Videogames as Architectural Archives: Twentieth-Century Architecture and Beyond
Videogames as Architectural Archives: Twentieth-Century Architecture and Beyond
Thursday 16 April 2026 at 6:30pm
BDP, 16 Brewhouse Yard, Clerkenwell, London, EC1V 4LJ
Videogames have long engaged with the built environment, from early abstracted cityscapes to detailed digital reconstructions of real and imagined architecture. This panel examines how such environments function as architectural archives, raising questions about what archives preserve and how they operate in interactive, digital form. Drawing on examples from modernist and contemporary game worlds to historically grounded reconstructions, it considers how videogames document architectural knowledge, spatial practices, and cultural memory.
The 2019 Notre Dame fire, and Ubisoft’s offer of Assassin’s Creed digital drawings, highlight the potential of game assets to contribute to heritage debates and reconstruction. Looking ahead, the panel explores how digital architectural archives can extend beyond preservation to influence design, public engagement, and speculative futures. Central to the discussion is play: videogames’ playful nature challenges traditional archival authority, introducing experimentation, participation, and reinterpretation into the preservation and understanding of the built environment.
Marie Foulston is an award-winning videogame curator and creative director specialising in radical exhibitions, games, and immersive experiences. She is Studio Lead at Good Afternoon, a creative studio for games and exhibitions. Previously, she was Curator of Videogames at the V&A, where she led the headline exhibition Videogames, served as Guest Director of the experimental games festival Now Play This at Somerset House, and co-founded the UK alternative videogame collective The Wild Rumpus.
Luke Caspar Pearson is an Associate Professor at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. He is co-founder of the architectural design studio You+Pea and co-Director of the Cinematic and Videogame Architecture MArch at UCL.
Natalie D. Kane is Curator of Digital Design at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a Trustee of the British Games Institute/National Videogame Museum. Their work focuses on digital culture, design, and archival strategies within museum practice. Recently, they curated Design & Disability at the V&A.
Hiba Alobaydi is a Trustee of the C20 Society and a historian, researcher, and curator specialising in architecture and design.
C20 Society Member £11;
Non-Member £16;
Young C20 member + guest Free*;
Student + guest £5 **
*For Young C20 members, please email lukas@c20society.org.uk to secure a place.
**For student pricing please select from the dropdown option next to ‘membership number’ on the booking form below.
Includes a glass of wine
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The Twentieth Century Society is an IHBC (Institute of Historic Building conservation) recognised CPD provider.
The Twentieth Century Society is a registered charity, no 1110244
Image above: London in SimCity 3000. Screenshot by SimCityHawk.