LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 17-25 SEPTEMBER 2016PRESS RELEASE

Established in 2003, the London Design Festival has attained a reputation as one of the largest and most innovative design events in the world. This year the Festival will again celebrate and promote London as the design capital of the world, creating a platform for inspirational design initiatives. Over 400 events and installations will be on offer across the city, from a stimulating programme at the Victoria and Albert Museum to Landmark Projects in Shoreditch and Chelsea. The Festival will showcase ideas from more than 300 partners, representing the heart of London’s design community, proving its role as a leading force in the city’s creative economy.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London said:“Growing London’s cultural sector is one of my core priorities as Mayor and I’m delighted to support the London Design Festival, opening up the city’s unrivalled creativity to Londoners and visitors to the capital. London is home to some of the design world’s greatest innovators, practitioners and educators. By showcasing and promoting their work across the city, the festival allows people from all walks of life the opportunity to experience why London really is the design capital of the world.”

Sir John Sorrell, Chairman of the London Design Festival said:“From 17-25 September hundreds of London Design Festival venues will be presenting exhibitions, installations, talks and a huge range of events. The V&A, as the main hub of the Festival, hosts a stunning series of interventions, alongside its temporary exhibitions and permanent collections. Across town a major new event, the London Design Biennale, features 37 nations in an unmissable exhibition of individual design installations at Somerset House. This year London becomes Design City – the design capital of the world.”

@L_D_F#LDF16

MINI is partnering with Asif Khan to explore the concept of ‘third places’ in the city. MINI LIVING have identified three locations which will serve as the basis for the MINI LIVING concept as interpreted by Asif Khan.

Asif Khan has designed a family of architectural installations in Shoreditch, using plants to explore the relationship between public and private space in the city. These urban oases will seek to represent a new vision for the city – a community where ideas can be exchanged, people can meet and new connections can be forged. Visitors to Old Street will discover a series of ‘forest’ environments each populated by plants that have been chosen by established horticulturalist Jin Ahn of Conservatory Archives in Hackney. These ‘third spaces’ will allow visitors to connect, create and relax in an immersive atmosphere, with each hosting specific events and activity during the Festival. In the Vince Court location, a long communal table will be installed encouraging visitors to meet and interact while in another, terraced seating will provide a quiet place to work. Finally on the junction of Old Street and Pitfield Street, an elevated room will allow visitors to experience the seclusion of a green room within the heart of the city. Everyone visiting the locations will be encouraged to link together the public and the private by taking plants home.

Khan, whose London-based practice works across the fields of architecture, industrial and furniture design, says of the project:

“There is a Japanese phrase, ‘Shirin yoku’, which literally means ‘forest bathing’. It means every sense switches to absorb the forest atmosphere, what you hear, what you smell, even the feeling underfoot. At another scale we use plants as a tool to assert our personal space at its boundary with public space, whether on our desk at the office or at the perimeter of our home. The project brings these two ideas together for visitors to experience new sensations within the city.”

During the Festival, there will be several events taking place in Vince Court that will seek to demonstrate the overall concept of MINI LIVING - the urban relationships between work and play, public and private space, showing us how we can live in new collective ways. Esther Bahne, MINI’s Head of Brand Strategy and Business Innovation said,

“The London Design Festival is an ideal platform for MINI to celebrate the power of design and architecture. The MINI LIVING installations are part of our ongoing exploration of great urban experiences and the future of living together in the metropole.”

To see the full programme of events and secure your place visit mini.co.uk/ldf

LANDMARK PROJECTMINI LIVING‘FORESTS’ INSTALLATION BY ASIF KHAN

Supported by Mini

17-25 September

Vince Court N1 6EACharles Square EC1V 9EY Charles Sq Gardens N1 6HS

See website for times

#YourSideOfTown

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL LANDMARK PROJECTS

A major feature of the Festival each year is the ambitious programme of special projects and installations. With the help of our sponsors, we have commissioned the world’s best designers and architects, as well as pioneering new talents, to create something extraordinary in response to a variety of stimuli such as a particular material, a theme or a location. They’ve featured in some of London’s most prominent and best-loved spaces, including the V&A, Southbank Centre, Tate Modern and Trafalgar Square.

