20th March 2025
March news: What sustainability actually looks like
The V&A’s Make Good conference discusses natural materials; residents of Regent’s Park Estate shape a bold new public art trail; plus Erect Architecture, alma-nac and Somer join Zetteler’s network.
Silver birch log with bark removed. Image by Jez Ralph, courtesy of Material Cultures.
Make Good
Online talks about living and building with nature
Online talks about living and building with nature
Although in-person tickets for the V&A’s hotly awaited annual symposium Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures have been snapped up, rest assured: you can still catch the conversations online if you sign up now.
Kicking off on Wednesday, 19 March, from 2pm to 6:45pm, the afternoon of thought-provoking talks – from foresters, material specialists, authors, architects, producers and makers – explores how designers and consumers can develop a closer relationship to the natural world. Zetteler is proud to champion the project, and will be eagerly listening in. And, pro-tip: don’t miss Material Cultures’ exhibition display in the museum’s Susan R Weber Furniture Gallery, South Kensington.
Against the grain
Kicking off on Wednesday, 19 March, from 2pm to 6:45pm, the afternoon of thought-provoking talks – from foresters, material specialists, authors, architects, producers and makers – explores how designers and consumers can develop a closer relationship to the natural world. Zetteler is proud to champion the project, and will be eagerly listening in. And, pro-tip: don’t miss Material Cultures’ exhibition display in the museum’s Susan R Weber Furniture Gallery, South Kensington.
Against the grain
Tumbling Bay Playground by Erect Architecture, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Photo by Land Use Consultants.
Erect Architecture
Award-winning female-founded practice with a penchant for play
Award-winning female-founded practice with a penchant for play
For over two decades, Erect Architecture has been focused on building a public realm that works for the common good. The RIBA-chartered practice was founded in London in 2003 by architects Barbara Kaucky and Susanne Tutsch, and today comprises a small and dynamic team of committed architects and designers with a shared culture of collaboration, curiosity and care.
Big admirers of Erect’s commitment to empowering and enriching its team, its track record in community architecture and playspaces, and its positive vision for the built environment, Zetteler is working with the studio as it celebrates 21 years in practice and begins its third decade with a renewed emphasis on public space and landscaping.
Standing up for the common good
Big admirers of Erect’s commitment to empowering and enriching its team, its track record in community architecture and playspaces, and its positive vision for the built environment, Zetteler is working with the studio as it celebrates 21 years in practice and begins its third decade with a renewed emphasis on public space and landscaping.
Standing up for the common good
Artwork by Corbin Shaw. Photography by Richard Eaton.
Two Temple Place
Last chance to catch the unmissable show reframing discourse on working-class art
Last chance to catch the unmissable show reframing discourse on working-class art
‘Unmissable’ might get bandied around a bit too much, but it’s more than appropriate here. Lives Less Ordinary puts Britain’s class system under the spotlight through a captivating selection of working-class artists from the 20th century to the present day. The exhibition builds upon a burgeoning critical conversation about inequality and culture, introducing fresh perspectives that have been overlooked for too long.
The show continues until 20 April and, over the next few weeks, a number of workshops, tours and talks will take place. On 19 March, WAX Atelier are hosting a Spring Rush Candle Dipping Workshop. The next day, on the 20th, there’s a curator’s tour of the exhibition; and on 27 March, you can hear about George Shaw and his Books.
Go, go, go!
The show continues until 20 April and, over the next few weeks, a number of workshops, tours and talks will take place. On 19 March, WAX Atelier are hosting a Spring Rush Candle Dipping Workshop. The next day, on the 20th, there’s a curator’s tour of the exhibition; and on 27 March, you can hear about George Shaw and his Books.
Go, go, go!
Somer workshop in Frome, Somerset (UK). Image by Elliot Sheppard, courtesy of Somer.
Somer
Meet Frome’s finest: a circular-design kitchen studio with clever cabinetry
Meet Frome’s finest: a circular-design kitchen studio with clever cabinetry
Founded by joiner and carpenter Will Floyd-Maclean in the famously independent-minded town of Frome in Somerset, Somer produces freestanding modular kitchen-cabinet systems designed to adapt and crafted to endure. Made using solid timber, and finished with natural paints, oils and stains, Somer’s cabinets and shelving celebrate texture and materiality.
Repairable, reusable and recyclable, they embody a cradle-to-cradle model of manufacture, bringing lasting value to the space and contributing to a more sustainable future. By offering an alternative to the single-use, wasteful world of the fitted kitchen, the Somer team is laying down a much-needed challenge to throwaway consumer culture – and making beautiful furniture in the process.
Kitchens with a conscience
Repairable, reusable and recyclable, they embody a cradle-to-cradle model of manufacture, bringing lasting value to the space and contributing to a more sustainable future. By offering an alternative to the single-use, wasteful world of the fitted kitchen, the Somer team is laying down a much-needed challenge to throwaway consumer culture – and making beautiful furniture in the process.
Kitchens with a conscience
Tooting Works by alma-nac. Photo by Jack Hobhouse.
alma-nac
Building sustainable spaces for the social good
Building sustainable spaces for the social good
alma-nac is a next-generation architecture studio framing a new way of thinking about the built environment – one that puts its collaborative spirit and social consciousness at the forefront.
