London Design Festival 2014 // Installations & Pop-Up Events.

Woohoo! Today marks the final day of our London Design Festival extravaganza. But don’t be sad (yet) – we’ve got a whole heap of awesomeness and attractiveness to get through first. Today we are talking Installations & Pop-Up Events, which – if you ask me – are often the best part of attending any design festival. These are the types of experiences where design, art-direction, architecture, interiors and conceptual thinking come together to create a prefect union. These types of initiatives can elevate and deliver the ultimate brand experience with Unlimited Free PR Potential – which is better than pure gold in today’s world, just ask any PR maven out there. But if you think this is easy to do, you better think again. Extraordinary installations, events and pop ups require a certain knack, a multifaceted talent and skills beyond the obvious. A genuine affinity with human kind and a profound understanding of the world around us in all it’s forms is essential. In other words, this is f*cking complex stuff and difficult to execute (well) for those who don’t know how to navigate this space, but when you nail it – man – there ain’t nothin’ better in this world! Ok, apart from maybe being a mum. But that’s about it. No, I’m dead serious.

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Images courtesy of Michael Anastassiades.

‘Ama’ Lighting Installation by Michael Anastassiades & Flos // For the duration of London Design Festival at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Michael Anastassiades in collaboration with Flos presented a lighting installation ‘Ama’, made by mouth blown opaline spheres and brass. The piece is an appreciation of the pearl diving mermaids of Japan.

Images courtesy of Bocci.

Wiry Chandelier Installation by Bocci // Bocci collaborated with the antique dealer Mallett on an exhibition at the grand Ely House. Together, they unveiled two outstanding chandeliers specially designed for the magnificent stairwell and the front room of the gallery. Hanging within the central spiral staircase was a monumental chandelier made from 120 irregular glass bubbles coated in nickel – Bocci’s bespoke 57 series – suspended on aircraft wires.

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Images courtesy of Camron.

‘Double Space for BMW – Precision and Poetry in Motion’ by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby // The duo’s recent exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum featured two enormous, reflective silver elements suspended from the ceiling space, which rotate in a series of choreographed movements, creating a completely new way to view the classical architecture and beautiful cartoons in the Raphael Gallery.

Images courtesy of HAY & WRONG FOR HAY..

‘Design and Dine’ Exhibition by Hay & Wrong for Hay // HAY & WRONG FOR HAY launched a ridiculously good looking exhibition of their collections, alongside a unique dining experience. Their beautiful showroom, set within a Georgian house in St James’s, was transformed into a celebration of all that is beautiful – superb interiors, lovely product, super-styling, and an abundance of texture and COLOUR. Hoooray!

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Carousel Wall Exhibition by David David and Johnson Tiles.

LFW Umbrella Installation at Somerset House by David David.

LFW Umbrella Installation at Somerset House by David David. Images courtesy of David David.

‘Carousel Wall’ Exhibition by David David and Johnson Tiles // Carousel Wall is a collaboration between London design studio David David and UK manufacturer Johnson Tiles. The installation is made up of more than 50 sq m of printed ceramic tiles and represents a bold interpretation of traditional Islamic geometrics and modern British production.

Fabrica and Modern Design Review curate Installations at Ace Hotel Shoreditch.

‘Mix Tape Project’ Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn for Extra-Ordinary Gallery / curated by Fabrica.

‘Mix Tape Project’ Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn for Extra-Ordinary Gallery / curated by Fabrica.

‘Extra Ordinary Gallery’ Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn / curated by Fabrica. Photo by Federico Floriani Fabrica.

‘Extra Ordinary Gallery’ Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn / curated by Fabrica. Photo by Federico Floriani Fabrica.

‘Extra Ordinary Gallery’ Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn / curated by Fabrica. Photo by Peter Guenzel.

‘Extra Ordinary Gallery’ Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn / curated by Fabrica. Photo by Peter Guenzel.

Bethan Laura Wood Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn for Super Stimuli / curated by Modern Design Review.

Bethan Laura Wood Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn for Super Stimuli / curated by Modern Design Review.

‘Soft Play’ Installation by Fabien Cappello at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn for for Super Stimuli / curated by Modern Design Review.

‘St Jeromes Study’ Installation by Michael Marriott at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn for Super Stimuli / curated by Modern Design Review.

Martino Gamper Installation at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditchn for Super Stimuli / curated by Modern Design Review. Images Courtesy of Ace Hotel London. Photography by Peter Guenzel.

Fabrica and Modern Design Review curate Installations at Ace Hotel Shoreditch // Ace Hotel Shoreditch London hosted Super Stimuli and the Extra-Ordinary Gallery, a series of installations including flower displays by Bethan Laura Wood, ceramics by Max Lamb and furniture by Martino Gamper.

Related post // Fabrica Launches Extra-Ordinary Gallery with Exquisite Handmade Design Objects.

Images courtesy of Dan Tobin Smith.

‘The First Law of Kipple’ Installation by Dan Tobin Smith // British photographer Dan Tobin Smith transformed his East London studio into ‘The first law of kipple’- an immersive and vibrant installation comprising thousands of colour-coated objects. The various cluttered items have been collected by both the artist and from public donations amassed from a social media announcement, bringing together an expansive range of stories, subjects and shapes.

Images courtesy of Asami Kiyokawa.

‘Merry-Go-Round’ by Asami Kiyokawa // Everyone loves merry-go-round, it is a beautiful childhood memory of all. At this year’s Tent London, Tokyo Designers Week presented a whole new type of merry-go-round designed by Asami Kiyokawa and other Japanese creators under the theme of Tokyo, suggesting a new style of “wa” (Japanese culture). Together with the shiny, speedy movie projected on the merry-go-round, sense the new taste of “wa” in this fancy graphic merry-go-round.

‘A Place Called Home’ exhibition / Jasper Morrison’s “home” is designed for a pigeon keeper, “because who else would choose to live in the middle of Trafalgar Square?” he said.

‘A Place Called Home’ exhibition / Pavilion by Jasper Morrison.

‘A Place Called Home’ exhibition in Trafalgar Square. Images courtesy of Airbnb. Photography by Ed Reeve.

‘A Place Called Home’ Exhibition commissioned by Airbnb // Four British designers and studios, Jasper Morrison, Ilse Crawford of Studioilse, Raw Edges and Patternity installed their own interpretations of “home” inside these house-shaped pavilions in London’s Trafalgar Square. Supported by home-rental website Airbnb, the installation was one of the London Design Festival’s landmark projects.

Images courtesy of Designjunction.

Designjunction presented ‘A Child’s Dream’ in partnership with Anglepoise® and ercol // Nineteen of the UK’s leading designers from the filed of architecture, design, fashion and graphics created unique interpretations of iconic products which were auctioned at Designjunction 2014. On display was an exhibition designed and curated by British designer Anthony Dickens, to raise money for “Teddy’s Wish,” its official chosen charity for 2014.

Images courtesy of 19 Greek Street.

19 Greek Street Pop-up Design Cafe // Apart from hosting a design gallery, an interior design studio and a laboratory that breathes new life into abandoned objects, from June 13th the founder of 19 Greek Street, Marc Peridis, has designed and launched a new café, on the first floor of the gallery, in collaboration with neighbouring pop-up café The Full English.

Images © Luke Hayes.

Zaha Hadid Installs Ultra-Thin Shell Structure at London’s V&A // This temporary installation is the practice’s thinnest shell structure to date, testing new design and construction technologies for achieving minimal material thickness while “investigating the relationship between formal arrangement and structural performance.”

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