The London Design Festival 2024 programme has been announced, with a focus on international talent and a renewed mission to celebrate ‘creativity, innovation and the power of design to shape our world’. Supported by the Mayor of London and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the London Design Festival’s next edition will take over the city with installations and exhibitions at key cultural institutions and design districts
London Design Festival 2024: what to expect
Landmark projects across London include an installation by ‘a future facing designer’ in collaboration with London Design Festival partner Johnnie Walker, and Vert, an installation at the Parade Ground at Chelsea College of Art by Diez Office and AHEC, in partnership with climate farming experts OMC°C. An innovative proposal for cooling cities, the installation will include a structure made from American red oak holding a biodegradable net with a curated selection of around 20 plant species. ‘The living ecosystem will support local biodiversity, serve as a habitat for essential insect populations, enrich the urban environment, and provide a sheltered space where visitors to the Festival can gather and relax.’
Meanwhile, Duo by Turkish designer Melek Zeynep at the Royal Naval College’s Painted Hall is a symbolic installation comprising a series of prisms, ‘encapsulating the essence of 'two': a dialogue, a duality, an agreement, and the dynamic interplay between the centre and periphery.’
Other festival commissions include a partnership between London Design Festival Emerging Design Medal winners, Power Out of Restriction (POoR Collective) and Battersea Power Station, which will result in a community-led riverside installation by the London-based collective, and Craft x Tech Tohoku Project, launched in Japan this past May and on view at the V&A’s Prince Consort Gallery.
Giles Tettey Nartey's 'Communion', shown at the Wallpaper* Class of '24 exhibition at Triennale Milano during Salone del Mobile 2024
Also at the V&A will be Giles Tettey Nartey’s ‘Communion’, originally created in partnership with AHEC for Wallpaper’s Class of ‘24 exhibition at Triennale Milano, and further commissions by emerging designers Arjun Singh Assa, Liang-Jung Chen, and Angela Ford, as well as Modular by Mensah with Bridge of Weir Leather and Muirhead.
The return of Material Matters
A regular highlight of London Design Festival is the Material Matters fair, established in 2022 by Grant Gibson off the back of the design podcast of the same name. Set at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, from 18-21 September, the fair showcases brands and designers united by 'an innate sense of material intelligence and the desire to make the world a slightly better place.'
‘London Design Festival 2024 promises to be another strong year,’ says Ben Evans, London Design Festival Director. ‘The lineup is set to offer fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that will captivate and inspire our audiences. Equally important, the Festival continues to champion inclusivity and provides crucial opportunities for emerging talent to shine. We take great pride in the Festival's role in expanding the reach of designers and creative businesses, reaffirming design's profound impact on our society.’
London Design Festival 2024 runs from 14 - 22 September
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Bali welcomes Tri Hita Karana Tower, a hybrid sound and vision centrepieceTri Hita Karana Tower is launching at Bali's Nuanu City; designed by Arthur Mamou-Mani, it’s a new hybrid art-AI architectural landmark for the island
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Lego opens its first Superpower Studios at Paris’ La Gaîté LyriqueIn collaboration with Lego’s new Global Play Ambassadors, artists Aurélia Durand, Chen Fenwan and Ekow Nimako, and overseen by Colette co-founder Sarah Andelman, Paris is the site of the first Lego Superpower Studios
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‘If kids grew up going to London Design Festival they would learn so much’: architect Shawn AdamsIn the first of our interviews with key figures lighting up the London Design Festival 2024, Shawn Adams, founder of POoR Collective, discusses the power of such events to encourage social change
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‘If kids grew up going to London Design Festival they would learn so much’: architect Shawn Adams
In the first of our interviews with key figures lighting up the London Design Festival 2024, Shawn Adams, founder of POoR Collective, discusses the power of such events to encourage social change
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Wallpaper's London Design Festival itinerary: don’t miss a thingOur third-instalment of our four-part preview of this year's London Design Festival, from Barbie and Greater Palm Springs pavilions to the Wax Building's opening exhibition
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‘The future is hypermobile’: portability guides Tom Dixon’s Coal office exhibitionsLondon Design Festival 2023: at Coal Office, Tom Dixon explores themes of hypermobility in collaboration with cutting-edge contemporary brands, mixing AI, tech and research
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Ozwald Boateng reimagines Poltrona Frau classicsSavile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng was invited by Poltrona Frau to interpret its iconic designs through colour and pattern, marking the beginning of an ongoing collaboration
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Emerging stars and established makers unite in show for London Design FestivalCurated by Jan Hendzel, ‘11:11’ at Staffordshire St Gallery in Peckham, south London, features a diverse breadth of design, from ceramics and textiles to woodworking and jewellery
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At St Paul’s Cathedral, sound becomes light through an installation by Pablo Valbuena‘Aura’ by Pablo Valbuena at St Paul’s Cathedral for London Design Festival 2023 (and until early November 2023) makes sound tangible through light
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Simone Brewster evokes a forest of cork oak trees in central LondonFor London Design Festival 2023, Simone Brewster presents ‘Spirit of Place’ on The Strand in collaboration with Amorim cork, intended to ‘capture the essence of the forest’
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Andu Masebo turns a red Alfa Romeo into furnitureAndu Masebo gives new life to an old Alfa Romeo, creating playful furniture, on show at the V&A South Kensington during London Design Festival (and until 15 October 2023)
