9th September 2021
New beginnings: LDF launches, Bureau opens, and a new festival of creativity gets underway
September news: After a year in limbo, the creative industries are back with a bang, as Note lands in Milan, LDF gets its first Designposts, Vaarnii reinvents Finnish furniture, and Design District launches at last.
Note’s latest collaboration with Vestre, an immersive installation bringing nature into the heart of Milan.
Note connects with nature in Milan
Immersive eco-installation for Vestre now open
Immersive eco-installation for Vestre now open
After a mostly festival-free calendar for the last 18 months, Milan is back! Note Design Studio and Vestre have used the hiatus to consider our relationship with nature and reimagine whom – or what – furniture is designed for. The results of their thinking are now on show in a venue on Via Tortona, where a pocket of biodiversity thrives in the heart of the city. Navigated via a winding path, Note’s installation is designed to celebrate the Plus, set to be the world’s most environmentally friendly furniture factory, and showcase Vestre’s new Habitats collection – an experimental outdoor furniture family that serves humans, animals and flora equally, and in the process acts as a template for working in harmony with the landscape rather than imposing upon it.
The commitment to sustainability is more than skin deep. Conscious that international design fairs are wasteful affairs from a planetary perspective, Note and Vestre have built this new installation from the recycled pieces components of the last one they made together. And it’s looking incredible – be sure to get in touch if you need high-res shots.
The commitment to sustainability is more than skin deep. Conscious that international design fairs are wasteful affairs from a planetary perspective, Note and Vestre have built this new installation from the recycled pieces components of the last one they made together. And it’s looking incredible – be sure to get in touch if you need high-res shots.
Early images from the Designpost designers, by Carrie Coningsby (left) and Jason Brooker (right).
Sculptural storytelling
The 10 Designposts of LDF 2021
The 10 Designposts of LDF 2021
For the first time in the festival’s history, LDF’s 10 design districts are each being given their own sculptural tribute. Made by a specially selected group of design students and recent graduates, the Designposts serve as sculptural centrepieces for their district. Clerkenwell’s changing relationship with water over the centuries, for example, is being honoured by Kate Woodcock’s design, whereas Faye Greenwood’s piece in Walthamstow fuses the pattern designs of William Morris with the rich wildlife habitat of the wetlands. While paying tribute to the past, present and future of Greenwich Peninsula, Jason Brooker’s Designpost pushes the possibilities of red oak as a material with a curving, sail-like structure. Each Designpost is unique, using the medium of design to tell a different story of the city.
Created in collaboration with AHEC, Benchmark, Sebastian Cox and Jan Hendzel Studio the 10 pieces serve as starting points for visitors to explore each district and a true celebration of the craft and skills on our Island – and taken together, form a sculpture trail that extends all over the city.
Created in collaboration with AHEC, Benchmark, Sebastian Cox and Jan Hendzel Studio the 10 pieces serve as starting points for visitors to explore each district and a true celebration of the craft and skills on our Island – and taken together, form a sculpture trail that extends all over the city.
The Stilts Side Table, by Philippe Malouin, is simple but effective; a box drawer sits inside a cavity whilst legs support and enclose the volume in a matter-of-fact way; an honest design made from the most honest of materials.
The pine renaissance
New Finnish furniture brand Vaarnii launches at twentytwentyone
New Finnish furniture brand Vaarnii launches at twentytwentyone
Unabashedly bold, materially honest, and totally unique, the ‘brutal yet sophisticated’ new furniture brand Vaarnii bursts onto the scene this month, introducing its first pine-packed product line-up at an exhibition at the twentytwentyone showroom in Clerkenwell. Vaarnii is fulfilling the second half of the design giant’s ‘Back + Forth’ show, which juxtaposes iconic modern furniture from the last-century with the new brand's groundbreaking reinvention of Finland’s design vernacular.
This furniture must be seen – and felt – in person. Do let us know if you’d like a private tour of the collection on 21 September by founder Antti Hirvonen. The launch of the exhibition will start at 6.30pm.
This furniture must be seen – and felt – in person. Do let us know if you’d like a private tour of the collection on 21 September by founder Antti Hirvonen. The launch of the exhibition will start at 6.30pm.
