13 January / Conference "Public Building? Challenges and Opportunities" / Geological Society, Piccadilly / London

Tottenham Public Room, 2012 by Gort Scott. Photo: Angus Leadley Brown

 

 

 

Public Building? Challenges and Opportunities
Snapshots: Emerging Trends in Contemporary Architecture
13 January 2014, 6.30–8pm
At the Geological Society, Piccadilly

The Royal Academy of Arts has teamed up with Building Design magazine and the ‘Architect of the Year Awards’ to invite some of the winners to discuss emerging trends in contemporary architecture.
In this event, we explore the challenges faced in creating public buildings and their sometimes complex relationships to the institutions they house and represent.

Speakers include Niall McLaughlin, Duggan Morris and Gort Scott.

12 / £6 reductions (students, jobseekers and people with disabilities)

Book now here: https://tickets.royalacademy.org.uk/helppage.asp

12January/NEW SHORTS #12 LANDSCAPE AS CHARACTER/Ritzy Picturehouse/London

A selection of short films mixing strong drama with more experimental work, bonded by a sense of the open landscape and cityscape. From the nightime streets of Bristol in Traces, to the mysterious edgelands of London’s borders in Arterial, to the remote Scottish Highlands of Strayed, to the disease blighted English dairy farmlands of Great & Small.
102 min

20:00 at Ritzy PictureHouse
More info at:
http://shortfilms.org.uk/events/2014-01-12-new-shorts-12-landscape-as-character

13 - 19 January / Imm Cologne Fair "Create. Furnish. Live." / Cologne

 

At the imm cologne, suppliers and decision-makers from the sector's major markets around the world will be setting the course for successful future business.

Find out what can help boost your business and discover not just new ideas but established solutions as well: the diversity, quality and internationalism you will experience at the imm cologne are second to none. Year after year, you can count on the imm cologne to present both market-ready new launches and the furnishing trends that will be shaping the future.

The imm cologne isn’t just the very first interior design show of the year, it's the first choice for renowned international exhibitors and decision-making professional visitors from all over the world as well. The imm cologne showcases inspiring interior design ideas for trendsetters and provides markets with new impetus. And the major innovation drivers, market leaders and brands will be there.

The imm cologne is the meeting place for the entire furnishing sector. It also presents the LivingInteriors event, which stands for integrated interior and furnishing worlds. Altogether, more than 1,100 companies from 50 countries will be showing what they have to offer at the imm cologne 2014 and the LivingInteriors fair that takes place simultaneously.

More Info:

Imm Cologne

From Monday, 13 to Sunday, 19 January 2014.

For visitors:
Mon. to Sat. 09:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m.
Sun. 09:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. 

6 December/Late at Tate Britain WARP x TATE/Tate Britain/London

Late at Tate Britain presents a free evening of performance and installations from Warp Records and Jeremy Deller, inspired by Deller’s work The History of the World.

Live performances

Jeremy Deller presents Acid Brass (live) featuring Fairey Brass Band

patten (live AV show)

Darkstar (live)

‘The History of the World’ installation commissions

Oneohtrix Point Never presents Melancholy

Hudson Mohawke presents Summers of Love

Rustie presents Rave

Plus

A tribute to 808 and 303 by Hellicar & Lewis

Other contributions from Jeremy Deller

Warp x Dazed films directed by Rollo Jackson

Palace Skateboards presents Civil Unrest

Owing to the popularity of this event, there is limited capacity and admission is on a first come first served basis. Capacity is particularly limited for those wanting to see the live performances.

More info at:

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/performance-and-music/late-tate-britain-december-2013

28 Nov/10x10 drawing city London/Crossing/London

Each year, 100 participants come together in the summer to create 100 pieces of work, giving 100 perspectives of London, which are then exhibited and auctioned in November. Previous participants have included Lord Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Grand Designs’ Kevin McCloud. The project is a unique concept, with the designers and artists producing wonderful pieces of artwork inspired by the environment they help to create and shape, as well as providing a commentary and critique on the constantly changing landscape of central London.

Every year 10×10 captures a different area of the city. This year the project was focus on East London, an area encompassing striking and innovative examples of architecture, both traditional and modern. In the shadow of the ‘Gherkin’, this area encompasses modern developments, many associated with the ‘Silicon roundabout’, to historic landmarks such as Brick Lane and the Boundary estate – one of the city’s earliest social housing schemes. East London is a truly diverse area, both culturally and creatively, where our 10×10 artists will have no problem seeking influence for their work.

