A global hub of art and design, London’s status as a multi-cultural enclave of creativity and artistic expression is legend: a beacon of excellence passed from one generation to the next. Holding an influential voice on the international style agenda year in and year out, part of what makes London so special is its capacity to ingest a litany of ideas and aesthetics and – through the medium of the city’s near 9 million inhabitants – produce a unique perspective on design that is singularly reflective of the British capital itself. An undeniable microcosm of the world at large, London the home of creative expression, championing design of every kind, colour and creed that this planet has to offer; a melting-pot of the most prolific and progressive talent to be found anywhere.
Established in 2003, the London Design Festival is an annual celebration of London as a global centre for innovative design. Last year’s activities welcomed nearly half a million design enthusiasts, from more than 75 countries, to the city, all eager to experience the stories the exhibitors wanted to tell. 2018 will mark the London Design Festival’s 16th anniversary and, in partnership with British Land and the V&A, the festival is ready to unleash a rich and diverse array of the latest stories to be told.
Spread across 9 days – each jam-packed with events and exhibitions – the scale of the festival can be daunting. With that in mind, Collater.al has taken the stress out of the planning process by scouring the press releases and programme announcements to present the ultimate guide to the London Design Festival 2018.
Single-minded in our mission to champion ‘any creative form of aesthetic expression’, Collater.al encourages you to discover a contemporary take on global creative practice in London this September. Whether you’re an established design aficionado or just beginning your journey down the rabbit hole; a London native or a first-time visitor to the city, Collater.al has all bases covered. Check out our day-by-day guide of the absolute must-see exhibits and let Collater.al guide you through the noise to get the very most out of your visit to LDF 2018.
SATURDAY 15th SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: Waugh Thistleton Architects x Arup x American Hardwood Export Council
What: MultiPly
Where: V&A (Sackler Courtyard) The V&A Museum, Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, SW7 2RL
When: 10am – 9.30pm daily
Event: Free
There’s no better way to get started than by visiting one of the landmark projects commissioned by the festival itself. Tapping some of the globe’s foremost talents and thinkers across a variety of disciplines, the landmark projects epitomise the spirit of LDF by asking designers to think about the big questions facing our societies and challenging them to proffer solutions.
‘MultiPly’ is an interactive exhibit which explores potential antidotes to the challenges of future city planning in an era of unprecedented urban expansion. Investigating the future of housing under the strain of climate change and exponential population growth, Waugh Thistleton Architects have erected a modular (and highly instagrammable) maze-like structure in the Sackler Courtyard at the V&A museum. Venture up and down staircases and over bridges within the evolving structure and consider the application of these materials and building methods on a larger scale as our cities continue to grow.
Afternoon:
Who: Arup x LSE Cities
What: Conflicts of an Urban Age
Where: Arup, 8 Fitzroy Street, W1T 4BJ
When: 12pm – 5pm
Event: Free
Continuing the theme of urban expansion and future city planning, head next to Arup’s HQ in Fitzrovia for the ‘Conflicts of an Urban Age’ exhibition. From the V&A you can take a leisurely stroll through Hyde Park or jump on the subway at South Kensington.
Investigating the spatial and social consequences of massive migration from rural communities into urban centres between 1990 and 2015, the exhibition focuses on 6 key cities around the world and how our approach to urban planning will need to adapt for this hyper-populated future.
Evening:
Who: Royal College of Art
What: Residential Build of the Future
Where: 4 Kingdom Street, Paddington Central, W2 6BD
When: 24 Hour Event
Event: Free
Bringing the first day of LDF 2018 to a close, make your way to the ‘Residential Build of the Future’ exhibit by the RCA at 4 Kingdom Street to see the theories you’ve been exploring all day put into practise with this conceptual view into the future of residential homes in the form of a one-bedroom maisonette.