Design Can’s survey graphics are by CHA CHAAN TENG.
Has anything actually changed?
Design Can survey asks whether we’re any closer to equity in design
Design Can survey asks whether we’re any closer to equity in design
Is the design industry actually getting more inclusive? Are opportunities really more equal? Or is it all just lip service and performance?
From BLM to the disproportionate impact of Covid and climate change on marginalised communities, the last year has focused the world’s attention on issues of inequality, but Design Can wants to know how meaningful an impact this has really had.
We’re asking as many people as possible in the design world to share their thoughts on what – if any – progress has been made across their industry. Please take just five minutes (less if you type fast) to complete the Design Can survey. All submissions are anonymous, but the more responses we get, the closer we can be to a meaningful overview of where the design industry stands. Results and insights will be compiled and shared later this year.
From BLM to the disproportionate impact of Covid and climate change on marginalised communities, the last year has focused the world’s attention on issues of inequality, but Design Can wants to know how meaningful an impact this has really had.
We’re asking as many people as possible in the design world to share their thoughts on what – if any – progress has been made across their industry. Please take just five minutes (less if you type fast) to complete the Design Can survey. All submissions are anonymous, but the more responses we get, the closer we can be to a meaningful overview of where the design industry stands. Results and insights will be compiled and shared later this year.
Design District’s event programme includes cutting-edge talks, as well as exhibitions of afro-surrealist digital art, interactive origami, and the transformation of a massive public artwork.
Design District Creates
A month-long festival of ideas on Greenwich Peninsula
A month-long festival of ideas on Greenwich Peninsula
The moment has almost arrived — Design District will open officially on 15 September. And what better way to mark the occasion than with a brand new festival to add to London’s autumn roster? Running from 15 September to 17 October, Design District Creates brings a packed programme of talks, exhibitions, pop-up events and installations to Greenwich Peninsula, centring on the gleaming new Design District at the heart of it.
One of the key events during Design District Creates is a curated talks programme taking over Bureau from 21–23 September, covering a multi-disciplinary array of topics ranging from the sustainable future of the fashion industry to the value and meaning of craft in an increasingly digital world. There’ll be opportunities to get a look inside Design District’s newly opened buildings with architecture tours by Open City, and to sample the international array of food and drinks available in the startling SelgasCano-designed Design District Canteen. Two of the district’s buildings will play host to showcases of rising creative talent – including Art Block, a collaborative exhibition between Design District and NOW Gallery featuring works by Vince Fraser, Charles Emerson and Lisa Wolf.
One of the key events during Design District Creates is a curated talks programme taking over Bureau from 21–23 September, covering a multi-disciplinary array of topics ranging from the sustainable future of the fashion industry to the value and meaning of craft in an increasingly digital world. There’ll be opportunities to get a look inside Design District’s newly opened buildings with architecture tours by Open City, and to sample the international array of food and drinks available in the startling SelgasCano-designed Design District Canteen. Two of the district’s buildings will play host to showcases of rising creative talent – including Art Block, a collaborative exhibition between Design District and NOW Gallery featuring works by Vince Fraser, Charles Emerson and Lisa Wolf.
The Design District Creates programme celebrates the launch of Design District.
Design District
Be there right at the beginning, with us!
Be there right at the beginning, with us!
Yes, Design District is here and launching with a bang next week, but the opening event will be at least 110% better if you’re there to celebrate it with us. The fun starts at 7pm on Wednesday 15 September, with an outdoor party featuring live music and performances, and sweetened with a 50% discount from all vendors in attendance.
Given that this is one of the most ambitious architectural projects in London's recent history, and a landmark moment for the city’s creative industries, it’s not one to miss. See you there?
Given that this is one of the most ambitious architectural projects in London's recent history, and a landmark moment for the city’s creative industries, it’s not one to miss. See you there?
Pearson Lloyd’s new HQ, Yorkton Workshops, acts as a creative hub in Hackney. Photo Taran Wilkhu.