LANDMARK PROJECT THE SMILE

By Alison Brooks Architects, Engineered by Arup

Supported byThe American Hardwood Export Council, Arup, Züblin Timber, Seam, Atrium

In partnership with the University of the Arts London

17-25 September

Chelsea College of Arts10am - 9pm

#TheSmile

This September sees The American Hardwood Export Council collaborate with Alison Brooks Architects, Arup and the Festival to present an extraordinary structure which appears to defy the laws of gravity, yet is actually a combination of architectural and engineering innovation. The Smile, built using cross-laminated tulipwood and located in the courtyard of the Chelsea College of Arts, is one of the Festival’s Landmark Projects for 2016. A timber structure that can be inhabited and explored by the public, offering a new and playful way of seeing London, The Smile showcases the structural and spatial potential of cross–laminated hardwood using American tulipwood supplied by The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC). Using high performance hardwood has enabled the team to create the most complex CLT structure ever built - the 12 industrial-sized tulipwood CLT panels, including six which are curved – supplied by German CLT pioneers, Züblin-Timber – run up to 14m long and 4.5m wide, some of the largest ever to make it into production.

Architect Alison Brooks has designed the 36m long pavilion to be entirely motionless, despite two swooping 16m cantilevered sections that appear on the verge of rocking forward or backward. The Smile is anchored down to a wooden cradle filled with 20 tonnes of steel counterweights.

Andrew Lawrence, Associate Director at Arup says:“The amount of counterweights really gives a sense of how hard the structure is working. This will prevent it rocking like a giant see-saw. Making sure that doesn’t happen even when 60 people run to one end has been just one of the challenges for Arup.”

Inches below the cradle are the remains of the 19th-century Millbank prison, once a transit station for convicts before they were deported to Australia. This four sided timber tube will form a long upside down arc, with each open end offering views of the city and the college. The walls will be perforated to allow daylight to filter into the interior of the structure. At night, beams of light will project from each end of the tube, creating an endless “smile” on the horizon while the light inside, filtered through the perforations, will turn it into a giant lantern.

Alison Brooks says, “I was interested in using hardwood CLT to create an undulating environment, something between a landscape, an adventure playground and a weightless funnel of space and light.”

For AHEC, The Smile is one of the most important developments in a decade of research into structural timber innovation with structural engineers, Arup and one that could broaden the use of CLT in the construction industry. For Brooks it’s also playful space free of the conventions of inhabitable architecture. ‘This was an opportunity,’ she says, ‘to stretch the material to the limit.’

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL AT THE V&A

The Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s leading museum of art and design, is the official hub for the Festival’s dynamic programme which features major creative installations, talks, workshops and performances. From 17-25 September 2016, The V&A will showcase a range of commissioned activity incorporating sculptural materiality, large-scale performance engineering and multi-sensory experiences alongside talks and workshops. The 2016 programme at the V&A is set to inspire and engage while heralding creative design disciplines through the return of the annual Global Design Forum and the popular Digital Design and Graphics Weekends.

FOILBY BENJAMIN HUBERT LAYER

Supported by BRAUN

17-25 September

Tapestries, Room 94, Level 3

Within the Tapestry galleries – a space which has housed several high-profile Festival projects in previous years – will be an installation by award-winning design entrepreneur Benjamin Hubert of experience driven design agency Layer supported by Braun. Running down the centre of the gallery, ‘FOIL’ is a constantly-moving installation that incorporates metal, light and technology to very impressive effect.

FOIL is a 20-metre-long revolving ribbon of 50,000 individual metallic panels, which emulate the precision-engineered form of the iconic Braun shaver foil. Made in tribute to Braun’s 360-degree rotating shaver head and the exact movements of the electric shaver, London-based Hubert has blown the mechanical details up to a large scale for viewers to engage with. A tailored system of LED lights will be directed onto the metal foil so that light is projected onto the gallery walls. Hubert’s absorbing installation draws the viewer in and the reflections amplify Braun’s detailed design whilst simultaneously epitomising the company’s philosophy for ‘less but better’, a statement highly valued by Dieter Rams, their legendary former head of design.

Layer chose to display FOIL in Room 94, where a selection of the Museum’s medieval tapestries are displayed, due to the gallery’s unique atmosphere. As light, humidity and temperature in the gallery are carefully controlled to protect the tapestries, visitors are immersed in a unique and emotionally engaging environment, which is enhanced by the multi-sensory installation.

In a six storey stairwell in the west wing of the Museum, British-based design-duo Glithero will present The Green Room, a kinetic installation centred around the passage of time. Designed in collaboration with the Italian luxury watch maker Panerai, this dramatic and complex installation - which can be viewed from multiple angles and levels by visitors to the V&A - will explore the concept of time through the careful arrangement of layers and lengths of silicone cord.

