26th May 2022
May News: New London landmarks, Clerkenwell launches and the Milan line-up
May news: AHEC and Studio Swine are boxing clever in Milan; Freehaus design the Africa Centre in Southwark; and Pearson Lloyd bring circular design to the world of contract furniture
The Freehaus Project Team with The Africa Centre.
Freehaus retrofits The Africa Centre
Pan-African culture takes centre stage in Southwark
Pan-African culture takes centre stage in Southwark
Freehaus founders Jonathan Hagos and Tom Bell won the commission through an open call, pitching a vision based on the essential elements that reflect the dynamism of the continent. Offering numerous hubs for dialogue, exchange and the sharing of ideas, the Centre houses a cafe, bar and lounge, a gallery and performance space, a digital learning and research centre and a business suite.
D2 by Mole Architects at Design District. Image by Taran Wilkhu.
Design District launches D2 by Mole Architects
Iridescent building gives home to eclectic creative businesses
The second Design District building designed by Mole Architects, D2 is technically speaking, the smallest on the site. Small it may be, but it’s far from innocuous. D2’s shimmering metal exterior changes colour as you move around it, evoking a gas flame – a subtle nod to Greenwich Peninsula’s history as the home of what was once Europe’s largest gasworks.
Reflecting the district as a whole, D2 is home to a varied mix of enterprises – including fashion designer Helen Kirkum, a creative agency, and maker of cycling accessories, Wizard Works – all taking advantage of Mole’s highly flexible workspace design.
Iridescent building gives home to eclectic creative businesses
Since its launch, Design District has grabbed headlines for its world-leading architecture and diverse, dynamic creative community. Now 92% occupied, the district is well on the way to fulfilling its aim of offering a permanent home to London’s creative businesses. The official launch of timber-built D2 is the next chapter in the story.
The second Design District building designed by Mole Architects, D2 is technically speaking, the smallest on the site. Small it may be, but it’s far from innocuous. D2’s shimmering metal exterior changes colour as you move around it, evoking a gas flame – a subtle nod to Greenwich Peninsula’s history as the home of what was once Europe’s largest gasworks.
Reflecting the district as a whole, D2 is home to a varied mix of enterprises – including fashion designer Helen Kirkum, a creative agency, and maker of cycling accessories, Wizard Works – all taking advantage of Mole’s highly flexible workspace design.
AHEC’s exhibition draws attention to sustainably managed forests. Photo courtesy of AHEC.
AHEC x Studio Swine present Forest Tales
Epic ‘no waste’ installation set to open Milan
Epic ‘no waste’ installation set to open Milan
From exhibitions on slow design and emerging talent to supporting designers to take experimental approaches, AHEC has driven a number of innovative projects over the past few years – highlights from which will take pride of place at Milan’s Triennale this year.
Curated by Studio Swine, Forest Tales brings together 22 pieces of furniture from three AHEC projects alongside a brand new collection from Riva. Built from the crates that transported the furniture to Milan (and which will take it home again afterwards) and featuring an eye-catching hand-painted anamorphic forest mural, the exhibition is set to be one of the biggest head-turners of this year’s festival.
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Victoria modular workbench in American red oak. Photography by Petr Krejci.
Benchmark debuts new designs at CDW 2022
Solid-wood modular collection in American red oak and British ash
Solid-wood modular collection in American red oak and British ash
Embracing modular design and sustainable material choices, Benchmark’s latest additions to the Victoria family of solid-wood workplace furniture are a remarkable response to both shifts in work culture and the breakdown of Europe’s timber supply supply chains. Working with longstanding collaborator, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Benchmark selected red oak for a number of pieces in the collection and British-grown ash, a beautiful and valuable resource which we won't have in this country for much longer due to the crisis of dieback.
Exhibited at the British Collection during Clerkenwell Design Week, the new pieces – including a modular workbench and folding meeting table – are crafted from solid timber and features softly chamfered edge profiles – a hallmark of the Victoria collection that gives every member of the family a sense of warmth, tactility and comfort.
The Revo workplace furniture collection by Pearson Lloyd for Profim.