SUNDAY 16th SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: Austin Forum
What: St Augustine’s Church Refurbishment – Faithful to the Future (A Process in Making)
Where: St. Augustine’s Church, 55 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, W6 8AU
When: 8am – 7.30pm
Event: Free
The future will always be informed by the past – a concept that architect Roz Barr understood when she was commissioned by an ancient order of friars to breathe new life into St Augustine’s Church. The result is a RIBA award-winning reimagining of what houses of worship might look like in years to come. Dive in to Roz Barr’s vision with an exhibition of sketches, CADs, and preliminary models presented by Roz Barr Architects in this newly ordained church of the future.
Afternoon:
Who: Royal College of Art
What: The Future of Lobby Spaces
Where: 2 Kingdom Street, Paddington Central, W2 6BD
When: 8am – 7pm
Event: Free
Houses of worship and houses of commerce share a sense of grandeur, designed in servitude to the people they serve or the deity they worship. Having taken in the newly refurbished St Augustine’s church, make your way to the RCA’s future-focused exploration of how public lobbies might change over time and how cultural artefacts and works of art impact the public perceptions of these kinds of spaces.
Evening:
Who: Scholten & Baijings
What: Time for Tea
Where: Fortnum and Mason Store, 181 Piccadilly, W1A 1ER
When: 11.30am – 6pm
Event: Free
Bring day two to a close by delving deep into a cornerstone of British culture: tea. Another of the LDF’s 2018 landmark projects, Scholten and Baijings present an immersive look at the ritualistic nature of tea. In collaboration with Fortnum and Mason the installation will examine tea and its position within cultures from around the globe.
MONDAY 17th SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: Architecture Illustrated
What: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios x Jelly
Where: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, 20 Tottenham Street, W1T 4RG
When: 9am – 5.30pm
Event: Free
Urban design outfit, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios link up with international production company and illustration agency, Jelly for an exhibition of some of FCB Studios’ most poignant architecture, illustrated in the partnership’s signature style.
Featuring illustrations by 6 leading voices in this field, this exhibition crosses disciplines to investigate the intrinsic link between creative practices, and the crossover necessary to see design projects through from beginning to end.
Afternoon:
Who: BOTTLETOP x KRAUSE ARCHITECTS x AI BUILD
What: World’s First 3D Printed Store – Made by Robots Using Plastic
Where: 84 Regent Street, W1B 5RS
When: 10am – 8pm
Event: Free
Step into the future as a trio of design institutions come together to recalibrate construction and push the envelope of ecologically responsible retail by creating the first 3D printed store, constructed by robots using recycled plastics.
Driven by a zero-waste ethos, BOTTLETOP is a British luxury accessories brand which places sustainability at the top of its agenda. Joining forces with KRAUSE ARCHITECTS and AI BUILD, BOTTLETOP has opened its first flagship store on Regent Street – the heart of London’s shopping district.
Evening:
Who: Architecture Social Club
What: Trace
Where: Regent Street, W1B
When: All Day Event
Event: Free
Another landmark project, Trace by Architecture Social Club is a floating installation suspended above Regent Street to challenge the viewer’s perception of the environment and their influence upon it.
As a result of Regent Street’s iconic curvature and the impressive height of the regency architecture, the street has a wind pattern of its own, unlike any other street in the world. Putting this quirk of weather to use, Trace explores the power of mother nature against the will of man in another landmark project for LDF 2018. Watch as changes in light and wind influence the ebb and flow of the installation, drawing the viewers eyes up to appreciate what we can see and what we cannot and what it all might mean for the future.
TUESDAY 18th SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: London Design Biennale 2018
What: London Design Biennale 2018
Where: Somerset House WC2R 1LA
When: Various
Event: Ticketed Event
2016 was host to the very first London Design Biennale and saw London play host to designers from countries across the world. Continuing the legacy, the LDB has invited exhibitors from more than 40 countries, across every continent, to show works of art and design in response to the stimulus ‘Emotional States’.
Taking over Somerset House – one of London’s foremost design landmarks and home to London Fashion Week – exhibitors from the world over will come together to create an immersive environment designed to pose the hard-hitting questions on the ability of design to provide solutions to some of our biggest problems. An absolutely essential visit, be sure to secure your tickets using the link above.
