Seat of the Collective Voice sponsored by Databricks

SIX WORK PROGRAMMES 2022 > 2027

PROGRAMME 2: ESG – ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE

Home » Work Programmes » 2. ESG » London Festival of Architecture / LFA2025

LONDON FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE

'Seat of the Collective Voice' by Kupkei

The Seat of the Collective Voice memorials demonstrations in London. Looking at recent marches and demonstrations, the seat designers were drawn to long-view photography that captures the scale and layered presence of people paused together in the act of expressing their voice.

Alongside this, researching Fitzrovia led them to consider the cornice, an often overlooked, or rather underlooked, architectural element. Used by classicists throughout the area, the motif has also been an object of fascination for modernists who subverted it, and artists like Lichtenstein who highlighted its contribution to public space.

Despite this, cornices are often missed, visually lost amid the signage, shopfronts, and activity at street level, despite their consistency as a feature on buildings in Fitzrovia.

The designers wanted to use this architectural element to capture the story of the collective voice. They took inspiration from narrative figures like the caryatids, such as those at the New Church just around the corner in St Pancras.

To do this, they created a simple silhouette, a voice in the crowd. Then they gave it company by repeating it, and added depth and perspective to form a march.

The bench is clad in Jesmonite AC730 Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC), fabricated by Simplicity Finishes, expert façade specialists who worked on the Bloomberg building and others in the City. The mould masters were 3D-printed by, Mr Campbell Prints.

The GRC units are fixed to a steel frame and topped with VM Zinc Quartz coping fabricated by Eco Roofing Surrey. The result is a bench built like a piece of architecture, part façade, part street furniture. A fragment of building brought to pavement level.

About Us

Founded by Ashwin and Lauren in 2023, Kupkei is an architecture practice that transforms everyday life. We work with an even balance of commercial and public and private clients, focusing on individual homes, public spaces and workspace retrofits.

Lauren is a qualified architect with extensive experience working for some of London’s most reputable practices, including Hopkins Architects where she worked on the super prime residences Peninsula, London and Heatherwick Studio. More recently, she has contributed her expertise at, an in-house developer, contractor, and architectural practice.

Ashwin is a qualified architect with a diverse background in both architecture and the arts. Before pursuing architecture full-time, he collaborated with the artist Charles Avery, producing sculpture and furniture, and contributed to several international art exhibitions.

He has also worked at renowned practices such as Knox Bhavan, SCABAL, and Foster + Partners.

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 10,000 organisations worldwide — including Block, Comcast, Condé Nast, Rivian, Shell and over 60% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to take control of their data and put it to work with AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow and Unity Catalog.

Why are we sponsoring a Fitz&Sits seat?

At Databricks, we’re all about innovation, connection, and supporting fresh ideas—so sponsoring Fitz&Sits felt like a natural fit. This creative project brings people together through design, storytelling, and community, right in the heart of Fitzrovia. We’re proud to be part of something that celebrates voices, diversity, and the power of pausing to connect.

What does it mean to us?

Fitz&Sits means a lot to us because it brings people, stories, and ideas together—just like we aim to do with data. It’s about creating space for community, creativity, and new voices to be heard. Supporting this project is our way of celebrating the diversity and energy of Fitzrovia, and the belief that meaningful connections—whether through design or technology—can spark real change.

We’re especially proud that our sponsored bench sits right outside our offices on Windmill Street—an iconic part of Fitzrovia with a rich history of art, activism, and innovation. Being part of this project is our way of celebrating the area we call home, and supporting a vibrant future shaped by connection, inclusivity, and design.

Fitzrovia, LFA2025 Destination with events throughout June

Events including Fitzrovia Lates

Fitzrovia is a Destination for the 2025 Festival which will be a Fitzrovia-wide celebration with more than 20 events throughout June.

From exhibitions to workshops to talks to trails to installations to performances, there are many exciting events to enjoy.

Fitzrovia Lates takes place on Thursday 26 June from 6pm – 9pm and is a diverse and inclusive evening of events, workshops and exhibitions for Londoners and visitors to explore architectural practices in the district.

Developed collaboratively with local stakeholders, these events bring together creativity, community and city-making practices which reflect the unique identities of people and the area.

View all the events which are part of Fitzrovia Destination.

The Fitzrovia Partnership provides a cohesive approach to help businesses achieve shared objectives and as an area we are making great strides to achieve a more economic and environmentally sustainable district.

Fiona Clark, Board Member
Practice Director and Co-owner, David Miller Architects

LONDON FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE

'Seat of the Collective Voice' by Kupkei

Fitzrovia, LFA2025 Destination with events throughout June

Events including Fitzrovia Lates

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