Design

5 visually dramatic installations we are eyeing at the London Design Festival 2019

JUL 30, 2019 | By Vedika Nair
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Bamboo (竹) Ring: Weaving into lightness by Kengo Kuma; Please Be Seated by Paul Cocksedge; Walala Lounge by Camille Walala; Please Be Seated by Paul Cocksedge.
CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Walala Lounge by Camille Walala; Photographs courtesy London Design Festival. Life Labyrinth by PATTERNITY; Iri-Descent by Liz West.

The city of London is all set to host the annual 17th London Design Festival on 14th September 2019. This year bears more significance as the festival also completes 11 years in collaboration with the V&A. A series of specially commissioned projects by internationally acclaimed will be showcased at the worlds leading museum of art, design and performance.

London Design Festival has merited the stature as a key calendar moment of the city’s autumn creative season right up with London Fashion week, Frieze Art Fair and the London Film Festival. Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons, said: “Each year the London Design Festival hosts a truly inspiring programme of events, bringing together designers from across the world and demonstrating our position as an international creative powerhouse.”

Since the idea was birthed, London Design Festival has brought together a global community of designers, architects and other creative avenues with a vision to promote the city as the design capital of the world. The festival has encompassed a wide range of activities such as design fairs and interior shows. The fair generated a record breaking number closing to 1 million visits in 2018.For the 9 days of the festival, we will see some groundbreaking works of art, crafted by some of the best designers from around the world and learn more about their vision for these pieces.

1.Bamboo (竹) Ring: Weaving into lightness by Kengo Kuma :

 Inspired by the John Madejski Garden and curated by Clare Farrow, the doughnut-shaped structure–like a nest or cocoon–has been created by weaving rings of bamboo and carbon fibre together by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. He has also most recently designed the V&A Dundee, his first building in the UK, along with the New National Stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Great (Bamboo) Wall house in China. Bamboo (竹) Ring, or ‘Take-wa 竹わ’, is an experiment in the concept of weaving, which is one of Puma’s other interests. The installation explores precision, lightness and strength by pulling two ends, it de-forms naturally and one half of the woven structure is lifted into the air. This installation has the right amount of ambition to transform into a catalyst for weaving people and places together.

2. Life Labyrinth by PATTERNITY: PATTERNITY crafted this installation with a vision. Life Labyrinth draws inspiration from the principles of resonance and flow, harmonising the senses. All of which invoke positive thoughts and experiences in the world. The installation calls for visitors to meditate upon and enjoy the piazza at their own pace. The heart of the installation will be based around a giant geometric labyrinth formation, a pattern-based journey proven to have positive health benefits for the user as they meander through the journey to the centre of the piece. This installation will be created with sustainable, recycled and recyclable material.

3. Iri- Descent by Liz West: Liz West designed Iri-Descent. This installation is a suspended arrangement of 150 skeleton-framework cubes placed in the atrium of the historic Fortnum & Mason store in Piccadilly. This piece attires dichromatic film. The visitors around the atrium can treat their eyes as the cubes appear to change colors.Warm and cool colour variations are interlaced throughout offering a range of pink and blue hues. The installation mirrors its surroundings and transmits its shades outwards with the help of its highly reflective film. Iri-Descent forms part of an ongoing series of spatial light works based on colour theory and light fields. It holds great ambition to revolutionise architectural spaces and public environments.

4. Please be Seated by Paul Cocksedge: Please Be Seated is an installation crafted by British designer Paul Cocksedge. This piece is transforming Finsbury Avenue Square, Broadgate. Located in the heart of Broadgate – this project will be the most ambitious of British Land’s commissions to date. This large-scale installation encompasses a fusion of innovation and technology while responding to the changing rhythm of the community. The key features of the design are curves for people to sit on or walk under. This only enhances the largest pedestrianised neighbourhood in London. The vision of this installation is to re-imagine and re-use building wood.

5. Walala Lounge by Camille Walala: French-born designer Camille Walala returns to London Design Festival in a characteristically colourful manner. She has been commissioned by Grosvenor Britain & Ireland to energise and enliven South Molton Street, in the heart of London’s West End, with a bold and beautiful family of street furniture. Fusing eye-popping colour and geometric shapes in monumental proportions, the 11 unique benches of Walala Lounge is a treat to the eyes and offer curious bystanders a seat to sit on.

The lounge will include an unpredictable array of cuboids, cylinders and arches birthed from brushed steel and Tricoya MDF. The other designs encompass planters and rug-like bases to enhance their engaging home-like appeal. The benches are a continuation of Walala’s evolution from two to three-dimensional sculptural objects.

The festival will run from 14th to 18th September, 2019. Head here to learn more…