Afternoon:
Who: Es Devlin
What: Please Feed the Lions
Where: Trafalgar Square
When: 11am – 8pm
Event: Free
Multi-hyphenate artist and designer, Es Devlin (who counts Kanye West, Adele, and Jay Z among her astonishing list of collaborators) has been tapped by LDF to produce another of the festival’s landmark projects for 2018.
Unveiling an interactive sculpture at one of London’s most recognisable landmarks, Es Devlin will install a glorious red lion across from The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. Designed in response to the passive nature of the 4 lions which have sat at the foot of Nelson’s Column for 150 years, ‘Please Feed the Lions’ will lend its voice to an interactive and ongoing poem, authored by the public viewing the exhibit in real time.
Designed in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, this is another must-see exhibit at this year’s LDF. Be sure to head down and add your voice to the poem!
WEDNESDAY 19th SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: Kellenberger-Whiter
What: Alphabet
Where: Broadgate, EC2M 3WA
When: All-Day Event
Event: Free
The last LDF 2018 landmark event to cover during your visit is Alphabet by typeface specialists, Kellenberger-White.
Enjoy coffee or breakfast in east London while taking in this playful pop-up of 26 custom-designed and painted alphabet character chairs. Interactivity is encouraged as visitors are invited to rearrange the letters to create words or messages.
Vibrant, graphic, and fun – each chair is an investigation into metal folding and typographic design, produced with support from the festival’s headline partner for 2018, British Land.
Afternoon:
Who: Containerville
What: Open Studios
Where: 38-40 The Oval, Containerville, E2 9DT
When: 9.30am – 5pm
Event: Free
Stay east and make your way to the open studios at Containerville: a creative hub of shipping containers, each playing home to a different creative artist, designer, or agency.
An intimate look at the working spaces of emerging artists from across architecture, multimedia art, environmental sciences and beyond, Containerville is sure to have something for everybody’s interests.
Collater.al’s top picks to check out at the containers include art consultancy bringing a fresh wave of democratisation to the London art scene, Artiq, and up-and-coming architecture firm WHAT architecture.
Evening:
Who: Jason Bruges Studio x Culture Mile
What: Brutalist Tapestry
Where: Beech Street, EC1Y 4SB
When: 8am – 10pm
Event: Free
Next, head to Beech Street tunnel to take in Jason Bruges monolithic installation, ‘Brutalist Tapestry’. Combining multi-sensory experiences across a variety of digital and analogue media, the tunnel is brought to life at the intersection of art, culture, and pioneering tech to create an immersive experience like the tunnel has never seen before.
THURSDAY 20th SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: Henrik Vibskov
What: The Onion Farm
Where: V&A Gallery 94, The Tapestries Room, Level 3 V&A Museum, Cromwell Rd, SW7 2RL
When: 10am – 5.45pm
Event: Free
Danish design export, Henrik Vibskov, is an internationally revered multi-hyphenate creative whose work transcends definition from fashion design under his eponymous label, to performance art, and substantive sculptural works.
Nestled in the darkness of the V&A’s Tapetry Room (dark to preserve the integrity of the ancient works of art that are housed there), Vibskov’s ‘The Onion Farm’ stands in sharp contrast to these relics of ages past. An interactive and dynamic sculpture, ‘The Onion Farm’ spans the length of the gallery – some 25 metres – and invites the viewer to interact with its tactile property and sporadic forms.
Enter ‘The Onion Farm’ and experience LDF through Vibskov’s eyes.
Afternoon:
Who: Sigmar & OKOLO
What: Hotel Praha
Where: 1st Floor, 3 Yeoman’s Row, SW3 2AL
When: 10am – 6pm
Event: Free
Next, make your way to the Hotel Praha exhibit on Yeoman’s Row – just a short walk from the V&A. Sigmar and OKOLO come together to present a selection of original pieces from the famed Hotel Praha in Prague. Globally recognised as an architectural totem of late communist rule in Czechoslovakia, the hotel was sadly demolished in 2014. Complete with no budget, intended as a mode of conveying the ideals of a communist regime to important political delegates in the 1980s, this intriguing exhibition delves deep on a socialist approach to hospitality and design.
