Our London Design Festival 2019 preview: Early favourites
The upcoming edition of the London Design Festival will take place between 14-22 September. To help our readers decide which projects to visit, here are some of our picks for special exhibitions, installations and talks that look particularly promising. And if you're looking for outdoor experiences, don't forget to read our selection of public installations.
[+] BIODESIGN HERE NOW
Judging by last year's Biodesign Here Now exhibition, this edition will be the place to once again expect the unexpected in biomaterial research and applications, from ethical luxury fashion to applied speculative design. Do not miss the keynote talk by Suzanne Lee, CEO and founder of Biofabricate.
Location: Open Cell - Old Laundry Yard
[+] EMILY FORGOT'S NEVER LOST at CITIZENM
After last year's impressive sisal universe by Mexican designer Fernando Laposse, CitizenM comes back with another intriguing spatial proposal. Inspired by the likes of Ricardo Bofill, London-based artist Emily Forgot has created an interactive installation that embraces joyful fantasy. Titled Never Lost, it bears the shape of what the artist calls ‘one of the most surreal built structures’: a maze.
Location: CitizenM Shoreditch
[+] TOM DIXON'S HARRY'S RAZOR BAR
After opening a restaurant during the most recent Milan Design Week, this eidtion of the LDF Tom Dixon is having a go at another type of unexpected opening: his own barbershop, along with men's care brand Harry's. The Razor Bar is part showroom, part barbershop and part assembly station, but most importantly, it's a full reflection of the growing importance of the male grooming market, as we've previously reported.
Location: The Coal Office - Arch 10 at Coal Drops Yard
[+] LEGACY AT THE V&A
From Jasper Morrison to the delicately experimental Marlène Huissoud, from Raw Edges to Max Lamb, LDF's organisers have paired representatives from local cultural institutions with 10 designers, to produce new objects for a group exhibition titled Legacy. The material of choice? American red oak.
Location: Victoria and Albert Museum
[+] JAGUAR'S THE FUTURE LEGACY AT THE DESIGN MUSEUM
Here's an unexpected connection: Jaguar is holding a special exhibition showcasing the music icons and elements of youth sub-culture that influenced the design process of the company's cars.
Location: Design Museum
In preparation for Harry's Razor Bar, Marlène Huissoud working on her Legacy and part of Jaguar's exhibition at the Design Museum - Photos courtesy of Harry's, the V&A and Jaguar, respectively
[+] MATTHEW MCCORMICK'S AVALANCHE
Ever been trapped inside a torrential snow slide? If we don't change course on climate change, that will be part of our yearly reality, posits designer Matthew McCormick. To drive the point home, his Avalanche installation feels just like the awfully real thing.
Location: Victoria and Albert Museum
[+] SELLA CONCEPT x THE CONRAN SHOP
The duo behind Sella Concept took inspiration from the apertures and planes present in the work of Luis Barragán to turn the Conran Shop in Chelsea into a hall of mirrors. Look to the window installation for their fantasy world, made of hovering screens and abstract shapes.
Location: The Conran Shop
[+] DAN TOBIN SMITH'S VOID
Rubies from Mozambique and emeralds from Zambia are the shining stars of Dan Tobin Smith's Void, multisensory spatial installation conceived alongside creative studio The Experience Machine. How multisensory, exactly? The gemstones are voiced by NYX, a female electronic drone choir.
Location: Collins Music Hall in Islington
[+] SONY'S AFFINITY IN AUTONOMY
Sony's design-week mission is to remind visitors of the positive emotional possibilities of working with AI. During this edition of LDF, its ongoing Affinity in Autonomy project finds a literally lighter way to showcase this relationship.
Location: Victoria and Albert Museum
Matthew McCormick's Avalanche, Sella Concept's window proposal for The Conran Shop, Dan Tobin Smith's Void and Sony's Affinity in Autonomy project - Photos courtesy of the studios and Sony
[+] M-L-XL'S MASTERS OF DISGUISE
We are fans of M-L-XL's sense of beauty and humour — the Italian duo stands by the thought that ‘good taste is the most obvious resource for the insecure’ -- so we can't wait to see their role as curators of masks by the likes of Nathalie Du Pasquier, Jochen Holz and Sabine Marcelis.
Location: SEEDS Gallery
[+] HERMAN MILLER'S WELLBEING IN WORKPLACE DESIGN
How can physical ergonomics impact social ergonomics at the office? That's the subject of a talk by the Herman Miller Insight team, where they'll discuss their findings on workplaces that helps employees initiate and regulate social interaction. Save a spot on your calendar on 17 September — the free ticketed event starts at 12:30.
Location: Herman Miller
[+] ROCA GALLERY'S DRAWING ATTENTION
What is the artistic merit of the contemporary architectural drawing? The upcoming exhibition at the Roca Gallery, curated by professors from Carnegie Mellon, RISD and the Harvard Graduate School of Design explores that topic with a selection of 70 examples from all over the globe. The exhibition's apt title? Drawing Attention: The Digital Culture of Contemporary Architecture Drawings.
Location: Roca London Gallery