The London Design Festival has landed! And day one contained enough excitement and inspiration for a week, which bodes very well for the rest of the week. I started the day at the V&A press preview (and was actually given a sticker which said “access all areas”!) which was a whirlwind tour of the installations that will be at the V&A throughout the festival. Here is a whirlwind run-through of said installations and I’ll come back and post about some of them in more detail after the festival.
The first installation we saw was actually a series of installations that run through the whole museum. nendo’s mimicry chairs are based on a white metal archetype that in each space mimics its surroundings. The single chair suspended in the entrance hall struck me as particularly witty.
The next installation was Dominic Harris and Cinimod Studio’s Ice Angel. Standing in front of the screen raising and lowering your arms, creates your angel wings on the screen behind you. Each set of wings is completely unique and if you return to the device at a later date it will remember you and recreate your wings. (Thank you to Gem Barton for modelling!)
Next we saw an exhibition called Out of the Woods, which I’ve been hearing about for a while and was keen to see for real. A collaboration between the RCA, The America Hardwood Export Council and Benchmark Furniture, it asked Design Products MA students to consider the entire lifecycle of a product in their design decisions, from environmentally friendly sourcing and transporting of raw materials, through to creating something not only durable enough, but also desirable enough, to stand the test of time.
Next up was Bench Years from Established & Sons – 10 benches from 10 designers in 10 materials to celebrate 10 years of LDF…
Above is Martino Gamper’s infinity chair, and second from right is Martino Gamper himself! I am absolutely kicking myself that I didn’t go and say hello – I am such a huge fan… such a huge fan! Really hoping to bump into him again! The bench is made from thermally modified American red oak, soft maple, ash, yellow birch and tulipwood.
Below left is Jay Osgerby (very excited to have met him albeit very briefly!) and the Barber & Osgerby Western Facade. It was inspired by the West side of the V&A which was damaged during the blitz, and Jay explained that the holes let light through the marble showing off its translucent property which is at odds with its mass. In the middle is Konstantin Gcric’s glass mosiac bench – I love the colours. And on the right is Alexander Taylor’s bench made from stainless steel.
Then we headed over to The Journey of a Drop by Rolf Sachs, housed in the Henry Cole Wing Grand Staircase, which is rarely open to the public, so that in itself was a treat. Rolf explained that he want to make the most of the height of the stairwell. Single drops of coloured water fall the entire height into a tank of clear water where the colour disperses and a microphone amplifies the sound. Rolf explained that he originally wanted the sound to be massively amplified, so it was in complete contrast to the tiny drop, but unfortunately this wasn’t possible. I still think it makes for a really interesting site-specific installation.
Dominic Harris has created Walk the Light in the tunnel entrance to the V&A in collaboration with Philips and Cinimod – it uses heat sensors to track the movement of people through the tunnel and camera tracking technology to move a wall of light along with the walker. When there multiple walkers, the tracker chooses the most ‘interesting’ people – interestingness is calculated according to the size of the group and their movements.
And it really was a case of saving the best for last, as we waited patiently in groups of seven to climb a narrow spiral staircase into the roof space of the V&A – another area not usually open to the public. Prism by Keiichi Matsuda is an installation that graphically represents data, collating live feeds about everything from the energy use of 10 Downing Street to Boris bikes. The structure itself is made from Japanese washi paper and aluminium so it barely weighs a thing, but in order to suspend it without damaging the listed walls around it, a massive frame had to be constructed within them – and everything had to be brought up through the hole in the floor.
And even more spectacular than that is the view across London from the roof above. If you’re in London this week, put this on your don’t miss list. If you’re not in London, find an excuse to be here! Definitely an “I love my job” day!
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: london design festival 2012
- creative spaces :: designjunction
- interview :: canteen / vg&p
- interview :: outline editions