In colour-block tones of neon-orange, pink and purple, the veils of cord will shift and blend as they hang from a motorised revolving CAM arm. Imitating the circular motion of the arms of a clock, Glithero has choreographed the movement of the cords to create an optical illusion which will draw visitors into this immersive, performance-based initiative. Over the course of the Festival, the piece will constantly evolve, creating new visual experiences to draw in viewers. Within the historic stairwell, the Museum’s large round windows will let shafts of light shine through to help magnify the direction of light and colour and create a telescopic and cinematic feeling.

Glithero is made up of British designer Tim Simpson and Dutch designer Sarah van Gameren. Having met and studied at the Royal College of Art, the pair founded Glithero and from their London studio create furniture and time-based installations and products which capture and present the beauty of the moment in which things are made.

THE GREEN ROOMBY GLITHERO

Supported by Panerai

17-25 September

Staircase G, Levels 1-6

LIQUID MARBLEBY MATHIEU LEHANNEUR

17-25 September

Britain 1500-1760, Room 52b, Level 2

Embracing the sculptural form and textural qualities of marble, French multi-disciplinary designer Mathieu Lehanneur presents Liquid Marble for the London Design Festival at the V&A. This installation is part of a series by Lehanneur which explores the materiality of marble. Recognised and acclaimed for his skill in fusing art and technology, influenced by science, to create humanistic projects, Lehanneur will invite the viewer to enter into a meditative state as they engage with Liquid Marble in the historic interior of the Norfolk House Music Room.

Using one vast slab of hand-polished black marble, Lehanneur has sculpted a surreal vision of the sea, mimicking the look and feel of rippling water. The structure reflects and distorts itself, and the intense colour of the marble conjures up the depth of the ocean as if fossilized in stone. The marble waves are designed using a combination of digital innovation, including algorithms and 3D software, while the skilfully hand-polished marble creates a highly reflective surface which brings the piece to life.

Liquid Marble is 4.5m long and 2m wide, and is presented on a 45cm-high pedestal. Part of Lehanneur’s ongoing series exploring the materiality of marble, Liquid Marble introduces an alchemic combination for viewers to immersive themselves in: nourished by science, and with a metaphysical approach. The installation invites visitors to experience the most innovative processes whilst letting the mind wander in the movements of the sea, for a moment of meditative reflection.

Istanbul-based architecture firm Tabanlıoglu Architects will reinterpret Sabahattin Ali’s classic 1943 novel Madonna in a Fur Coat through an evocative, multi-sensory installation on a bridged gallery over the V&A’s Medieval & Renaissance Galleries.

“Madonna in a Fur Coat is one of the greatest novels in Turkish literature,” says Murat Tabanlıoglu; “We wanted to introduce the book to a new audience in London, as the book has recently been published in English translation for the first time in its 73-year history.”

Titled Beloved, the installation takes the form of a 13-metre-long mirrored black box, with cracks in the surface through which visitors can peer. Within, atmospheric scenes from the novel will be re-created using cinematic techniques, physical objects, text, light and sound. “The installation is a physical, multi-sensory realization of the way the human mind imagines scenes from a book as they read,” says Tabanlıoglu. “It’s a very intimate experience that celebrates literature, passion and the human condition.”

Tabanlıoglu Architects chose to locate the installation on the bridge that connects Museum’s Ironwork Gallery with a glass stairwell, to help reflect the themes of the novel. With the story addressing the relationship between a young Turkish man and an enigmatic German woman, and set in two cities, Berlin and Ankara, in the interwar period, the bridge helps provide a physical metaphor to describe the themes of the novel.

BELOVED

Supported by Tabanlioglu Architects

17-25 September

Bridge by Lift O, Level 3

Supported by Volkswagen Group.

The V&A Engineering Season highlights the importance of engineering in our daily lives and considers engineers as the ‘unsung heroes’ of design, who play a vital and creative role in the creation of our built environment.

A newly-commissioned installation by experimental architect Achim Menges with Moritz Dörstelmann, structural engineer Jan Knippers and climate engineer Thomas Auer, is situated in the Museum’s John Madejski Garden. Their first ever public commission in the UK, Elytra Filament Pavilion (18 May – 9 October 2016) explores the impact of emerging robotic technologies on architectural design, engineering and making. Inspired by a lightweight construction principle found in nature, the fibrous structures of the forewing shells of flying beetles known as elytra, the Pavilion is an undulating canopy of tightly-woven carbon fibre cells created using a novel robotic production process. The Pavilion will continue to grow over the course of the V&A Engineering Season in response to data on structural behaviour and patterns of inhabitation of the Garden that is captured by real-time sensors in its canopy fibres.

