboration with HP, Intel®, D5 and Affinity, the exhibition explores how human creativity and technologies are transforming the creative process, from concept, ideation and experimentation, to fabrication, making and construction.

Curated in collaboration with ZHA, the exhibition brings together leading studios, engineers, designers and academic institutions from across the built environment. Through real-world projects, interactive virtual experiences, physical models, design drawings and digital tool demonstrations, London Creates presents new approaches to digital fabrication, structural computation, material innovation, climatic intelligence and design-led technological advancements.

Featured exhibits include ZHA exploring how the practice designs, AKT II and their collaborators, Mamou-Mani Architects and FabPub, alongside leading universities including AADRL at the Architectural Association, The Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL and the University of East London Design Fabrication Lab.

London Creates invites visitors to experience how architecture, engineering, design thinking and technology are advancing new possibilities for the built environment.

Alongside the exhibition, London Creates will host a programme of talks, workshops and activations led by innovators, industry leaders and creative organisations from across architecture, engineering and design.

Programme highlights include a headline talk by Patrik Schumacher, Principal at ZHA, keynote sessions from AKT II and other leading voices, and roundtable discussions with top creative teams.

The events programme will also feature hands-on workshops, including a two-day build workshop led by Play Architecture and AKT II, a model-making workshop by Open City Education, and a wider series of sessions exploring creative practice, design technology and the future of the built environment.

Advance booking is recommended, as capacity may be limited for selected events.

Form Follows Fabrication - Friday 17th July, 1-3pm
Speakers: 
Part 1: Vishu Bhooshan [ZHA] + Justin Hanlon [ZHA]
Part 2: Sebastián Andía [ZHA] + Manuel Jimenez Garcia [Nagami]

Description: 
This session explores how the Technology Laboratory (Tech Lab) at ZHA in London develops innovative digital fabrication techniques and workflows for application in cutting edge projects worldwide. Led by the Computational Design Research Group (ZHA CODE), the lab focuses on geometrically optimized, fabrication aware structures that operate not as downstream production methods, but as active generators of form in contemporary product design.
The second part of the talk presents a series of ZHA products—both realized and unrealized—where fabrication methods such as 3D printing, CNC milling, foam cutting, and carbon fibre weaving directly shape geometry, material behaviour, and structural decisions. It reflects on early collaborations with external manufacturers, where fabrication constraints required negotiation between design intent and production realities, and then traces the shift toward an internal workflow within the ZHA Lab, enabling faster iteration, closer feedback loops, and more direct material testing. Within this trajectory, the Eco Chair serves as a key case study, showing how functional objects emerge from the interplay of digital tools, fabrication constraints, and material intelligence. The session concludes by reflecting on how this evolving relationship between design and making is redefining what it means to create functional objects today.

Immersive technologies for Design and Architecture - Metrotopia and ZHACity - Monday 20th July, 1-2pm

Speaker: José Pareja Gómez

Description:
The presentation will showcase Metrotopia, a virtual world offering a high-fidelity digital environment that enables new forms of architectural, cultural, and interdisciplinary exchange. Built on Unreal Engine 5 and accessible online worldwide via Pixel Streaming. 

Founded by ZHA (London) and ArchAgenda (Chicago) in 2024, Metrotopia Inc, is a global platform for the wider design ecosystem, it brings together architecture, industrial design, fashion, mobility, and speculative practices. The virtual environment showcases over 100 high-resolution projects by leading international architectural studios and designers, including ZHA, Coop Himmelb(l)au, UNStudio, Sou Fujimoto, ArchiUnion, OMA, LAVA, as well as industrial designer Ross Lovegrove, fashion designer Yimeng Yu, and contributors working across conceptual and emerging design fields.

In addition, the presentation will showcase ZHA City, a virtual portfolio showcasing a collection of 40+ detailed projects by ZHA Architects within the Metrotopia platform.

Simulate – Generate – Interact: Human Behaviour, AI and Immersive Architecture - Wednesday 22nd July, 1-2pm

Speakers: Tyson Hosmer & Barış Erdinçer

Description:
ZHA Social will present how architecture can be shaped through simulation, AI‑driven generation, and immersive interaction. The talk will outline the group’s research into the relationship between human behaviour, machine intelligence, and digital environments. It will introduce agent‑based simulations that analyse movement and social patterns, AI‑powered generative tools for workplace design, and multi‑user immersive platforms that support real‑time collaboration. These platforms will include Meta‑Workplaces, Meta‑ZHA Office, and interactive archives and exhibitions. The presentation will also highlight experimental interfaces such as EEG‑driven generative design, where biometric data influences spatial outcomes. Together, these approaches will propose new models for designing, experiencing, and collaborating within digital architectural worlds.

London Creates also invites visitors to explore the world of visual creativity through the Drawing of the Year Awards 2026 showcase.

Selected from thousands of global submissions, the exhibition presents outstanding drawings, visual creations and representational works from across architecture, art and design. From hand-drawn sketches and detailed architectural drawings to 3D visualisations and hyper-realistic imagery, the Awards celebrate the full spectrum of architectural imagination.

Free to enter, the Drawing of the Year Awards recognise excellence in visual representation and celebrate the artists, designers and studios shaping new ways to communicate ideas, spaces and creative visions.

Dates & Hours

16–26 July 2025, daily 11am – 7pm

Venue

The Truman Brewery,
1, Ely's Yard, 15 Hanbury St
London
E1 6QR
(what3words: ///books.dwell.mental)

Accessibility

Lift access, accessible facilities, cloakroom, guide dogs welcome

Travel

Shoreditch High Street (Overground), Liverpool Street, Aldgate East, Old Street; multiple bus routes