London Design Festival 2014: our top picks
London Design Festival September 2014 brings the coolest designers out of their studios and into our cultural lives. Here's the run down of the best bits to look out for
London Design Festival 2014 (13th-21st September) brings the coolest designers out of their studios and into our cultural lives. Here's the run down of the best bits to look out for writes Alice Godwin
Set up just over ten years ago, the London Design Festival has become an established moment in the contemporary design calendar. This year the festival's slogan is ‘Lose Yourself’ which Culture Whisper fully intends to do with so many amazing London Design Festival events going on across the capital. Here are a few of the gold dust moments that shouldn't be missed.
A Place Called Home - Trafalgar Square
Here we will see four separate structures that look exactly the same from the outside, but each with an interior that is personal to one of the four acclaimed designers, Jasper Morrison, Patternity, Raw Edges and Studioilse. The idea of this installation is to create a room within a home that you would never want to leave, redefining our idea of domestic space.
Projects at the V&A Museum
This year’s projects include lectures, talks and events that celebrate British design innovation with the key themes of Graphics, Architecture, Future, Illumination, Interactive, London and Digital Design.
In the Raphael Gallery, the design team Edward Barber, Jay Osgerby will work alongside BMW to suspend two mirrored silver structures in the middle of the room that will move gently and distort the way we view the gallery space. There are also extraordinary results from a project by Sir Terence Conran and American Hardwood, where ten design legends and ten emerging talents have paired up to create something that they have always wanted but could never find. Elsewhere Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert’s remarkable glass installation, inspired by the art nouveau movement, sits in the entrance to the glass galleries. The new video art installation by Vanessa Jane Hall entitled, Broken Beauty: an exploration of design in decay, which reflects upon the lost world of the British country house is also worth a visit. Finally you’ll have to search high and low for the immersive installation by multidisciplinary team Felix de Pass, Michael Montgomery and Ian McIntyre that is placed in a hidden location in the museum.
100% Design 2014 - Earls Court
Earls Court once again plays host to one of the largest contemporary design shows in the world: a wonderful way to while away a Saturday afternoon.
RIBA - Regent Street Windows
RIBA architects is placing eye catching installations in shop windows up and down this shopping hot spot along with pop up talks and other events taking over.
House of Muses - Museum of London
An award winning installation of a pillar from an imaginary lost cathedral designed by the London and Zurich collective Gruppe is on display - a perfect place to contemplate the future design of museums.
Wallpaper-Artist's interior world - London Print Shop
Contemporary fine artists such as controversial brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman exhibit their handmade wallpaper creations alongside decorative designers including 'Gardeners' by Marthe Armitage. A little gem of an exhibition supported by the Wallpaper History Society.
Design and dine in collaboration with Antto - Wrong for Hay
The creative furniture designers 'Hay' team up with London-based designer Sebastian Wong to form this collaborative effort in St James' Park. Pay a visit to their new showroom as well as one of five pop-up delicious restaurants and taste Antto Melasniemi's gastronomic cuisine.
Smiljan Radic - Serpentine Pavilion
There's still time to catch Chilean architect Radic's amazing semi-transculent shell which rests on large quarry stones in Hyde Park. Entry is open to the public by day, but tickets for certain Friday night live art events are also available. Click here for our preview of the Pavilion
Design Junction - New Oxford Street
There are a plethora of pop-up shops and retail spaces to explore at Design Junction. Look out for the experimental Ventura London, Dominic Wilcox's stained glass car and Lightjunction in the basement. Incredible pop-up not to miss is the TFL bar and restaurant which is decorated with old bus stop signs and reclaimed fabrics.
Urban Plunge - Roca London Gallery
Dive into the growing urban swimming movement, explored at Roca London Gallery with this series of proposals for harbour and river baths, curated by Jane Withers.
For the first time Harrods are taking part in the Design Festival with a design trail snaking its way through the famous home department. Highlights include Bethan Gray's pop-up shop and a new hand knotted rug by Paul Smith for The Rug Company.
An exhibition of work and discussion from six London based designers and Design Editor of The Telegraph, David Nicholls, makes for an exciting addition to your calendar. Tickets are free, but will certainly go quickly so make sure you email marketing@habitat.co.uk to secure yours.
Decorex International - Syon Park
The trade show with over 350 exhibitors of the best in contemporary British crafts takes over Syon Park from 21st September. Sir John Soane’s Museum are even collaborating, with unique pieces from eight design partners inspired by the historic collection at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Exciting features include recreated wallpaper inspired by the rooms of Soane’s home from Adelphi Paper Hangings, sofas and armchairs influenced by Soane’s dining room furniture from the Odd Chair Company and a series of neo-classical fireplaces based on drawings by Soane himself.
Treats from the Italian restaurant Bocca di Lupo , and the shows' champagne bar also make this an appealing fixture!
Launching during this year's Design Festival, Unit D offers homeware products created by local and new designers by day, and an exciting dining experience with a pop-up restaurant that specialises in simple home cooked, local food by night
The Map House - Kristjana S Williams
London’s oldest seller of antique maps, The Map House, is re-launching their Mews Gallery during the London Design Festival with an exhibition by Kristjana S Williams, artist. With a contemporary exploration of the traditional art of cartography, Williams will display her digital collages on historical maps of London, three-dimensional hand cut paper collage maps and intricate designs superimposed onto globes.
Restless Futures - Central Saint Martins
This new exhibition highlights examines how our design culture is addressing global issues: how the role of the designer is changing in a world of diminishing resources, democratising innovation, disruptive technologies and expanded boundaries. Live exhibits, workshops, demonstrations and forty designs are on offer from graduates of the Central Saint Martins design education programme, recently awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize.
There are six official districts in total this year offering a huge number of local events: Chelsea, Queen's Park, Shoreditch, Islington, Clerkenwell and Brompton. Make sure you check out the London Design Festival website to check what is happening near you.
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