Its reputation was built on ingenious retrofits, alongside a strong line in self-initiated and pro bono work – including the community-driven programme Design for All, which offers charities free professional architectural support for building projects. alma-nac’s dynamic participatory design approach has seen the team tackling major housing, workspace, cultural and education schemes across the UK – all underpinned by a commitment to the social good – stirred up with a palpable sense of joy.
A sustainable revolution 16 years in the making
Its reputation was built on ingenious retrofits, alongside a strong line in self-initiated and pro bono work – including the community-driven programme Design for All, which offers charities free professional architectural support for building projects. alma-nac’s dynamic participatory design approach has seen the team tackling major housing, workspace, cultural and education schemes across the UK – all underpinned by a commitment to the social good – stirred up with a palpable sense of joy.
A sustainable revolution 16 years in the making
Photos left to right, Dame Zandra Rhodes and House of Hackney, courtesy of Museum of the Home.
Museum of the Home
Lots of love: community-outreach auction opens on 21–24 March
Lots of love: community-outreach auction opens on 21–24 March
The Museum of the Home called, and the creative community answered. Its upcoming online auction is raising much-needed funds for Living Better Together, a social engagement and community outreach programme that drives positive change beyond the museum’s walls, and there are some distinctly covetable gifts up for the bidding.
From Friday 21 to Sunday 23 March 2025, you can do good while picking up pieces from the likes of Dame Zandra Rhodes, House of Hackney, Spring Restaurant, the Hoxton, Troy Town Pottery, Sophie Tea, and many more. Special prizes available include a garden design consultation from Will Scholey, a ‘day on the flower farm’ with The School of Sustainable Floristry and an architectural consultation from Sarah Featherstone or Archmongers.
Paddles up!
From Friday 21 to Sunday 23 March 2025, you can do good while picking up pieces from the likes of Dame Zandra Rhodes, House of Hackney, Spring Restaurant, the Hoxton, Troy Town Pottery, Sophie Tea, and many more. Special prizes available include a garden design consultation from Will Scholey, a ‘day on the flower farm’ with The School of Sustainable Floristry and an architectural consultation from Sarah Featherstone or Archmongers.
Paddles up!
Clay Chronicles, a ceramic bookshelf commemorating a local library, created collaboratively with residents by social practice group Clayground Collective.
Old Diorama Arts Centre
A new resident-led art trail through Camden’s largest housing estate
A new resident-led art trail through Camden’s largest housing estate
Next month, Old Diorama Arts Centre (ODAC) unveils the Regent’s Park Estate Story Trail, an exciting resident-led socially engaged public art trail through Regent’s Park Estate in Euston. Camden’s largest social housing community, Regent’s Park Estate has a diverse population of more than 12,000 people, who are currently living through major neighbourhood upheaval linked to the development of HS2 and the wider Euston area.
Described by the residents as ‘a glimmer of light’, the new trail features 12 site-specific installations comprising 28 new public artworks from 10 commissioned artists and collectives across the estate.
Join the launch party
Described by the residents as ‘a glimmer of light’, the new trail features 12 site-specific installations comprising 28 new public artworks from 10 commissioned artists and collectives across the estate.
Join the launch party
Candle Holder No.12 by Andu Masebo (left), inspired by the the colours of the coast (right).
Andu Masebo
New colourway for a contemporary classic
New colourway for a contemporary classic
Andu Masebo’s Candle Holder No.12 is a beautifully simple piece with an ingenious design story. Repurposing the tubular steel frame of a car exhaust pipe, he has crafted everything from furniture to domestic objects – an ode to reuse and materiality.
One of his best-selling designs, No.12 is now available in a new colourway: Celtic sea blue, inspired by the deep aqua tones of crashing waves and the green moss of coastal shorelines.
Buy now for £110
One of his best-selling designs, No.12 is now available in a new colourway: Celtic sea blue, inspired by the deep aqua tones of crashing waves and the green moss of coastal shorelines.
Buy now for £110
Portrait of Anne Duk Hee Jordan. Installation view of I Will Always Weather With You, 2023 at the Bass, Miami Beach. Photo by Charles Roussel.
UP Projects
Dual-site commission for artist Anne Duk Hee Jordan confronts the climate crisis
Dual-site commission for artist Anne Duk Hee Jordan confronts the climate crisis
The first leg of German-Korean artist Anne Duk Hee Jordan’s debut UK public project, ‘Bodies of Water’, opens at Haigh Hall in Wigan, Greater Manchester, on 4 June. Commissioned by UP Projects, the piece will be followed by a second public artwork at A la Ronde in Exmouth, East Devon, and a symposium in Liverpool.
The project explores the cyclic movement of water, flowing from the environment through humans and other living things. Jordan’s sculptural works harvest, filter and circulate rainwater, and each references the history of the location, the insights of local communities and the knowledge of scientists, researchers and conservation specialists.
Jordan is available for interview! Email up@zetteler.co.uk to arrange.
Dive in
The project explores the cyclic movement of water, flowing from the environment through humans and other living things. Jordan’s sculptural works harvest, filter and circulate rainwater, and each references the history of the location, the insights of local communities and the knowledge of scientists, researchers and conservation specialists.
Jordan is available for interview! Email up@zetteler.co.uk to arrange.
Dive in
+44 (0)7791 568890
Unit 73B Regent Studios
8 Andrews Road
London
E8 4QN
8 Andrews Road
London
E8 4QN