Special events to celebrate the Pavilion during the course of the London Design Festival will take place on Thursday 22 September – including a panel discussion on engineering and robotics, live fabrication of the pavilion itself, and a talk by Achim Menges.

The first major retrospective of the most influential engineer of the 20th century, Engineering the World: Ove Arup and the Philosophy of Total Design (18 June-6 November 2016) focuses on the design philosophy of Ove Arup, the pioneer of a multidisciplinary approach to design that has defined the way engineering is understood and practiced today. On display are objects relating to Arup’s early projects, such as the Penguin Pool at London Zoo, as well as renowned projects by the firm including Sydney Opera House and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, including previously unseen archival materials. These are shown alongside recent projects by Arup, the global engineering consultancy, represented by large-scale prototypes and building components as well as digital animations and models.

The Engineering Season also encompasses displays, events and digital initiatives dedicated to global engineering design.

With additional support from Tideway

V&A ENGINEERING SEASON

18 May-6 November

Throughout the Museum

The London Design Festival and the V&A have collaborated with leading London based designers to create a collection of contemporary, design-led souvenirs celebrating the capital created by a selection of architects and designers including Pentagram, AL_A and Kellenberger White. These souvenirs will be available to purchase in the V&A Shop, where they will be displayed on a purpose-built DuPont™ Corian® cabinet designed for the London Design Festival by Loris&Livia, and will also be available online at www.vam.ac.uk/shop.

LONDON SOUVENIRS

VARIOUS DESIGNERS

17-25 September

V&A Shop

Northern Lights will showcase the work of ten designers and makers who have chosen to build their careers in Scotland. Each piece reflects the bold confidence of Scotland’s contemporary design scene. The show will focus on the strengths of Scottish product design, the contribution it makes to the economy and its impact around the world.

Ceramic jewellery and accessories by Beth Lamont, simple crafted products from creative studio Tom Pigeon, bespoke furniture from Angus Ross and furniture design from Scott Jarvie sit alongside minimalist watches from Instrmnt, premium performance travel luggage from LAT_56, contemporary chairs and swings from Isabelle Moore, as well as womenswear from Hayley Scanlan and sustainable menswear from KellyDawn Riot.

Philip Long, Director of V&A Dundee, said: “Scotland has a great history of design and today there are many, many designers and manufacturers creating impeccably crafted new products, services and life-changing innovations across the country. We are delighted with the calibre, ambition and volume of submissions we received to exhibit as part of Northern Lights. The London Design Festival allows us to highlight these most exciting contemporary product designers, showcase their ideas and ingenuity, and give them an opportunity – whether they are an established or emerging designer – to raise their profile internationally.”

Northern Lights is a partnership between V&A Dundee, Scottish Enterprise and Creative Dundee as part of the Scottish Government’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016, a celebration of the nation’s global contributions to architecture, design, engineering and science.

V&A Dundee will be a new world-class design museum for Scotland – a ground-breaking international centre for design innovation, a place of inspiration, fun and learning. It will open to the public in 2018. The new museum will be based in the heart of Dundee, the UK’s first UNESCO City of Design which is currently undergoing a 30-year, £1 billion regeneration.

NORTHERN LIGHTS, V&A MUSEUM OF DESIGN DUNDEE

VARIOUS DESIGNERS

17-25 September

Britain 1500 – 1760, Clore Study Area, Level 2

V&A Dundee presents: Northern Lights

17-25 September

China, Room 44, The T.T. Tsui Gallery, level 1

UNIDENTIFIED ACTS OF DESIGN

Unidentified Acts of Design will highlight instances of design intelligence occurring in Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta outside of the conventional notion of the design studio. The project aims to show how in a region of unprecedented growth, which has long served as the factory of the world, design acts can take on unconventional forms and occur in unpredictable places.

The content of this display, originally presented at the 2015 Urbanism\Architecture Bi-city Biennale (UABB) in Shenzhen, was drawn from an on-going and long-term research undertaken in preparation to the opening of a V&A Gallery of 20th and 21st century international design, part of a pioneering collaboration between the V&A and China Merchants Shekou Holdings in Shenzhen, China. The gallery will open in 2017 within Design Society, a cultural platform positioning design as a social catalytic force.

YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION: RECORDS & REBELS 1966-70

This major exhibition will examine the optimism, ideals and aspirations of the late 1960s, expressed through music, fashion, film, design and political activism, and their relevance to contemporary life. It will investigate the cultural upheaval of the period, the explosive sense of freedom expressed, and the legal changes that took place during those five revolutionary years as the foundation for the way we live now.

The spine of the exhibition will be a musical odyssey through some of the greatest music and performances of the 20th century from Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change is Gonna Come’, to The Who’s ‘My Generation’, to Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock; and will focus on particular moments or environments that defined the cultural and social vanguard of the period, including clubs and counterculture, the Paris protests of May 1968, World Fairs, the Woodstock Festival of 1969 and communes on the West Coast of America. The exhibition considers how the finished and unfinished revolutions of the 1960s changed the way we live today and affect the way we think about the future.

The introduction to the exhibition will highlight key events that began to challenge the prevailing conservative society of the early 1960s, set against the desire for a better world that has been present throughout history, illustrated with with an original copy of Thomas More’s ‘Utopia’, written 500 years ago in 1516.

With additional support from Grow Annenberg Foundation, Fenwick and Sassoon

10 September-26 February 2017

Temporary Exhibition Space, Gallery 39, Level 1

In partnership with Levi’s ® Brand

Sound experience by Sennheiser

As the hub of the Festival, the V&A is the place to see great work and newly commissioned projects; but it’s also the home of lively and enlivening debate, with a full series of talks, discussions, seminars and workshops. Each of the nine days of events at the V&A are themed, making it easier for visitors and participants to fully explore the topics that particularly interest them.

This year, the themes consist: Graphics (Saturday 17 and Sunday 18), Future / Lveable Cities (Monday 19), Makers (Tuesday 20), International (Wednesday 21), Engineering (Thursday 22), Working in Design (Friday 23), and Digital Design (Saturday 24 and Sunday 25). On Friday 25 September the Museum will remain open until 10pm, with evening activities including talks and tours, music and performance.

Tying into the installations and displays that can be seen at the Museum throughout the Festival, there will be a programme of talks by designers featured. There will also be free tours of the London Design Festival at the V&A installations, which depart regularly from the Festival Desk, situated in the Museum’s Grand Entrance.

Most events are free and drop-in, and available on a first come, first served basis.See the full programme at: londondesignfestival.com/londondesignfestival.com/va-museum

V&A TALKS & WORKSHOPS PROGRAMME

THE GLOBAL DESIGN FORUM

The Global Design Forum – the thought leadership component of the Festival – returns for the fifth year at the Victoria and Albert Museum with a series of Masterclasses and Panel Discussions. The Masterclass sessions focus on profiling the industry’s pivotal figures who will each discuss their work under a particular topic, whilst the Panel Discussions invites a small group of speakers to discuss and debate a topic with daily themes.

This year there will be Masterclass sessions from: Jonathan Barnbrook (Graphics), Marina Willer (Graphics), Daan Roosegaarde (Future / Liveable Cities), Fredrikson Stallard (Makers), Doshi Levien (International), Alison Brooks (Engineering) and Patricia Urquiola (Working in Design). This star alliance of design luminaries will discuss the role of design in a sustainable and prosperous future, challenge the status quo and deliver thought-provoking ideas to our audiences.

There will also be the following panel discussions: Graphics and Music: Past, Present and Future (Graphics), The Power of Packaging from Bulletproof and Design Week (Graphics), Imagination for the Future, (Future / Liveable Cities), Designing for Small, Urban Spaces by Made.com (Makers), Design and Practices of Social Innovation (International), Fabrication Futures: Architecture, Engineering and Robotics (Engineering), as well as Engineers, Inventors & Non-Materialists (Working in Design).

The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, Level 4

Panel Discussions: £10

Masterclass Sessions: £15

To book tickets visit: globaldesignforum.com

Ticketed Event with ticketing through Billetto

L’Eden by Perrier-Jouët is an immersive experience around a new vision of nature, creating a place to relax in contrast to the urban streets of Soho. The event celebrates the creative effervescence of one of the biggest cultural weeks in London with an installation from leading Parisian designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance and the world’s first bio-responsive garden by Bompas & Parr.

Taking over the first floor of this central London venue, Duchaufour-Lawrance has curated an interactive installation which links nature to the city, paying homage to the Art Nouveau emblem that has graced every bottle of Perrier-Jouët BelleEpoque designed by artist and glass maker Emile Gallé in 1902.