An exclusive auction of the 10×10 artwork will take place at the Crossing, 1 Granary Square, Kings Cross, London, N1C 4AA tonight.

And a free public exhibition of the artwork will be held today in the same venue.

This will be the perfect opportunity to view the amazing artwork. Preliminary bids on all artwork can be made online and please look at the catalogue section of this site for more detail.

This year’s 10×10 will raise money for Article 25’s Street Children Centers, starting with projects in Ghana and Kenya. Over the next year, we will be helping to provide the necessary infrastructure for enabling children who live on the streets to get back to their families or foster families, schools and communities.

more information on:

http://www.10x10london.com/category/auction/2013/

19 Nov/2013 Jencks Award Benedetta Tagliabue/Riba/London

The annual Jencks Award is given to an individual, or practice, that has recently made a major contribution internationally to both the theory and practice of architecture. This year's winner Benedetta Tagliabue is an international architect who has carved out a reputation for an architecture fused with a passion for landscape and design.

Among Tagliabue’s most notable projects are the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh, Diagonal Mar Park and the Santa Caterina Market both in Barcelona. She studied architecture at the Istituto di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV) and currently acts as director of architecture firm EMBT Miralles Tagliabue, founded in 1994 with her late husband and partner Enric Miralles.

She has won numerous international awards in the fields of public space and design, including the RIBA Stirling Best Building Award in 2001 for The Scottish Parliament. Tagliabue is also visiting professor at Harvard University, Columbia University and Barcelona ETSAB, lecturing regularly at architecture forums and universities around the world.

In this lecture, Tagliabue presents her key projects and reflects on the inspirations behind her work and those in future. The award will be presented as part of the event chaired by Charles Jencks – designer, author and broadcaster.

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Venue:

66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD

More info at:
http://www.architecture.com/WhatsOn/Talks/Events/2013/Autumn/2013RIBAJencksAwardLecture.aspx#.Uot0BEK7cyE

7 Nov/ Forgotten Spaces Pecha Kucha Night/ Somerset House/ London

Tonight a selection of the 26 competition winners and best entries of RIBA Forgotten Spaces will be challenged to present their proposals in a fun, fast-paced, Pecha Kucha-style format at Somerset House.

There will be questions and discussion afterwards, with time allowed to explore the exhibition and engage with the design teams and individuals involved until 20.30. 

18.45-20.30

The Screening Room

£10 (£7 concessions)

more info at:

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/book-tickets/362a2e4c-db55-4262-9d7a-d3b9988d91fc

5 - 29 Nov / 8 Lecture / 150° Anniversario Politecnico di Milano / Milano

1863/2013

150° ANNIVERSARIO DEL POLITECNICO DI MILANO

Il Politecnico celebra il suo 150° con un intero anno di eventi, seminari e convegni, spettacoli teatrali, mostre, laboratori, lezioni e incontri a tema con la partecipazione di prestigiose istituzioni culturali milanesi.

Arata Isozaki 

5 novembre 2013, ore 18.00
Triennale di Milano, Salone d'onore, viale Alemagna 6

César Pelli

6 novembre 2013, ore 18.00
Triennale di Milano, Salone d'onore, viale Alemagna 6

Grafton Architects

13 novembre 2013, ore 18.00
Politecnico di Milano, Campus Bovisa, aula Carlo De Carli, via Durando 10

Kazuyo Sejima

18 novembre 2013, ore 18.00
Politecnico di Milano, Campus Bovisa, aula Carlo De Carli, via Durando 10

Daniel Libeskind

21 novembre 2013, ore 18.00
Politecnico di Milano, Campus Leonardo, edificio Trifoglio, via Bonardi 9

David Chipperfield

26 novembre 2013, ore 18.00
Politecnico di Milano, Campus Leonardo, edificio Trifoglio, via Bonardi 9

Renzo Piano

27 novembre 2013, ore 18.00
Triennale di Milano, Teatro dell'Arte, viale Alemagna 6

Rem Koolhaas

29 novembre, ore 15
Triennale di Milano, Teatro dell'Arte, viale Alemagna 6

MORE INFO:

http://www.150.polimi.it/

25 Oct/Friday Late/Victoria and Albert Museum/London

Today at Victoria and Albert Museum Friday Late: Back to the 80s!