Pearson Lloyd debuts new sustainable seating system
Revo-lutionary modular furniture collection from Profim introduces circular design principles to workplace sector
Revo-lutionary modular furniture collection from Profim introduces circular design principles to workplace sector
Conversations about sustainability often focus on individual consumer choices, or major questions of manufacturing and production. The world of contract furniture hovers somewhere in between – large-scale enough to make an impact, but not public enough to receive much attention. So when Pearson Lloyd recently turned their attention to implementing circular-economy principles through their Revo furniture collection for Profim, it represents a significant intervention into the sector.
The Revo collection includes sofas, benches, screens, stools and tables in softly contoured, organic shapes and, due to its modular design, can enable 96 distinct configurations for a range of work styles and office sizes. This versatility is largely down to the material. Revo’s use of recycled expanded polypropylene (REPP) makes it 40% lighter than comparable furniture – and ensures that almost all materials can be returned to the production cycle at the end of its life.
Norwegian Presence's new home in the Galleria Milano, Brera.
Norwegian Presence moves to Brera
MATTER presents a fresh take on nature from Norway
MATTER presents a fresh take on nature from Norway
With a new director – Cecilie Molvær Jørgensen – at the helm, a slew of new designers and manufacturers, and a new venue, Norwegian Presence returns to Milan feeling fresher than ever.
At the epicentre of Milan Design Week, Norwegian Presence 2022 will take place beneath the spectacular mural ceiling of Galleria Milano in Brera for the first time. Setting out to explore narratives between landscape and materials, the Norwegians debut the ‘Material Lab’ – a special exhibit that chronicles the transition from raw material to finished product, demonstrating how a material’s inherent natural, visual and textural characteristics are expressed in the final design.
Inestable (1993) by Enric Miralles, comprising several flat boards that can be stood upright, revealing concealed drawers and book rests to aid reading.
AHEC brings Perpetuum Mobile to Milan
Enric Miralles’ extraordinary furniture revealed
Enric Miralles’ extraordinary furniture revealed
Enric Miralles was a giant of postmodern architecture, but few people know that the visionary behind the Scottish Parliament building had a secret life as a furniture designer. A unique exhibition in Milan is set to change that. Supported by AHEC, Perpetuum Mobile at the University of Milan brings nine of the furniture pieces that Miralles designed with his partner Benedetta Tagliabue for their home in Barcelona.
The exhibition includes tables, seating and shelving designed between 1992 and 1999 but never put into commercial production. Now, they have been painstakingly recreated from drawings and documents from Miralles’ private archives using sustainable American hardwoods. Although each piece is unique, they all demonstrate Miralles’ vision of the ‘house in motion’ – a domestic space in which each piece of furniture does not have a defined place or set purpose, but can be moved or modified to meet the needs of the moment.
Entrance lobby of 210 Euston Road. Photo by Simon Bevan.
TOG and Universal Design Studio create a new institution
Post-pandemic work culture gets a beautiful new home
210 Euston Road is located in the Knowledge Quarter – the thriving historic heart of London that is home to the British Library, the Bartlett School of Architecture and Google, among others. Taking inspiration from the surroundings, TOG worked with Universal Design Studio to design their own modern-day institution suited to the contemporary world of work. Combining a variety of workspaces, from private booths for calls to lounge spaces for casual working and meeting rooms for team collaboration, with a richly detailed environment full of warmth and texture, 210 is truly a next-level workspace.
Post-pandemic work culture gets a beautiful new home
Here’s a big one. Leading workspace provider TOG recently opened its 40th space in London, one of its largest to date and its first post-Covid.
210 Euston Road is located in the Knowledge Quarter – the thriving historic heart of London that is home to the British Library, the Bartlett School of Architecture and Google, among others. Taking inspiration from the surroundings, TOG worked with Universal Design Studio to design their own modern-day institution suited to the contemporary world of work. Combining a variety of workspaces, from private booths for calls to lounge spaces for casual working and meeting rooms for team collaboration, with a richly detailed environment full of warmth and texture, 210 is truly a next-level workspace.
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8 Andrews Road
London
E8 4QN
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London
E8 4QN