Evening:
Who: AWMA x Stephen Crawford Architects
What: Kindred Spirits
Where: St Matthews Church, Brixton Hill, SW2 1JF
When: 8am – 8pm
Event: Free
Head across the river and enjoy an evening in Brixton, taking in the ‘Kindred Spirits’ art installation by AWMA and Stephen Crawford Architects. Inspired by London’s status as one of the most diverse metropolises in the world, ‘Kindred Spirits’ explores themes of identity and belonging in the age of Brexit. Posing questions about community and how we exist harmoniously as one society.
FRIDAY 21st SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: Tom Dixon
What: ELECTROANALOGUE
Where: Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, N1C 4AB
When: 10am – 7pm
Event: Free
Heading North, enjoy a day of pioneering product design from British icon, Tom Dixon and friends.
Investigating the limits of modern technology, ELECTROANAOLGUE will present a range of digital interventions that are designed to stimulate the senses and provoke discussion. Taking over the Coal Office – Tom Dixon’s new HQ and flagship store – experience design through the eyes of a master.
Afternoon:
Who: Matter of Stuff
What: Matter of Stuff Concept Gallery
Where: Matter of Stuff/Fenman House, 5 Lewis Cubitt Walk, King’s Cross, N1C 4DF
When: 11am – 7pm
Event: Free
Continuing with the theme of product design, make your way to the Matter of Stuff Concept Gallery. Designed by Raw Edges, the pop-up gallery presents the work of renowned brands across lighting, ceramics, furniture, installation and beyond in one of the neighbourhood’s most vibrant creative settings.
SATURDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER
Morning:
Who: At Home with Hostmaker
What: A Crafted Escape
Where: 20 Clerkenwell Green, Clerkenwell, EC1R 0DP
When: 10am – 5pm
Event: Free
Three rooms with three distinct personas, At Home with Hostmaker lifts the lid on the oft-misunderstood art and science of interior design. Crafted by a team of interior professionals with the travel-curious and style-conscious in mind, the rooms were designed around the themes ‘The Botanist’, ‘The Bold’, and ‘The Artisan’ and deliver a theatrical, narrative driven method of bringing interior spaces to life.
Afternoon:
Who: AKT II x OFIS Architects
What: Living Unit London
Where: Old Street Yard, EC1Y 2BJ
When: 10am – 5pm
Event: Free
Designed in response to the increase in ‘micro-dwellings’, this space-saving modular living solution is on public display with a view to offering insight into this burgeoning residential design trend. Dropped in the heart of Shoreditch, visiting the Living Unit doubles as an opportunity to explore one of London’s foremost design neighbourhoods.
Evening:
Who: Type Tasting
What: Gin and the Dystopian History of Print
Where: Tap & Bottle, Flat Iron Square, 64 Southwark Street, SE1 1RU
When: 7pm – 9.30pm
Event: Ticketed
Enjoy and immersive gin and wine tasting experience with a twist. Type Tasting have redesigned the traditional tasting format by using a series of games and activities to disrupt the status quo and challenge our assumptions.
A unique event, designed specifically for LDF 2018, join author Sarah Hyndman on an interactive journey to discover the secret links between gin and typefaces. An experience in multi-sensory storytelling, running for two nights only, be sure to get tickets for this one through the link above.
Sunday 23rd September
Where: The V&A Museum, Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, SW7 2RL
When: 10am – 5.45pm
Event: Free
Bring the London Design Festival 2018 to a close by heading back to where it all began – the V&A museum. From Avro Part’s collaborative exhibit with Arup ‘Memory and Light’ in the Norfolk House Music Room to Beatie Wolf’s ‘The Art of Music in the Digital Age’, there’s plenty more to be seen and no better place to soak up the final hours of the festival atmosphere for another year.