Yorkton Workshops comes alive
Pearson Lloyd’s reinvented workshops now a key Hackney creative hub
Pearson Lloyd’s reinvented workshops now a key Hackney creative hub
From the beginning, Pearson Lloyd were determined that the restored Yorkton Workshops should be more than just their studio’s HQ. Their vision was of a multipurpose workshop, gallery and event space that could become a key venue for East London’s creative community. Now, that’s closer to becoming reality, as the workshops host a double whammy of exhibitions as part of Shoreditch Design Triangle this month.
TAKT will be using the space to showcase its newly expanded flagship Cross Collection of flatpack furniture, which now includes a dual-purpose desk and dining table designed for the new working from home paradigm. Meanwhile, Modern Art Hire (aka M.A.H.) is hosting a celebration of making by hand, exhibiting a host of hand-made pieces under the title An Act of Making. Launch night for both exhibitions is Tuesday 21 September – let us know if you can make it.
Pearson Lloyd are keen that these events should be the first of many for Yorkton Workshops, so if you’re looking for a gallery space, a location for a shoot or somewhere to host an event, be sure to let them know.
TAKT will be using the space to showcase its newly expanded flagship Cross Collection of flatpack furniture, which now includes a dual-purpose desk and dining table designed for the new working from home paradigm. Meanwhile, Modern Art Hire (aka M.A.H.) is hosting a celebration of making by hand, exhibiting a host of hand-made pieces under the title An Act of Making. Launch night for both exhibitions is Tuesday 21 September – let us know if you can make it.
Pearson Lloyd are keen that these events should be the first of many for Yorkton Workshops, so if you’re looking for a gallery space, a location for a shoot or somewhere to host an event, be sure to let them know.
Roz Barr designed the interior for Bureau, photography by Alex Upton.
Members welcome
Design District workspace club is open for (creative) business
Design District workspace club is open for (creative) business
It’s also the launch month for Bureau! Officially opened on 1 September Design District’s new by-creatives, for-creatives members’ club opens officially today, which means designer Roz Barr’s vision for the workspace of the future can finally be put to the test. Intended to offer flexible workspace and professional support for freelancers and entrepreneurs from all creative disciplines and walks of life, Bureau is designed to foster ideas exchange and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, giving creatives of all stripes the perfect ‘third space’ working model for the post-pandemic age.
From drop-in table space in communal lounges (£80 +VAT a month) to seven-days-a-week serviced studios (from £560 +VAT month), the club offers a variety of workspace options ideal for both individuals and larger companies looking for an alternative to the old-school static office. Bureau occupies two of Design District’s buildings: HNNA’s beautifully undulating C3, with its rooftop courtyards, and Architecture 00’s D1, fitted with open-air terraces for working and socialising alfresco.
From drop-in table space in communal lounges (£80 +VAT a month) to seven-days-a-week serviced studios (from £560 +VAT month), the club offers a variety of workspace options ideal for both individuals and larger companies looking for an alternative to the old-school static office. Bureau occupies two of Design District’s buildings: HNNA’s beautifully undulating C3, with its rooftop courtyards, and Architecture 00’s D1, fitted with open-air terraces for working and socialising alfresco.
Applications for Bureau membership are open – sign up now.
New limited edition cover for Now You Know, alongside reprint of hugely popular issue. Image courtesy Sound Advice.
Hot off the press (again!)
Sound Advice reprints Now You Know
Sound Advice reprints Now You Know
After a sell-out first run, Pooja Agrawal and Joseph Zeal Henry have gone back to the presses and reprinted Sound Advice’s debut publication, Now You Know. A sharp and searing compendium of essays, poems, and reflections by more than 50 architects and urbanists of colour, the book has rightfully caused a stir. You can hear Pooja and Joseph discussing Sound Advice, how Now You Know came about, their frustration with the architecture sector’s performative response to Instagram’s #BlackoutTuesday, and the impact they want the book to have, on the Scaffold podcast.
Along with their reprint (now available at book stores across London and online), Sound Advice have released limited edition black & white covers available exclusively at their online page.
Along with their reprint (now available at book stores across London and online), Sound Advice have released limited edition black & white covers available exclusively at their online page.
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