Plastic: Material of the Year

Returning to London Design Fair for a second year, Material of the Year is the annual showcase set up to celebrate and explore the materials with the biggest impact on global design today. For the 2018 edition, the London Design Fair team have picked plastic to shine the spotlight on. Through commissioned contributions from four global design studios, each on a mission to tackle the ecological impact of plastic products, Material for the Year 2018 offers a manifesto for sustainable making. Brighton-based studio Weez & Merl are demonstrating how carrier bags can become lighting; Japanese designer Kodai Iwamoto has tapped into the techniques of glassblowing to create a collection of sculptural vessels from plumber’s piping; Charlotte Kidger is conjuring furniture from foam dust; and Dutch designer Dirk Vander Kooij has built his own extrusion machine, allowing him to fashion old CDs into an array of beautifully layered interiors products. Material for the Year: Plastic, Beyond the Chipper will be on show at the Old Truman Brewery on 20–23 September.

Having worked on the first Material of the Year show with Jesmonite in 2017, we were looking forward to finding out what the follow-up would be, but, we admit it, when London Design Fair told us the 2018 Material of the Year was going to be plastic, we began edging uncomfortably out of the room. BUT, when we realised the project was actively working to solve the sustainability problem, we jumped back aboard.  We’re very happy to play a part in sharing the work of future-focused designers making the world better, and are confident that Material of the Year will one of the most surprising and inspiring events of LDF 2018.

londondesignfair.co.uk