London Design Festival

After the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, there is another party coming to town. From 14-23 September the annual London Design Festival returns to celebrate a decade of design. The annual design event was created in 2003 to pay tribute to the capital’s creativity and innovation, and ten years later the festival encompasses 300 events across London where you can admire the best of global design.

For the famous Landmark Project, various London public spaces invite designers and architects to experiment with new materials.  This year Trafalgar Square will host BE OPEN Sound Portal, a design concept by the team of Elena Baturin, Russian businesswoman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, focusing on acoustics and sound. In a black rubberised structure with finely-tuned audio technologies, musicians and sound-artists have been commissioned to create a special soundscape. Away from the bustle of the Trafalgar Square visitors can experience an environment created solely by sound. (19-23 September, free, times to be announced).

The V&A hosts both Mimicry Chairs by Japanese design studio Nendo and Prism by Keiichie Matsuda and the museum opens up usually closed spaces to the public. Mimicry places several chair installations throughout the museum and Prism is a lit-up sculpture transforming the digital output of the city into a patchwork exploring our relationship with the data that controls our lives (14-23 September, free, 10am – 5.45pm).

In east London you can find two exhibitions at the Old Truman Brewery: Super Brands London and Tent London. On the ground floor, Super Brands London presents over 40 international furniture, lighting and interior brands, including Moroso, Diesel with Foscarini, Royal Mosa Ngispen and Allermui. Tent London is located on the top floor; now in its sixth year it’s one of the largest design shows during the London Design Festival, with 200 international exhibitors, and presents the latest in contemporary interior products (20-23 September).

In Mayfair, Anna Casa Interiors celebrates London Design Week with the installation of the Milky Way, a superb light sculpture by Manooi and Swarovski. Created in Budapest as part of 2007 cow parade, the crystal cow features 13,000 crystals and celebrates the symbiosis of Europe’s different cultures and experiences. This dramatic piece will be displayed on an innovative garden designed by Moore Harrison. It is also an opportunity to see the new collection in the showroom and Baxter’s one-off Chestermoon sofa created by acclaimed artist Draga Obradovic (14-23 September).

To find out more about the various exhibitions and events taking place throughout the capital for London Design Festival, visit the website.

The London Design Festival takes place in various venues throughout London from Friday 14 to Sunday 23 September.