20th April 2022
April News: London gets a new landmark, Design Can gets a boost, and JA Projects dresses up the V&A
TOG prepares to launch a milestone in sustainable architecture, TAKT unveils its answer to WFH, and team Zetteler pack for a *long* journey…
Installation view of Fashioning Masculinities at the V&A. Image courtesy of JA Projects.
JA Projects dresses up the V&A
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear is the first major V&A exhibition to celebrate the power, artistry and diversity of masculine attire and appearance – and we have architecture practice JA Projects to thank for its design.
The immersive exhibition is a sensory and sometimes provocative journey through the social role and expressive meaning of masculine fashion from antiquity to the modern day. Behind the practice’s thinking for the design was the recognition of how both fashion and architecture are, at their core, about people and society. Founder Jayden Ali said: “In how we dress, we make decisions about how we want to project ourselves into the world – how we want to be seen, what we want to say and how we want others to engage with us. At scale, ‘fashion’ starts to speak about these values at the level of the collective.”
We have a series of brand new images from the JA Projects' team (in addition to the official set provided by the V&A), get in touch if you'd like to see them!
Follow JA Projects on Instagram; and get V&A tickets to see the show.
The immersive exhibition is a sensory and sometimes provocative journey through the social role and expressive meaning of masculine fashion from antiquity to the modern day. Behind the practice’s thinking for the design was the recognition of how both fashion and architecture are, at their core, about people and society. Founder Jayden Ali said: “In how we dress, we make decisions about how we want to project ourselves into the world – how we want to be seen, what we want to say and how we want others to engage with us. At scale, ‘fashion’ starts to speak about these values at the level of the collective.”
We have a series of brand new images from the JA Projects' team (in addition to the official set provided by the V&A), get in touch if you'd like to see them!
Follow JA Projects on Instagram; and get V&A tickets to see the show.
Portrait of Freehaus co-founders (L–R) Jonathan Hagos and Tom Bell. Photo by Ivan Jones.
Freehaus believes in good architecture
We’re proud to introduce our latest client, Freehaus: a nimble, sustainability-driven studio that passionately believes architecture has a positive role to play in society. Founded in 2012 by architects Tom Bell and Jonathan Hagos, it's a practice rooted in empathy, equity, transparency and fairness, and has spent the last decade building a reputation for sensitive and sustainable design projects, with social and environmental impact at their heart.
The Freehaus team have a host of ambitious residential, commercial and community projects under their belt – soon to include transforming the Africa Centre in Southwark – and there’s plenty more to come.
Watch this space, and in the meantime, check them out on Instagram.
The Freehaus team have a host of ambitious residential, commercial and community projects under their belt – soon to include transforming the Africa Centre in Southwark – and there’s plenty more to come.
Watch this space, and in the meantime, check them out on Instagram.
Construction is under way on The Black & White building by TOG and Waugh Thistleton Architects.
TOG’s timber tower triumph
Design-led workplace provider TOG and timber-construction experts Waugh Thistleton Architects have created a landmark in sustainable architecture in the heart of the Shoreditch cityscape. Standing 17.8 metres above the street, The Black & White Building is both the tallest mass-timber office building constructed from the ground up in Central London and the first TOG has built from scratch.
Built from engineered wood, the building is designed to minimise carbon in both construction and operation, creating 37% less embodied carbon than a comparable concrete structure and acting as a long-term carbon store for 945 tonnes of CO2. It represents a major industry benchmark for innovative and sustainable commercial construction. On top of its eco credentials, The Black & White Building features beautiful (and equally environmentally sensitive) interiors by Daytrip Studio, and packs in a rooftop terrace and a dedicated yoga studio – on top of everything ambitious businesses of all sizes might need to thrive.
The Black & White Building is due to open its doors in September and is set to make a splash – if you’re interested in covering the story, be sure to let us know.