Dramatising the approach in which champagne is served and taking inspiration from nature, the installation includes a vertical system of 3D-printed elements suspended from the ceiling on a network of brass tubes which grow down from the ceiling, like branches from a pergola.

At the end of each vine a champagne glass hangs upside down by its stem, ready to be filled with Perrier-Jouët. “I want the process of taking a glass to feel playful and very instinctive,” says Duchaufour-Lawrance, creating a champagne ritual and dramatising the way that champagne is served within the space, likened to “when you see a beautiful apple in a tree and you want to pick it.”

Duchaufour-Lawrance has chosen to use furniture from Bernhardt Design for the space, as it speaks the language of simplicity and graceful lines that are the designer’s trademark. He and Jerry Helling, President of Bernhardt Design, haveworked closely together for nearly ten years.

In the basement lives the world’s first bioresponsive garden, an installation filled with plants that mimic the movements of explorers amongst them.

A selection of events will take place at the venue. To find out more and book your place please visit pj.fr/edenldn

OTHER FESTIVAL PROJECTS:L’EDEN BY PERRIER-JOUËT

OTHER FESTIVAL PROJECTS: THE NEST ICE CREAM VAN

To bring a taste of summer to the London Design Festival, and to celebrate their approach of reinventing unloved products, Nest will be restoring and repurposing a design classic – a vintage Volkswagen split screen camper – into the Nest Ice Cream Van.

As a brand that loves the home, and one that loves to do things differently, the Nest Ice Cream Van will be travelling around the London Design Festival serving never before tasted ice creams that encompass the essence of home and the new thermostat colours - black, white and copper.

Nest are also hosting a talk at the V&A on 23 September. Join award winning designer Rocky Jacob in an interactive discussion on how he has used design to create honest, simple designs that have transformed humble household products like the thermostat, smoke alarm and security camera.

17-23 September

Various Locations around the London Design Festival

londondesignfestival.com/nestfor the full itinerary

17-25 September

Events 23-25 September

The first ever London Design Biennale, in partnership with Jaguar and Somerset House, runs from 7-27 September. Installations, artworks, prototypes and designs from 37 countries and territories have come together in an entertaining and inspiring exploration of the role of design in our collective futures. Visitors interact with brand new work by world-leading architects, designers, scientists, writers and artists in a broad, vibrant exhibition that includes large-scale kinetic sculpture, immersive digital installations, culinary pop-ups, performances and VR renderings of the future. Each exhibit is a response to the Biennale’s 2016 theme ‘Utopia by Design’, chosen as part of Somerset House’s UTOPIA 2016: A Year of Imagination and Possibility, to mark the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s text. The resulting commissions are richly varied, including fantastical imaginings of future cities, homages to unrealised utopian proposals of the past, and innovative solutions for issues in 21st-century life. Visitors are able to grab a pomegranate juice, falafel or a wet shave in Annabel Karim Kassar’s meticulous recreation of a bustling Beirut street on the Thames riverfront (Lebanon); influencemischer’traxler’s precarious light sculpture as it moves, dims and brightens in reaction to its spectators (Austria); eat the graphic food of Chung-Ho Tsai in Rain Wu’s tranquil forest-like setting (Taiwan); relax in the mouths of ferocious beasts courtesy of Porky Hefer (South Africa) or wander around the Santander of 2100 in a virtual reality realisation of the smart city’s future (Spain). Jaguar’s bespoke installation reflects its rich history of innovation, and explores how technology has liberated mobility. Underlying much of the Biennale are a number of pressing, universal issues that designers around the world are seeking to address, among them sustainability, migration, pollution, political unrest, water and social equality: Mexican architect Fernando Romero explores the ‘transnational’ border city as a solution for migration and increasing populations; Israel presents an innovative proposal for how first aid might be distributed in disaster zones and Australian Brodie Neill draws attention to – and finds beauty in – ocean-based plastic waste. The UK is represented by London-based design duoEdward Barber and Jay Osgerby. Curated by the Victoria and Albert Museum, their 14-metre kinetic sculpture and exploration of the nation’s relationship with wind energy will occupy the centre of the iconic Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court. Other leading institutions, museums and organisations representing their countries include the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (USA), DAMnº magazine(Belgium), German Design Council, MAK (Austria), Moscow Design Museum (Russia), Triennale Design Museum (Italy), India Design Forum, Southern Guild (South Africa), and The Japan Foundation. The curated, three-week long Biennale is an independent event which will overlap the London Design Festival, complementing its citywide programme of commissions and partner events every two years. The London Design Biennale 2016 runs from 7-27 September 2016 at Somerset House.