Step back into the 80s and explore the creativity and theatricality of London’s dynamic fashion and club scenes. Inspired by the V&A’s Club to Catwalk exhibition, join us for an evening of performances, workshops, guest DJs and of course, dressing up...

All events are free and places are designated on a first come, first served basis, unless stated otherwise. Filming and photography will be taking place at this event.

All Evening

80s New Romantica and beyond…Join artist, DJ and composer Fly Garrikk of Weird & Excellent as he plays a Club to Catwalk, fashion-inspired mix from the early 80s New Romantic Blitz scene and beyond. Having originally DJ’d at the Kareba Club in Mayfair, Fly has also worked with fashion brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Agent Provocateur, Westward Bound and Wolf & Badger.

Just an Illusion 

Turn back time and enjoy a series of pop-up performances by The Immaculate Extremists, a costumed troupe who will walk (and dance!) around the Museum, decked out in 80s classic club-wear. Acting as a strong reminder that 80s fashion was as variable as the club and as unique as the individual, witness this creative collaboration between V&A Connects, Union Black and London College of Fashion. 

Illamasqua

Colour clash eyes, bright lips and beauty marks. Rediscover the look of the 80s club and fashion scenes and get your very own power make-up with Illamasqua.

Club Room

Enter our miniature club complete with 80s music videos and their present day parallels. Dance the evening away together with a choice selection of clubbing pals.

New Romanticism

Find yourself transported into the ephemeral and romantic 80s pop culture movement of the New Romantics. Have your photo taken by a professional photographer against the backdrop of art director Philip Cooper’s black lace pergola, set within the white and gold opulence of the Norfolk House Music Room. Selected photos will be available via the V&A’s Flickr page after the event.

Flamingo Concertina

Walk beneath a flock of pink flamingos and get a taste of 80s tropical club. Illustrator Charlene Man will adorn the walls of the link corridor with handmade paper concertinas, transforming repeated simplicity into an array of bright patterns. 

charleneman.com

DJ Chris Sullivan

Sullivan’s history as a DJ goes back to playing Slade at his school disco. 

Guiding us through the underside of the 80s, Chris takes us on a journey through the decade as it was heard then in the world’s hippest clubs – from rockabilly and mutant disco, to seminal electro and rare groove.

Print is Power: Reclamation Nation

Voice your opinions and print your passions with a special Reclamation Nation screen printing workshop by Print is Power. Expect fluro fun, sweatbands, legwarmers and an 80s soundtrack as you warm up the squeegees. Raise issues for debate by printing your own message or get exclusive use of Katharine Hamnett’s iconic ‘NO MORE FASHION VICTIMS’ slogan.

From Club to Catwalk

Get involved in designer Jana Kennedy’s DIY pieces of cool. Fashion your own fingerless gloves into items of New Romance, or make your own recycled necklace and create a masterpiece of High Camp. Come and do it like the Club Kids whoulda!

The Scarlett Dress

Widely photographed and featured in numerous magazines throughout the 80s, the Scarlett dress was designed and made in 1984 by designer Juliana Sissons for the 21st birthday present of club host and 80s fashion icon Scarlett Cannon. With an example of the toile displayed in the Sackler Centre for the evening, discover how to make your own by downloading the dress pattern from the V&A’s website.

Ping Pong POW: Giant Animation

Join members of the Peckham Ping Pong Studio to create a super-sized stop-frame animation inspired by the amazing graphic textile prints in Club to Catwalk. After contributing to the wall-sized explosion of colour and shape, return to Seminar Room 1 at 21.15 to see your masterpiece on the big screen.

From 19.00

DIY Single Sleeves

Using graphic techniques common in the 80s, music industry creative director Scott Jones provides the tools for you to produce your own 7" vinyl sleeve. Mash up fluorescent shapes, sharp typography and low-fi photography to create your own unique cover for a real 80s single. Add it to a digital wall of single covers and share it via your social networks.

Mannequin: H Plewis & Rhyannon Styles

'Popping up’, 'Showing out', 'Catwalking' and 'On the pull'...renowned Cabaret performers Plewis and Styles collaborate for a one-off evening. Taking the phrase 'Going out Out' as a platform, immerse yourself in a series of performances around the Museum. Using physical mime techniques and puppeteering adapted shop mannequins, the pair create various characters all associated with the world of clubbing London.

The Angels

Providing a second skin effect, latex grew in popularity within the 80s club fashion scene. Come and worship latex beings from another dimension as artist Adam Electric blurs the line between costume and living sculpture through a series of sci-fi fetish performances.

