London Design Festival – The Cultural Exposé

Something You Should See… Endless Stair

Lucy Palmer — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 10:32:33 +0000

Personally I blame the Shard, that’s what started this obsession with things in London being high and tall. There’s no more mere five storey buildings for us – if you don’t have to crane your neck to look at its very top, it’s just not getting built in the capital anymore. While not quite skyscraper status, the Endless Stair installation – with its 187 steps – will allow visitors to climb up towards the sky and provide a new viewing platform and feature in London’s attractions. The 436 metre interactive structure is made of a series of 20 interlocking staircases, inspired by drawings of M.C. Escher which is clearly evident when viewing the structure. From photos the piece slightly resembles a children’s jungle playground frame with visitors navigating the steps which turn up and down, left, right and everywhere testing our visual and physical perceptions. Located just outside the famous riverbank art space of the Tate Modern the new installation is being raved as one of the landmark and pivotal pieces from this year’s London Design Festival and was designed by architectural firm dRMM.Endless Stair can accommodate a maximum of 93 people at a time so arrive early or be prepared for queues. (Words: Lucy Palmer) On until 10th October 2013, admission is free. For more info, visit www.londondesignfestival.com/endless-stair

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Somewhere You Should Go… Design Junction

Lucy Palmer — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:00:46 +0000

With some many events taking place at this year’s London Design Festival, where do you begin? Try the Design Junction – a hub of inspiration, new ideas and over 100 international design brands showcasing all that’s exciting and innovative in design and culture.

Spread across three floors of a vast 1960s sorting office, you’ll find a wide variety of items from mid-century modern furniture to vintage design classics, fashion to fine jewellery, glassware to ceramics, books, lighting and more. Leading designers and critics will also be engaging in talks and debates covering a wide variety of topics including 21st Century design and its future giving you the chance to share your own opinions.

Further installations in the impressive building include a series of interactive Flash Factories, where the processes of industrial production will be brought to life courtesy of some of the world’s leading design manufacturers including leading furniture designers Thonet. And Art and design collective The Decorators will be producing a hand-built cinema structure to host talks and film screenings entitled ‘Architecture to watch films by’ where the relationship between film and architecture can be examined.

There’s plenty of space to rest your feet, shop and eat with gelato from Gelupo, fresh seasonal British food from Canteen and the best quality coffee and snacks from Soho staple Fernandez & Wells. And in the evening, Design Junction will become the late night destination of choice with live DJs celebrating the best of design and culture, attributes at the heart of London life. (Words: Lucy Palmer)

Open Thursday 20 September 10am-7pm, Friday 21 September & Saturday 22 September
10am-6pm, Sunday 23 September 10am-5pm. Visit www.thedesignjunction.co.uk for further info.

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Something you should see…Imagined Cities at the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs

Rachel Segal Hamilton — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:00:03 +0000

Imagined Cities, a new exhibition at the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, is fresh evidence that some of the most exciting creative work right now is happening on the border between fine art and design. Curated by Dainow&Dainow, the show brings together limited-edition art prints by talented architecture graduates and professionals as part of the London Design Festival 2011.

Take Ostap Rudokevych‘s magical ‘Cloud City’. Described as “a concept for provisional post-disaster housing”, it shows vast, white balloon houses floating serenely in the sky, tethered to the decaying remains of houses below. In a similar vein, ‘Aqualta_TimesSq-Night_NYC‘ is Times Square, but not as you know it….

…To read the rest, click here to visit Rachel Segal Hamilton’s blog, Detour.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rachsh

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Somewhere you should go…London Design Festival 2011

Rachel Segal Hamilton — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:00:29 +0000

The capital’s creatives have had it scrawled in their diaries (in red Sharpie marker, naturally) for months. It’s a biggie, the London Design Festival – and now in its 9th year, it promises to be vaster and more exciting than ever. But, with a dizzying 250 events and exhibitions to choose from over nine days, it’s hard to know where to begin. We recommend kicking off at the festival’s core venue, the V&A, where you can grab a copy of the LDF guide before hitting the streets to explore what else is on offer. Then head down to ‘Cut it Out’ at Outline Editions, to check out new work by illustrator Noma Bar and bag your own limited edition artwork made with a giant, dog-shaped hole punch (no lies). Also, don’t miss ‘My London’ at Established & Sons, a series of collaborative installations by designers, artists and architects, paying homage to the big smoke, or ‘Mermaids‘ by Marcel Wanders, a watery re-imagining of Dutch design company Moooi’s London showroom. Finally, indulge your wildest foodie fantasies at a ‘secret sensory supper’ in the dramatic masonic temple room at Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel. And if that’s not enough, you can always get up the next day and start all over again. (Words: Rachel Segal Hamilton)

[stextbox id=”custom”]London Design Festival runs from 17 – 25 September 2011 at the V&A and other locations around London. For more info, visit londondesignfestival.com[/stextbox]

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