What not to miss at London Design Festival 2022

Celebrating 20 years, London Design Festival returns to the capital on 17-25 September 2022 with an exciting line up of events, installations and thought-leadership.

“The design and creative sector in London and the UK has enjoyed a golden period this century,” comments Ben Evans CBE, London Design Festival Director. “An extraordinary rush of ideas fed by a steady migration of world class talent made London the global capital it now is. On our 20th anniversary we want to take stock and move forward to ensure the Festival continues to support the design community, commissions and showcases new ideas, and reflects on the key issues from technology to sustainability to wellbeing so that the next 20 years are as fruitful as the past 20.”

Here’s what the Mix team are looking forward to.

Landmark Projects

Henge

LSI Stone will work with Stanton Williams and Webb Yates in collaboration with experimentadesign to realise Henge, a project in Greenwich Peninsula inspired by the Neolithic stone structures that “create a space separate from the outside world.”

The circular form will create a focused gathering space that invites those who work, live and visit the area to engage with it creatively, and will feature music and sound design. The pavilion will be made of 150 million year old Jurassic limestone and marble – a zero carbon, recyclable material.

Swivel

Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis will be creating a hotly-anticipated large-scale public seating scheme at St Giles Square, titled Swivel. Juxtaposing natural materials with the surrounding concrete and glass, the outdoor installation will create a playground of seating that invites pedestrians to pause their journey and appreciate their surroundings – celebrating the Brutalist form of Centre Point and the wider multifaceted architecture of London. Swivel will remain in situ until November 2022.

Plasticity

Now entering the 13th year together as the official Festival Hub, the V&A will see iconic spaces within the Museum transformed by an extraordinary collection of specially-commissioned installations and displays by international contemporary designers. This year’s projects will be linked by the idea of transformation, and include Plasticity, a monumental sculpture designed by Niccolo Casas, 3D-printed by Nagami, and made with Ocean Plastic®, marine plastic waste intercepted by the collaboration network Parley for the Oceans.

Events

Material Matters

Material Matters 2022 is a new fixture on the London design calendar. Based on the critically acclaimed podcast of the same name, the event will see its inaugural edition take place during this year’s London Design Festival, from 22-25 September on the capital’s Southbank.

The event, which is part of the Bankside Design District, promises to bring together over 40 world-leading brands, designers, makers and organisations to celebrate the importance of materials and their ability to shape our lives. The fair will also host an eclectic programme of talks with guests including LAYER founder Benjamin Hubert, Bethan Laura Wood, Nigel Coates, Adam Nathaniel Furman, curator and future researcher Caroline Till, Naomi Cleaver, and Michael Marriott. Find out more here.

Design London

Design London will return to North Greenwich for its second edition between 21-24 September 2022. Alongside a multitude of product showcases, visitors can also take advantage of talks programme Discussions at Design London. Talk highlights include Materials Needs, a discussion on next generation materials; and a talk around Creativity, Wellness and Ergonomics Through Colour with colour expert Justine Fox. Register here.

London Design Fair

Missing from this year’s festivities, London Design Fair will make its much-anticipated return on 21 – 24 September 2023 to the Truman Brewery in the creative heart of Shoreditch.

Applications to exhibit are now open and approved exhibitors for 2023 will showcase the best in design across furniture, lighting, bathrooms, materials, surfaces, and collectable design – with a big focus on sustainability.

London Design District

On 19–25 September, Design District Creates invites people into the heart of London’s newest creative destination and into the studios of its residents. Visitors can go behind the scenes in makers’ studios, attend hot-topic talks at Bureau from speakers including Tom Dixon, take part in hands-on workshops, view landmark LDF installations, and more. See the release below for full details of what’s on offer. Find out more here.

Talks

London Design Festival’s curated thought leadership programme, Global Design Forum returns to celebrate design and the minds shaping its future. The programme for 2022 will span a range of topics questioning how design is evolving to respond to the urgent needs facing our environment and society. Highlights include Come Together: How Can Design Build Stronger Communities? with an impressive panel introducing the work of different organisations and practitioners putting people first to create more inclusive, accessible and stronger communities and projects. Book here.

Elsewhere, Mix Interiors Managing Editor Harry McKinley will host a special evening at Bolon’s showroom on Wednesday 21 September , delving into the topic of the circular economy with Håkan Nordin, Co-Founder of Greenpeace Sweden, who is making a rare trip to London for 3 days. The flooring manufacturer will also be holding a CPD with Nordin on 22 September. Find out more.

The Norwegian Design Industry is hosting a design talk on Wednesday 21st September 2022 at Material Matters at Bargehouse Oxo Wharf, focusing around Norwegian design values with Marius Myking, Director of Product Design at Snøhetta. Find out more.

Co-working space Bureau in Greenwich’s Design District will host a series of talks, including  The Right Stuff: The Future Of Making and New Realities: How To Make it in the Metaverse. Book your free tickets.

Product Launches

Arper

Visitors to the Arper showroom will have the opportunity to discover Arper’s latest collections designed by Doshi Levien, Peter Kunz, Altherr Désile Park, Jean-Marie Massaud and James Irvine, and explore Arper’s new concept The Project of Living, a reflection on the constant evolution of physical spaces and relationships.

Vitra opens in Shoreditch

Vitra will be opening a new Flagship London showroom in the Tramshed building on Rivington Street in Shoreditch. The listed Tramshed building was built as a power station for the East London Tramway in 1905. Vitra is gently renovated the interior, preserving all the defining historic details and forging a link between old and new. The monumental space will showcase all of Vitra’s key furniture and accessories.

Holloway Li for Uma

For this year’s London Design Festival, renowned design studio Holloway Li will reveal their debut furniture series in collaboration with Uma, a furniture brand producing objects that push the boundaries of fabrication. On display at The Market Building in Clerkenwell, Uma and Holloway Li will present T4, a first of its kind modular furniture collection. The playful design of the lightweight T4 composite modular sofa invites us to take a step back to the future and retrace the brash optimism of Cool Britannia and 90s television iconography.

Fritz Hansen continues 150 years celebrations

Fritz Hansen will continue its 150 years celebration with ‘The Future of Hospitality’ exhibition at the London showroom. The event sees new pieces for A/W 2022, against archive furniture and accessories from the SAS Royal in Copenhagen, designed  by Arne Jacobsen.

Offecct introduces new collection

In Clerkenwell, Offecct will launch its new products from designers including Ronja Reuber and the late Pauline Deltour. The exhibition will run at the Clerkenwell showroom of parent company, Flokk.

Pearson Lloyd celebrates 25 years

Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd are marking London Design Festival with ‘Change Making’, an exhibition examining the impact of our changing world on design thinking and practice, through  select pieces of their work over the last two and a half decades.

Held at Yorkton Workshops on 19–25 September 2022, Change Making retraces the work of Pearson Lloyd through the lens of social, demographic, and technological change, and looks at how design and designers have responded, are responding, and must respond, to the complex and increasingly urgent challenges faced by our planet.

londondesignfestival.com