Image credit: Studio OleO and Gareth Volka
An installation titled Jelly Haven has been chosen to represent LGBTQIA+ architects at this year’s Pride in London parade on 4 July. The winning team, Studio OleO and Gareth Volka, announced their win at a celebration at Roca London Gallery on 24 June. Responding to this year’s theme, “Belonging,” the team will receive a £5,000 budget to develop and deliver the design in time for the event.
The competition invited students, recent graduates, emerging practices, and established firms across London to submit proposals representing LGBTQIA+ architects in the parade. This year’s installation marks two milestones: the tenth anniversary of Architecture LGBT+ and its seventh Pride activation. The judging panel included:
- Karl Mok (Pride Float 2025 Winner)
- Lucy Millichamp (Programme Manager, NLA and LFA)
- Sarah Habershon (Architecture LGBT+)
- Thomas Bryans (LFA2026 Curation Panel)
- Tom Guy (Architecture LGBT+)
Image credit: Studio OleO and Gareth Volka
Jelly Haven is designed to look like colourful jellyfish floating through the city. The installation will grow more vibrant as more people join in. It takes the form of inflated, iridescent “umbrella floats,” which participants will hold aloft and customise themselves. The design shows how collective strength can emerge from individual difference – everyone marching has their own story and voice.
Inspired by the jellyfish’s resilience, Jelly Haven turns the parade into a moving landscape of care and belonging. As the march unfolds, the floats will form a protective canopy, sending a message of solidarity with the community.
Architecture LGBT+ and the LFA invite students, architects, academics, and anyone in the architecture community to join the winning team as volunteers. Please email us if you’d like to help build the installation and march in the Pride in London parade on 4 July 2026.
Image credit: Gareth Volka
Image credit: Studio OleO
Tom Guy, London-based architect, founder of Architecture LGBT+ and director at Guy Piper Architects said: “This year’s winning proposal challenged our expectations of what a Pride walking installation could be. Rather than representing architecture through buildings, it celebrates the feelings that great spaces inspire: safety, visibility, connection and, above all, a sense of belonging. The image of jellyfish drifting through central London is playful and deeply memorable. It is a beautiful reminder of the humanity at the heart of design – and we are incredibly excited to bring Jelly Haven to Pride in London 2026.”
Eliza Grosvenor, Head of Public Programme, NLA, said: “Jelly Haven speaks directly to this year’s theme of belonging. The idea that the installation becomes more vibrant as more people join it is simple, but powerful – driving home the Festival’s celebration of community. It’s a fitting project representing the values of both Architecture LGBT+ and the London Festival of Architecture and we’re proud that we can help bring it to Pride in London.”
Architecture LGBT+
Architecture LGBT+ is a UK-wide network for LGBTQIA+ people working and studying within the architecture profession. We build visibility, belonging and peer support, and advocate for a profession where LGBTQIA+ people can thrive at every stage of their careers. Volunteer-run and community-led, we work towards meaningful change in practice, education and professional life through networking events, learning, mentoring and role models.
Instagram: @architecturelgbt
Studio OleO
Studio Oleo was founded by Zixin Ye and Yaobin Wang as a cross-disciplinary design practice operating at the intersection of culture, installation, architecture and urban space. The studio explores how carefully crafted, small-scale interventions can meaningfully engage with the wider urban fabric and everyday public life.
Both founders are practising architects and urban designers with experience at leading international design firms. Having worked on award-winning projects ranging from strategic masterplans and international competitions to built architectural schemes, they bring a broad understanding of design across scales. This background informs the studio’s work, combining the rigour of architectural practice with experimental, hands-on approach to public engagement, making, and placemaking.
Instagram: @studio_oleo, @blingbling_yaobin, @zixinye_509
Gareth Volka
Gareth Volka is a London-based architect and fashion designer. His eponymous couture brand explores the intersection of fashion, computation, digital fabrication, materiality, and sustainability, drawing on years of research into topics such as generative algorithms, free-form 3D printing, programmable matter, biomimetic robotics, and biomaterials. Having been showcased at London Fashion Week, his designs often build narratives around nature and sensuality. Gareth also works at ZHA.
Instagram: @garethvolka
