Preview: London Design Festival
London Design Festival returns with another packed week of events and installations across the capital, as well as a series of specially commissioned projects by internationally renowned designers.
This year there are 10 design districts to explore across four major design routes, with the return of the Paddington Central route. The festival has a strong social purpose for 2019 and is putting special emphasis on sustainability, with many addressing innovative new ways of recycling and reusing. The Mix team will be flocking to the myriad of destinations and districts with a list of prospective highlights for 2019 longer than our arms.
For starters, King’s Cross will become a Design District for the first time, welcoming (we’re delighted to say) designjunction back to the neighbourhood. Already home to some incredible design brands, the district will see some of the biggest names in the area open their doors to the public, presenting exhibitions, installations, talks and much more – giving us lots of reasons to head up to the north of the capital.
London’s newest creative quarter, Coal Drops Yard, will become home to a commission by Martino Gamper: a false disco façade with traditional cladding from the Italian Alps, excellently titled Disco Carbonara. The structure is inspired by the concept of a Potemkin village, the fake portable village built by Gregory Potemkin to impress Empress Catherine II during her journey to Crimea in 1787.
Granby Workshop will showcase the world’s first ceramic tableware made from 100% waste at Kiosk N1C on Lower Stable Street, with the street also playing host to installations focusing on re-use and sustainability.
For the first time, designjunction will launch a brand new talks programme at the Everyman Cinema. Curated by Grant Gibson, the two-day programme will feature a range of topics from dyslexia and design, queer culture, through to the future of British manufacturing.
British designer Steuart Padwick will be bringing two large-scale interactive sculptures to the district, supported by the mental health initiative, Time to Change. Following on from his 2018 installation – Head Above Water – on the South Bank, the sculptures aim to address the stigma surrounding mental health and wellbeing.
Paul Cocksedge will be creating the most ambitious British Land commission to date, transforming Finsbury Avenue Square in Broadgate with his landmark project, Please Be Seated, created from scaffolding planks. The installation will fuse innovation and technology in a response to the changing rhythm of the community – featuring curves for the public to sit on and walk under, emphasising London’s largest pedestrianised neighbourhood. The British designer is collaborating with Essex-based flooring company, White&White, to re-imagine and re-use the building wood.
Back in Clerkenwell, Cosentino’s Life on Mars exhibition will showcase five marble sculptures designed by leading architectural practices and carved in Spain by Cuellar Stone.
Viaduct will be exhibiting pieces from companies with strong sustainable ideals, including Mattiazzi, Nikari and Zanat, with workshops and talks focusing on how materials can be used and the importance of community inclusivity.
Please Be Seated by Paul Cocksedge
Disco Carbonara by Martin Gamper
Attracting 29,000 visitors annually, London Design Fair will return to the Truman Brewery for it’s third year, bringing together 550 exhibitors from 40 countries. Biomaterials will play a key role at this year’s event, following on from last year’s theme of plastic as the theme of the Material of the Year show. Second Yield will showcase four innovative projects based on biomaterials, including Parblex Plastics from Chip[s] Board – materials created from potato waste and Totomoxtle by Fernando Laposse, a sustainable veneer material made from heirloom Mexican cornhusks.
A new addition to the London Design Fair, The Bathroom Gallery, will be a bespoke exhibition for world-leading bathroom brands, in partnership with ELLE Decoration UK, and will be the first and only event dedicated to bathrooms during the London Design Festival.
2019 marks the 25th anniversary of 100% Design, presenting more than 400 exhibitors across furniture, lighting, surfaces and textiles. This year, the show will be part of the West Kensington Design District, and will introduce two new exhibitions; A Sense of Finland – a bespoke eco-log house showcasing Finnish furniture – and Detail London. Material Studio returns to showcase 22 innovative materials – many making their UK debut – focusing on key topics such as energy efficiency and wellbeing.
Exhibitor highlights include British Manufacturers Liqui Contracts, who will be showcasing their creative products in a handmade wooden pavilion; Scottish leather specialists Muirhead, as well as the return of Arper Design Lounge.