From 19.15

In conversation: Amber Butchart and Professor Wendy Dagworthy OBE

Join fashion historian, writer and broadcaster Amber Butchart as she talks to the ‘high priestess of fashion’, designer and expert consultant to Club to Catwalk Wendy Dagworthy about her career in fashion in the 80s. One of the founders of London Fashion Week (1984), Wendy sold her collections to an international market and exhibited seasonally in London, Milan, New York and Paris.

From 19.30

Adam Ant: The Blueblack Hussar and introduction by Jack Bond

In the 80s, pop star Adam Ant was at the height of his fame – but after mental health problems he disappeared into relative obscurity. Watch a series of extracts from film director Jack Bond’s revealing tribute to a true musical icon, made after a year spent with the eccentric singer. Join Jack for an introduction to the recently released film followed by a short Q&A.

From 20.00

Conserving the 80s

Keira Miller works in Textile Conservation at the V&A, specialising in the mounting of textiles and dress. Join her for a short illustrated talk about what goes on behind the scenes in preparation for a major fashion exhibition, including how to achieve good cleavage, the story of the one legged drag queen and how to recycle a box of old dreadlocks!

More info at:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/friday-late/

4Oct-10Nov 17 Oct Late Night/RIBA Forgotten Spaces 2013/Somerset House/London

photo credit Agnese Sanvito

Today is the Late night at Somerset house: the exhibitions will stay open late into the evening. 

Let's go see RIBA Forgotten Spaces 2013.

The Royal Institute of British Architects are staging a major architecture exhibition at Somerset House with a showcase of the hugely popular Forgotten Spaces ideas competition.

The exhibition features 26 innovative propositions to renovate a series of London’s disused and abandoned spaces which restore them into public attractions for all to enjoy. They include proposals for a zoo in the decommissioned gas holders at Bromley by Bow, an events space on floors 24 – 30 (the satellite platforms) of the iconic BT Tower, a public pool in a disused tube station at Aldwych and the revival of the forgotten River Fleet at St Pancras Gardens.

Designed by architecture practice - Studio Glowacka and communications designers Thomas Matthews, the exhibition itself becomes a journey of discovery through Somerset House’s own hidden passageways and coal holes; the Lightwells and Deadhouse. Visitors are enticed along the exhibition route via bright scaffolding and construction-site structures, which in turn present the schemes alongside models and immersive sculptural 3-d pieces.

RIBA announced the winners of the competition at the launch of the exhibition on 3 October. First prize was Fleeting Memories by 4orm – which calls for the resurgence of the River Fleet at King’s Cross; second prize (£2,000) went to Studio Pink for a swimming pool complex under theSilvertown Flyover and third prize (£1,000) went to Chris Allen, Marcus Andren, Michael Gyi for a new bowling alley and microbrewery at the Royal Docks.

The RIBA London Forgotten Spaces project is partnered by Qatari Diar, Ordnance Survey and the Mayor of London and is supported by the Royal Town Planners Institute (RTPI) and the Landscape Institute. The Architects’ Journal is Media Partner.

More info:

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/forgotten-spaces

10-13 Oct/ Architectuur Film Festival Rotterdam/Rotterdam

Let's go and attend the Rotterdam Architectuur Film Festival, you have still 2 days and the program is incredible. 

Many premières and exceptional programmes make the AFFR a major international reference point and, simultaneously, also the most accessible festival in terms of films about the urban environment and architecture. Once again they are presenting a programme with historical perspective, new techniques, striking initiatives from all over the world, and personal stories with a connection to the urban environment and architecture. 

In this edition, in addition to the film screenings and together with several partners, the AFFR is organising fascinating programmes each focusing on a specific theme. And on 26 and 27 October, two weeks after the Rotterdam festival, condensed festival editions will be held in Groningen and Heerlen where ten films will be screened. So there are no more excuses for missing the films!

The network of international collaborations with filmmakers, producers, festivals and universities continues to spread further and further. In the past two years the AFFR has offered advice and assisted with the programming of festivals in Aviles (Spain), Santiago (Chile) and Lisbon (Portugal). 

More information and the program:

http://affr.nl

Until 20 Oct/Lowry Exhibition/Tate Britain/London

Last week to attend "Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life" at Tate Britain.

