The July / August issue of Domus explores contemporary London as a battleground and laboratory of innovation, from gentrification and opportunity, to new technology and invisible landscapes. Beyond the perimeter of the newly inaugurated Olympic park, we focus on Renzo Piano's newly inaugurated Shard — which more than the tallest skyscraper in Europe, is a city of 8,000 inhabitants —, spend time with the city's new vanguard of young, dynamic architects, and visit the East End, where the exponential growth of start-ups located around Old Street Roundabout has created the most important tech ecosystem outside the United States.

With the London in the background and the Olympics approaching, issue 960 sheds light onto the Architecture Olympics, which took place between 1912 and 1948 as part of the Games, along with competitions for painting, music, sculpture and literature. The July/August issue visits Mass Studies' new headquarters for the South Korean equivalent of Google, which proposes an ingenious, low-cost construction system capable of giving life to complex spaces, and as the inauguration of the 13th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice draws near, Domus catches up with director David Chipperfield and assistant director Kieran Long, discussing everything from the exhibition's title to amnesia in architecture.

Table of contents
Cover
Many and diverse are the ways by which we remember the people who have left us too soon: the portrait of Matthias Rick (1965—2012), drawn by the Korean illustrator Kyungkyu Cho is an optimistic invitation to believe that everything is going to be all right

Editorial: Practicing in between
Mass Studies

Op–ed: The urban DNA of London
Deyan Sudjic

Journal
edited by Elena Sommariva

Photoessay: Live Load
Frank Abruzzese

Monumental modularity
With their design for the new headquarters of Internet company Daum Communications, Mass Studies gives life to complex, Piranesian spaces that highlight the textural qualities of concrete. Text Sam Jacob. Photos Iwan Baan. Edited by Laura Bossi

Five questions for David Chipperfield
As the inauguration of the 13th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice draws near, Domus catches up with director Sir David Chipperfield and assistant director Kieran Long. Text Joseph Grima. Photos Carlo Biasia. Edited by Rita Capezzuto

Shard London Bridge
More than a skyscraper, Renzo Piano's Shard is a vertical city of some 8,000 people that audaciously yet elegantly pierces the already jagged skyline of the British capital. Text Charles Holland. Photos Pedro Kok. Edited by Laura Bossi

Scaling the Shard
Bradley L. Garrett, a PhD in cultural geography and researcher at the University of London, retraces his climb up Europe's tallest skyscraper and reflects on the importance of urban exploration. Text Bradley L. Garrett. Photos Otter, Yaz, Winch, Bradley L. Garrett. Edited by Laura Bossi

Unreal Estate
On the eve of the Olympics, Justin McGuirk ponders the social and political consequences of London's white-hot real estate market. Text Justin McGuirk. Photos Niccolò Morgan Gandolfi. Edited by Rita Capezzuto

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Each year, since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery has erected a temporary pavilion in front of its premises in London's Kensington Gardens. Eleven have been constructed to date, whose traces reappear as mnemonic elements in the 2012 edition. Text Joseph Grima. Photos Pedro Kok. Edited by Laura Bossi

Young architects in action
A new vanguard of young dynamic architects committed to social issues is changing the way the profession is perceived in the public eye. Text Beatrice Galilee. Photos Richard Nicholson. Edited by Loredana Mascheroni

Silicon Roundabout
The exponential growth in the number of start-ups located around Old Street Roundabout is a sure indicator of how London's East End is becoming the most important tech ecosystem outside the United States. Text Beatrice Galilee. Photos Richard Nicholson. Edited by Loredana Mascheroni

A walk in London
An attentive witness to the developments of London architecture and planning, Italo Lupi reports here on how its urban fabric has too often been torn apart by purely speculative operations. Text Italo Lupi. Edited by Rita Capezzuto

The Architecture Olympics
Between 1912 and 1948, the Olympic Games incorporated also art competitions, giving equal importance to works of architecture, painting, music, sculpture and literature. Text Julia van den Hout. Edited by Rita Capezzuto

Network: Movíl A47
Productora transforms a truck into a cultural centre, mobile library and public space for collective activities of all kinds. Text María García Holley

Inside Out Furniture
In Rotterdam, Mario Minale and Kuniko Maeda continue to examine the production process of everyday objects in their attempt to redefine it according to new parameters. Text Elise van Mourik. Photos Raoul Kramer. Edited by Loredana Mascheroni

A chair for all seasons
Three years of experimentation have led Olivares to develop the new OAC for Knoll, an ultra-light aluminium chair for indoors and outdoors. Text Alexandra Lange. Photos Yoo Jean Han. Edited by Loredana Mascheroni

Rassegna
Furniture. Edited by Elena Sommariva

Panorama
Edited by Guido Musante

Cold Case
Iraqi Airlines agency, London. Edited by Luigi Spinelli