London Design Festival is back with a bumper programme spanning the city. Here are a few things we’re looking forward to seeing, from a lighting installation casting an architectural icon in new light to biophilic design and interactive play.
‘Nice to Meet You Again’ by Morag Myerscough
Shoreditch Design Triangle
Queen of colour Morag Myerscough was an early adopter of electric cars, so it’s little surprise she’s teamed up with Mini to celebrate the launch of the manufacturer’s latest electric vehicle. Her site-specific installation at Shoreditch Electric Light Station promises to be a colourful and immersive affair that takes over every inch of the venue.
Shoreditch Electric Light Station, Coronet Street, London, N1 6HD
‘Mycelium Unearthed’: Osmore Studio
Shoreditch Design Triangle
Mycelium is one of the most promising renewable building materials to have emerged in recent years; lightweight, fire-resistant and with good insulation properties. This show by Osmore Studio explores the boundaries of the bio-revolution and how fungi can be used in the home. Visitors can also create their own objects from mycelium at a workshop.
7 Hoxton Road, London N1 6QT, UK
‘The Lego Piece Garden’ by Lego x It’s Nice That
Shoreditch Design Triangle
Creative studio and magazine It’s Nice That teams up with Lego for this interactive experience which invites Londoners to play in a blossoming community garden and build their own Lego botanicals and artworks using colourful bricks.
Ace Corner, 149-150 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6HU
‘Aura’ by Pablo Valbuena at St Paul’s Cathedral
City of London
See St. Paul’s Cathedral like never before thanks to Spanish artist Pablo Valbuena, who has created site-specific projections for the Sir Christopher Wren-designed landmark that are influenced by the noises of the building, including its famous Whispering Gallery. Wren 300 celebrates the 300th birthday of the renowned polymath, and he’s the focus for several installations and events through LDF.
St. Paul’s, London EC4M 8AD
‘Halo’ at St Stephen Walbrook
City of London
Studio Waldemeyer will suspend a light-studded canonical pendulum from the apex of St Stephen Walbrook for Halo. This site-specific installation will swing around the church’s altar, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The work will illuminate a sculpture by Henry Moore temporarily housed on the altar, casting it – and the surrounds – in afresh light.
St Stephen Walbrook, 39 Walbrook, London EC4N 8BN
‘Poured Staircase’ at The Tide
Greenwich Peninsula Design District
Greenwich Peninsula Design District, anchored by David Kohn’s lime-trimmed A4 building Station, launched in 2021 to much acclaim, putting this formerly out-of-the-way corner of London firmly on the map. The vibrant neighbourhood boasts a cluster of 16 buildings, populated by architecture studios, designers and artists, as well as a public art square and riverside linear park, The Tide, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
For LDF203, Turner Prize nominee Ian Davenport has reimagined the entrance stairwell of The Tide as a kaleidoscopic wave of colour, flooding its steps in vibrant hues as though a dozen paint cans have spilled their contents. Beirut-born artist Marwan Kaabour also presents The River in Verse, a ‘lyrical and poetic mirror of the river Thames’.
The Tide, Pier Walk, London SE10 0ES
‘OpenWork’ by Melek Zeynep Bulut
Bankside Design District
Melek Zeynep Bulut represented Turkey at the London Design Biennale this summer with their performative and spatial composition, Açık Yapıt, or Open Work, scooping the Public Award for the evocative installation. The ghostly structure will be on show for the duration of LDF at the Bankside Design District, a theatrical stage to explore how corners and walls squeeze human perception to create a concrete mentality.
Bernie Spain Gardens, Riverside Walkway (by Oxo Tower Wharf) London, SE1 9PP
Hana Mikoshi at the V&A South Kensington
Brompton Design District
The Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington is invoking the colours and optimism of Sakura season for this site-specific installation and workshop on Japanese cherry blossoms. Created in collaboration with Hayatsu Architects and inspired by the Gifu Prefecture’s Mino Matsuri festival, this sculptural seating installation will be decorated with 50,000 blossom-inspired washi paper flowers handcrafted by Japanese paper artists.