Tate Britain presents a major exhibition of landscapes by the much-loved British painter L.S. Lowry – the first of its kind held by a public institution in London since the artist’s death.

Focusing on the best of Lowry’s urban scenes and industrial landscapes including Tate’s Coming Out of School 1927 and The Pond 1950 alongside significant loans, this timely and carefully selected exhibition aims to re-assess Lowry’s contribution to art history and to argue for his achievement as Britain’s pre-eminent painter of the industrial city.

As a modern painter Lowry wished to show what the industrial revolution had made of the world, yet his dominant status in British art coincided with a disappearance of the industrialised world he engaged with. The exhibition’s final room presents for the first time all eight of his less well known, late industrial panoramas, where a leap up to ‘history painting’ size indicates the measure of his final ambition. These large panoramic landscapes fall into two groups: the first, from the 1950s, are titled, with intentional generality, Industrial Landscapes. The second, less well known group was painted in the 1960s in the mining valleys of South Wales, the heartland of the Labour movement. In both the tone is valedictory.

More info:

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/lowry-and-painting-modern-life

26 Sept/Opening of The Serpentine Sackler Gallery by Zaha Hadid/Serpentine/London

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Zaha Hadid, will open today for the preview and to the public on Saturday 28 September 2013. 

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery gives new life to The Magazine, a former 1805 gunpowder store, located five minutes walk from the Serpentine Gallery on the north side of the Serpentine Bridge. With 900 square metres of new gallery, restaurant and social space, the Serpentine's second space in Kensington Gardens will be a new cultural destination in the heart of London. From this autumn, the Serpentine will present its unrivalled programme of exhibitions and events across both Galleries and into the Park. 

The new Gallery is named after Dr Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler, whose Foundation has made the project possible through the largest single gift received by the Serpentine Gallery in its 43-year history. Major funding has also been awarded by Bloomberg, long term supporters of the Serpentine as well as sponsors of the opening exhibition. 

In 2010 the Serpentine Gallery won the tender from The Royal Parks to bring the Grade II* listed building into public use for the first time in its 208-year history. The Serpentine Gallery has restored the building to an excellent standard, in partnership with The Royal Parks, renovating and extending it to designs by Zaha Hadid. A light and transparent extension complements rather than competes with the neo-classical architecture of the original building. It is the Zaha Hadid Architects' first permanent structure in central London and continues a relationship between the Gallery and the architect, which began with the inaugural Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Commission in 2000. The landscape around the new building will be designed and planted by the world-renowned landscape artist Arabella Lennox-Boyd. 

The opening exhibition in the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is the first UK exhibition by the young Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas, who is on the brink of gaining international renown for his dramatic, large-scale sculptural works. At the same time, in the Serpentine Gallery, there will be a major retrospective by Italian sculptor Marisa Merz, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Venice Biennale. A redesigned website will feature the inaugural Digital Commission, while the first annual Bridge Commission explores the route between the two galleries with a series of short stories by twelve internationally acclaimed writers. Each story is timed to last as long as it takes to walk from the Serpentine Gallery to the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The Serpentine's expanded presence in Kensington Gardens will be illustrated by a specially commissioned map by the artist Michael Craig-Martin. 

more info:

http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2013/07/serpentine_sackler_gallery_designed_by_zaha_hadid_to_open_september_2013.html

18 July-12 Oct/Richard Rogers Inside Out/Royal Academy of Arts/London

The last weeks to visit the exhibition Richard Rogers Inside Out is at Royal Academy.

Richard Rogers RA is one of the most successful and influential architects in the world. He is responsible for some of the most radical designs of the 20th century, including the Pompidou Centre in Paris (with Renzo Piano), Lloyd’s of London and the Law Courts in Bordeaux. 'Inside Out' reveals the man and the ideas behind these pioneering buildings. Richard Rogers RA is one of the most successful and influential architects in the world. He is responsible for some of the most radical designs of the 20th century, including the Pompidou Centre in Paris (with Renzo Piano), Lloyd’s of London and the Law Courts in Bordeaux. 'Inside Out' reveals the man and the ideas behind these pioneering buildings. To encourage visitors to engage in the debates and issues around architecture today, the final room in the exhibition is a space for dialogue and discussion, events and workshops, where visitors can share their views and hear from high-profile speakers in related fields. Also look out for Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Manufactured House in the courtyard through August until early September. This innovative, flat packed, environmentally efficient home is an example of how new building technologies can help shape better mass housing.