Built from engineered wood, the building is designed to minimise carbon in both construction and operation, creating 37% less embodied carbon than a comparable concrete structure and acting as a long-term carbon store for 945 tonnes of CO2. It represents a major industry benchmark for innovative and sustainable commercial construction. On top of its eco credentials, The Black & White Building features beautiful (and equally environmentally sensitive) interiors by Daytrip Studio, and packs in a rooftop terrace and a dedicated yoga studio – on top of everything ambitious businesses of all sizes might need to thrive.
The Black & White Building is due to open its doors in September and is set to make a splash – if you’re interested in covering the story, be sure to let us know.
Image courtesy of Open City.
Meet Accelerate, Open City’s mentorship scheme
We're so proud to be supporting the work of Open City’s programme to increase diversity in the built-environment sector: Accelerate. Based on the belief that the architectural fabric of a city should reflect the communities that it serves, Accelerate aims to give young people a voice in the shaping of the built environment as well as a stake in it. Hundreds of 16–18-year-olds have taken part over the last 10 years, with 70% of them going on to be offered university places to study architecture and related subjects.
And we have an important news announcement, too. Applications are open for students – and for professional mentors and businesses. If you’d like to support this extraordinary and vital scheme, £1000 per year (approx £85 per month) supports a young person's journey through the whole programme (we've just paid up and we are so excited for Zetteler to be an official supporter). Help us spread the world.
And we have an important news announcement, too. Applications are open for students – and for professional mentors and businesses. If you’d like to support this extraordinary and vital scheme, £1000 per year (approx £85 per month) supports a young person's journey through the whole programme (we've just paid up and we are so excited for Zetteler to be an official supporter). Help us spread the world.
Lifestyle shot of Cross Task Chair designed by Pearson Lloyd for TAKT. Image courtesy of TAKT.
TAKT’s new eco chair says: ‘WFH, but with style’
With most of us working from home rather often and more companies embracing flexible working models, it’s exciting to see our home-office furniture options getting a serious upgrade. TAKT’s new Cross Task Chair designed by Pearson Lloyd offers functional office seating that will also look beautiful in your home.
This versatile, ergonomic task chair is ideally proportioned for compact spaces, and embraces a lightweight look with elegantly minimal material. Easy to operate with unobtrusive knobs and levers, the chair has a swivel base and pneumatic lift, and offers an intuitive range of dynamic movement, allowing you to lean backwards and forwards, relieving tension and encouraging postural change.
The chair launches on 26 April. Get in touch if you’d like high-res images, or to speak with designers Pearson Lloyd or the team at TAKT.
Have a seat
This versatile, ergonomic task chair is ideally proportioned for compact spaces, and embraces a lightweight look with elegantly minimal material. Easy to operate with unobtrusive knobs and levers, the chair has a swivel base and pneumatic lift, and offers an intuitive range of dynamic movement, allowing you to lean backwards and forwards, relieving tension and encouraging postural change.
The chair launches on 26 April. Get in touch if you’d like high-res images, or to speak with designers Pearson Lloyd or the team at TAKT.
Have a seat
Bisila Noha, Spanish-born ceramic artist based in London. Image courtesy of Bisila Noha.
Bisila Noha: activist, advocate, artist
Bisila Noha’s work has been close to our hearts for a very long time. Whether she’s working as the co-director for Lon-art Creative, project managing Design Can alongside Sabine, or making beautiful socially engaged ceramic pieces, there’s a palpable passion in everything she does. That’s why we’re so happy to announce her as one of our new clients.
Her practice as a ceramic artist encompasses wheel-thrown ceramics with marbled slip decoration depicting abstract landscapes, as well as sculptural pieces exploring notions of craft, belonging and value. Her work has featured in shows at Collect and the brand new Harewood Biennial, and turned everyone's heads at Body Vessel Clay at Two Temple Place, London (which closes this weekend, don't miss it!).
Follow Bisila on Instagram for more.
Her practice as a ceramic artist encompasses wheel-thrown ceramics with marbled slip decoration depicting abstract landscapes, as well as sculptural pieces exploring notions of craft, belonging and value. Her work has featured in shows at Collect and the brand new Harewood Biennial, and turned everyone's heads at Body Vessel Clay at Two Temple Place, London (which closes this weekend, don't miss it!).
