Obliterating Informal Space: The London Olympics and the Lea Valley: A Photo Essay

Caroline Christie and Bobby Lloyd have regularly photographed the Lea Valley London Olympic site since 2003. In 2006, they were joined by Tim Edensor for a day of walking and exploring. This article has emerged from this event as well as reflections on the photographs featured here. The area is one of the few remaining informal spaces in London, and the variegated activities and experiences it offers are being replaced by the giant Olympic development. The authors particularly focus on forthcoming loss: of the sensual experience of space, of the numerous possibilities for often improvisatory spatial practices, of an immanent and playful engagement with materiality, of a nondesigned and alternative spatial aesthetics.