More info:

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/richard-rogers-ra-inside-out/

19-22 Sept / Designjunction / London Design Festival / London

For the second year, the voluminous industrial 1960s Postal Sorting Office in Holborn is the backdrop for designjunction, a design show presenting an edited selection of global brands and emerging companies. For its third edition spread over three enormous floors, the show not only brings together exhibitors of furniture, lighting and accessories but also pop-up shops, large-scale installations, eateries, flash factories, seminars and screenings.
This year, the organisers are placing greater emphasis on illumination with the launch of an area dedicated to high-end decorative lighting, suitably called ‘lightjunction’. Staged in partnership with experts Cameron Peters Fine Lighting, the show brings together international lighting brands to exhibit their beautiful yet practical lighting designs.

designjunction is one of the London Design Festival's most important design show, widely known as the global meeting point for the industry. From all corners of the world, brands flock to the must-visit destination, bringing a wealth of product launches and inspiring pieces with them.
Critically acclaimed designjunction is set to present the second edition of the premier design show during the London Design Festival this September. Well known for its uncompromising selection of leading global brands and smaller cutting-edge enterprises, designjunction is at the forefront of delivering innovative, authentic design and technology. Breaking the mould of the traditional trade show environment, designjunction strikes the balance between creative and commercial, inspiring visitors from all across the globe.

designjunction, which last year attracted more than 17,000 visitors, will showcase the very best in furniture, lighting and product design from around the world, presenting an edited selection of leading global brands and emerging enterprises. designjunction showcases design against a stunning industrial backdrop, striking a balance between creative and commercial, while offering a much-needed alternative to the traditional trade show.

This year, designjunction returns to the centrally-located 1960s Postal Sorting Office, where a powerful line-up of renowned international brands, smaller cutting-edge labels, pop-up shops, large-scale installations, eateries, flash factories, seminars and screenings will be presented across three floors of the impressive 120,000 sq ft venue.
designjunction will feature more than 150 brands – making it central London’s leading destination for contemporary design and the most important global meeting point of the Festival.
Since its inception 2011, designjunction has achieved global success, transporting satellite editions of the show to other destinations including Milan and more recently New York.



Opening Times:

Wednesday 18 Sept. Preview 4-6pm

Thursday 19 Sept. 10am-8pm

Friday 20 Sept. 10am-7pm

Saturday 21 Sept. 10am-6pm

Sunday 22 Sept. 10am-4pm


Address:

The Sorting Office 21-31 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1BA


More info:http://thedesignjunction.co.uk/

18 Sept / Late night opening / Fitzrovia Now / London Design Festival / London

The collective of design showrooms, stores and like minded restaurants and cafes that make up Fitzrovia Now will be again joining forces to put on a spectacular show for London Design Festival 2013. Fitzrovia, best known for its village atmosphere and bohemian vibe, is a hub of creativity with scores of design businesses, art galleries and independent restaurants and shops – the perfect place to gain inspiration. A stop off on the design trail definitely worth its weight, from its amazing eateries, art galleries, to the many inspiring design boutiques and well-known design showrooms and shops, you can experience it all in Fitzrovia.

Design Destination designjunction is a stone’s throw from Fitzrovia so once you have visited it is a short stroll to Tottenham Court Road, where you could pop into Heal’s perhaps then grab a quick bite along the way at Riding House Café, Bubble Dogs or Fino.

Domus opens its brand new London showroom in Eastcastle Street with ‘A Dolls House’, a fundraising event by Cathedral Group, presenting the finished doll’s houses from 20 artists and architects including Zaha Hadid and David Adjaye to be auctioned for the charity KIDS.

Find inspiration from future talent with the Central St Martin’s graduate collaborative exhibition on show at OMK Design on Gresse Street. EDC London are hosting ‘How We Make Furniture’, a small exhibition of the design process, from initial concept through to mock ups, scale models, and finished products. At their showroom on Great Titchfield Street, Fritz Hansen is showing an inspired installation ‘OFF | CUT’

– an experimental, lightweight, deployable structure that explores the innovative re-use of high quality timber veneers and leather offcuts. The Installation is designed by Chung Tyson Architects and supported by The Bartlett School of Architecture Research.

More info:

http://fitzrovianow.com/

17 sept / Open Debate: Is London building a sterile city? / Open House London 2013 / Charles Darwin House / London

We live and work in the city, but just how liveable is London architecture? Open-City launches its first Open Debate as the spotlight event to 2013’s Open House London Weekend, giving a voice to the citizens of London, both public user and design professional, on the kind of city we are creating.