Follow Bisila on Instagram for more.
Design Can launched in 2019, and has been a voice for an inclusive design industry ever since. Photo by Holly Whittaker.
Design industry patrons rally behind Design Can
Kickstarter, Pearson Lloyd, Royal Designers for Industry and HØLTE are among the first to support Design Can, as part of a new business patronage scheme.
Launched in 2019, Design Can has become a leading voice in the fight to make the creative industries inclusive to everyone. Now, thanks to guaranteed ongoing external funding, the campaign’s future is secure. The core group of patrons will each donate at least £100 a month (£1,200 per year), which will cover the core running costs of the existing Design Can programme as well as taking it to the next stage in its evolution – including updates to the resources website, deeper industry research, and an expanded events programme.
If you, or a business you know, is interested in supporting Design Can, please get in touch!
Launched in 2019, Design Can has become a leading voice in the fight to make the creative industries inclusive to everyone. Now, thanks to guaranteed ongoing external funding, the campaign’s future is secure. The core group of patrons will each donate at least £100 a month (£1,200 per year), which will cover the core running costs of the existing Design Can programme as well as taking it to the next stage in its evolution – including updates to the resources website, deeper industry research, and an expanded events programme.
If you, or a business you know, is interested in supporting Design Can, please get in touch!
Concept sketch for Revo, by Pearson Lloyd.
Build your own workspace: Pearson Lloyd goes modular for Profim
Launching at Clerkenwell Design Week next month, Pearson Lloyd has designed a groundbreaking new modular furniture series for leading office-seating specialist Profim. Named Revo, the new collection represents a major leap forward in bringing the principles of circular design to the world of office furniture.
Featuring material innovations in both upholstery and construction, Revo is a family of individual elements (pouffes, screens and tables of different sizes) that can be connected to create dozens of configurations, allowing you to tailor the atmosphere in spaces large and small, and to adapt to everything from solo work to collaboration within a team. The soft, generous and lightweight forms are designed to be inviting and comfortable, and are created using expanding foam, which ensures there’s no need for wood, staples or glue. Each piece can be moved easily, reassembled as needed, and when the time comes, be sustainably repaired or recycled.
More info and images to follow soon, we're keeping it a little mysterious for now...
Featuring material innovations in both upholstery and construction, Revo is a family of individual elements (pouffes, screens and tables of different sizes) that can be connected to create dozens of configurations, allowing you to tailor the atmosphere in spaces large and small, and to adapt to everything from solo work to collaboration within a team. The soft, generous and lightweight forms are designed to be inviting and comfortable, and are created using expanding foam, which ensures there’s no need for wood, staples or glue. Each piece can be moved easily, reassembled as needed, and when the time comes, be sustainably repaired or recycled.
More info and images to follow soon, we're keeping it a little mysterious for now...
A greener way to travel... Norway's Flåm railway. Photograph: Hilda Weges/Getty Images.
Byway Travel is reinventing travel, slowly
If we are to take any personal responsibility for the climate, rethinking our relationship with flying is essential. Companies such as Byway Travel are offering a serious alternative, making trips across trains, bikes, buses and ferries easier and more accessible than ever before. Byway is the company taking us to Oslo this weekend and back as part of our forthcoming Norwegian Presence press trip. They’ve been amazing, and we think the whole world should know about them!
It’s said that a great trip is about the journey as much as the destination – and Byway are brilliant at making this a reality. Whether you’re looking for a scenic tour across the mountains of Scotland, or a sun-drenched beach-hop along the Côte d’Azur, Byway can get you there.
No plane, all gain.
It’s said that a great trip is about the journey as much as the destination – and Byway are brilliant at making this a reality. Whether you’re looking for a scenic tour across the mountains of Scotland, or a sun-drenched beach-hop along the Côte d’Azur, Byway can get you there.
No plane, all gain.
+44 (0)7791 568890
Unit 73B Regent Studios
8 Andrews Road
London
E8 4QN
8 Andrews Road
London
E8 4QN