Open daily from 11amTickets: £15/£10 concessionsticketmaster.co.uk/venue/254655

LONDON DESIGN BIENNALE

7-27 September

Somerset House

The Wish Machine by Autoban, TurkeyForecast by Barber & Osgerby, UK

DESIGN DESTINATIONS The London Design Festival is a platform for the capital’s major trade shows. These Design Destinations are crucial for designers and brands to present their products to UK and international markets.

100% Design, at Olympia from 21-24 September, is the capital’s biggest contemporary design show for industry professionals, with five sections comprising Interiors, Workplace, Kitchens & Bathrooms, Design & Build and Emerging Brands. This year’s theme is ‘Experience’, which will be explored across the show through specially commissioned installations, immersive experiences and sensory experiments.

Making its debut at the London Design Festival 2016, from 21-24 September in the unique setting of Olympia’s Pillar Halls, is LuxuryMade, a new show dedicated to contemporary decorative interiors which will showcase luxury furniture, fabrics and carpets, lighting and accessories.

Showcasing luxury design brands, Decorex International will be at Syon Park from 18-21 September. Offering a mix of new and established companies, visitors can see collections from more than 400 exhibitors presenting the latest designs from furniture, lighting, fabrics and decorative accessories to kitchens and bathrooms. This year sees the return of ‘Future Heritage’, curated by Corinne Julius, showing work by some of the leading names in British craft and showcasing new materials and techniques.

Celebrating its sixth year, designjunction is taking up residence in a new home in King’s Cross from 22-25 September with a programme of design exhibitions, installations, retail experience, events and workshops based upon the theme, ‘Immersed in Design’. A strong line-up of UK and international design brands – both established and emerging – have been confirmed to take part. Against the backdrop of King’s Cross, participating brands will be present across four main exhibitions: Cubitt House, The Canopy, Granary Square and The Crossing.

Tent London and Super Brands London return to the Truman Brewery in East London as the London Design Fair. For the first time, the fair hosts not two but three floors of design, showcasing 250 independent designers and studios, 200 global brands and 15 country gallery showcases. This year the fair has invited India as guest country to unveil the best of its contemporary design in “This Is India”. New country showcases will include, China, Portugal and Switzerland. Another exciting new initiative is Trentino Collaborations, which directly connects four British designers with four Trentino - based manufacturers to create new collections which will be launched at the fair.

Now in its tenth year, the London Design Festival pays tribute annually to designers who are making or have made a significant difference to our lives through their innovation, originality and imagination. Initially offering one medal, there are now four individual medals which have become highly coveted accolades in the world of design. This year, internationally recognised London- based property investment company British Land will be partnering as Event Supporter for the second time with Panerai on board again as Headline Supporter.

The British Land Celebration of Design will recognise four different designers, each renowned in their own fields. The four categories this year include The Panerai London Design Medal, the Swarovski Emerging Talent Medal, the Airbnb Design Innovation Medal and the Johnson Tiles Lifetime Achievement Medal.

Once again the London Design Festival will present an exhibition showcasing work by the winners of the British Land Celebration of Design within a specially built pavilion in Exchange Square at Broadgate. This will feature a range of photography, furniture, installations and lighting to illustrate the breadth and achievement of each winner’s work and why the judges chose them. To mark the ten year anniversary of the medal, there will also be an exhibition of retrospective winners at this location within the Shoreditch Design Triangle District.

The Awards Ceremony will take place in the new Switch House extension to Tate Modern on Tuesday 20 September.

THE BRITISH LAND CELEBRATION OF DESIGN

In 2016 there are seven official Design Districts spread across the capital during the Festival. Design Districts are areas where there are distinct concentrations of design activity and events that can be traversed easily on foot. Each District is organised locally and independently under the umbrella of the London Design Festival. This year the Brixton Design Trail makes its debut as a new District.

Bankside Design District returns for its second year, running east to west along the Thames from Borough Market to Oxo Tower Wharf. Bankside is a creative hub, home to galleries, creative agencies, design studios and architect’s practices. This year, there is a strong theme around typography and lettering in the programme while many events and activities are lined up, from workshops to walking tours to wine-tastings.

The newest addition to the Design Districts is the Brixton Design Trail. Under the theme Rebel Rebel, the Trail pays homage to the enduring influence of one of the world’s design icons, David Bowie, a Brixton local who redefined the boundaries of creativity and identity. This year’s programme includes large-scale art commissions in public spaces by Animating Brixton, a showcase of young talent on the Brixton Youth Trail, as well as a host of outdoor interactive installations from Brixton Street Gallery.

The original Design District, Brompton Design District celebrates its 10th anniversary of hosting exhibitions by some of the world’s most exciting designers. Curated by Jane Withers, this year’s theme explores the processes and perceptions of Transformation. Activity includes a cocktail reimagined by an alumini of designers including Ron Arad and Tom Dixon, a live presentation of glassmaking by Dechem, as well as a multi-sensory installation by 10 designers exploring the appeal of utopian thinking.

The Chelsea Design Quarter is home to many established interiors specialists and will host a variety of design-led activities during the Festival. The programme includes a new fabric collection from Raoul Textiles, Reinventing Bathing Culture by Roca London Gallery, a pop-exhibition of lighting installations at John Cullen Lighting, Guinevere Antiques, Loomah flooring at Reed Harris, carpets from Deirdre Dyson, as well as sculptures, lighting and furniture from Tom Faulkner. Talisman will also host a ‘pop up’ exhibition for Amy Kent and Anna Burns Objects.

Clerkenwell Design Quarter returns with over fifty new designs from established brands on show along with plenty of opportunities to meet the makers. This year the programme includes a showcase of the top 20 graduate designer makers from across the UK, a fresh look from Viaduct at minimalism in furniture and lighting design, a Creative Links Talks Series at The Goldsmiths’ Centre, as well as an Ice Cream Social hosted by MARK Product. The Barbican and Bocci are collaborating on an immersive light installation.

The Islington Design District is a collaborative event made up of 15 design shops and showrooms in Islington and includes Adventures in Furniture, Aria, Bramwell Brown, canvas home, Curiousa & Curiousa, CTO Lighting, Home & Pantry, Molly Meg, Present & Correct, Quill London, Ruberg Jewellery, SMUG, sofa.com, Timorous Beasties, twentytwentyone and Wallace Sewell. Each partner is holding an exhibition, putting on one-off activities and/or launching new products and exclusives.

The Shoreditch Design Triangle blends together a range of product launches, exhibitions, installations, workshops, talks and tours which will run throughout the London Design Festival. This year’s programme includes the British Land Celebration of Design exhibition at Broadgate Square, site specific interiors and products at Ace Hotel, handmade Mexican designs from Piet Hein Eek and SCP, a space transformed with monochrome Op Art by Lee Broom, Photographs by Jasper Morrison, as well as a social enterprise project making hand crafted cushions and bags by Luna & Curious and Fine Cell Work.

DESIGN DISTRICTS

ABOUT THE LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

The London Design Festival is a key constituent of London’s Autumn creative season, alongside London Fashion Week, Frieze Art Fair and the London Film Festival. Established in 2003 its role is to celebrate and promote London as the world’s design capital and gateway to the International design community.

The Festival works closely with, and receives financial support directly from, the Mayor’s Office – having transferred support from the London Development Agency. The Festival also receives support from Arts Council England, as a National Portfolio Organisation 2012-16.

For Press:Judith Fereday, Deputy Managing DirectorThalia Mills, Senior Account ExecutiveCamron, 7 Floral Street, London WC2E 9DHTel: +44 (0) 20 7420 1700Email: ldfteam@camronpr.com

londondesignfestival.com #LDF16twitter.com/L_D_Ffacebook.com/LondonDesignFestivalinstagram.com/L_D_F_officialplus.google.com/+LondonDesignFestival

ABOUT THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design with collections unrivalledin their scope and diversity. It was established to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A’s collections, which span over 5,000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world, continue to intrigue, inspire and inform.

vam.ac.ukfacebook.com/Victoriaandalbertmuseumtwitter.com/V_and_AInstagram.com/vamuseum

HEADLINE PARTNERBRITISH LAND

British Land are one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies. They own, manage, develop and finance high quality commercial property, focused on UK retail and London offices. Their properties are home to over 1,200 different organisations from international brands to local start-ups. Their objective is to deliver long-term and sustainable total returns to their shareholders and they do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. Their properties are well connected and designed and they use their placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them, and meet the growing expectations of occupiers and customers.They work with leading designers to create places where people want to work, shop and live.

britishland.com@BritishLandPLC #PlacesPeoplePrefer twitter.com/BritishLandPlcfacebook.com/BritishLandPlcinstagram.com/BritishLandPlc