London continues to grow, develop and morph, yet how successful have recent developments been in cultivating a liveable community? Ranked this month as 55th of 140 cities in the EUI’s most liveable city in the world, is London losing its vibrancy with homogenous housing and a lack of well designed public spaces? Or are we experiencing a revival in creative architecture and community spirit? Bearing in mind such influential development as the Olympic Park, Kings Cross, Crossrail, and future development of Battersea, Waterloo, Elephant & Castle; the Open Debate looks at how, or if, the ‘stewards’ of our city’s enhancement are creating the best possible future places and spaces for us to utilise and inhabit.

Chaired by BBC correspondant Razia Iqbal, the panel of key capital representatives include:

• Leo Hollis, Historian, urbanist and author of recently published ‘Cities Are Good For You: The Genius of the Metropolis’ (April 2013)
• Steve Howlett, Chief Executive of Peabody Estates
• Sue Illman, Director of Illman Young Landscape Design and President of Landscape Institute
• Bob Allies, Partner of Allies and Morrison Architects

17 september, 6:30pm, at the Landscape Institute , Charles Darwin House, 12 Roger Street

More info:

http://www.openhouselondon.org.uk/special/opendebate.html 

17 sept / Late night opening / Shoreditch Design Triangle and Clerkenwell Design Quarter / London Design Festival / London

The  Shoreditch Design Triangle 2013 is set to be the most coherent street by street event during this year’s London Design Festival.

Now in its 5th consecutive year, the event brings together a fascinating collection of designers, stores, galleries, studios, cafes, bars, brands and one-off events for a week of design-led festivities.

Truly collaborative and harking back to the days when the Hoxton and Shoreditch area was re-invigorated by the Young British Artist movement, the event revels in the true spirit of London, a place that bursts with new ideas, historical places and spaces, and the colourful characters who have strode the East End for many a year.

This year the event incorporates over 50 participants and has a wonderful blend of ideas behind it. Expect to see artisan, rural and high-tech craft, agriculturally themed products, locally made products, British made products, American made products, human-centred design, design inspired by electromagnetic fields, up-cycled furniture, new sustainable upholstery, new furniture, new lighting, new objects, a large show of ceramics, portrait photography, contemporary illustration, some cat-eye shoes and even a range of architecturally shaped puddings (to eat). Alongside this visual and physical feast, there are walking tours that take in both local history and a number of contemporary design studios, design talks on most days and a range of engaging workshops.

The event runs from 14th – 22nd September with the majority of venues opening late on Tuesday 17th and the likelihood of a number of parties during the week.

The Clerkenwell Design Quarter is an official destination within the London Design Festival (14-22 September). With involvement from leading institutions, design showrooms, media partners and local businesses, The Quarter is set to make a serious contribution to the Capital’s festivities this September.

Exhibitions, seminars, trails, competitions, workshops and a whole lot more will engage with visitors who want to discover Clerkenwell’s creative and cultural landscape by tracking down exciting and original companies.

More info:

http://www.shoreditchdesigntriangle.com/

http://clerkenwelldesignquarter.com/ 

13 Sept-10 Oct/Endless Stair London Design Festival/Tate Modern/London

Installed outside Tate Modern, the towering structure will invite visitors to climb and explore a series of 15 Escher-like interlocking staircases made from a prefabricated construction using 44 cubic metres of American tulipwood donated by AHEC members. As a viewpoint, Endless Stair provides breath-taking views along the River Thames.

The complex construction is designed by Alex de Rijke, Co-Founder of dRMM Architects and Dean of Architecture at the Royal College of Art, working closely with engineers at Arup. De Rijke has described timber as ‘the new concrete’, predicting that it will be the dominant construction material of the 21st Century.


Endless Stair sees the London Design Festival reviving its longstanding relationship with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) in a playful, yet technically ambitious public project to be installed with the powerful backdrop of one of the city’s best-loved landmarks, Tate Modern.


More info at:

http://www.londondesignfestival.com/

Monday – Sunday 9am-dusk

Free Event


The installation will be open 13 September - 10 October 2013

14-22 Sept/London Design Festival at V&A/Victoria and Albert Museum/London

The London Design Festival at the V&A is a nine day festival of contemporary design that celebrates London as the creative capital of the world.

As the hub of the Festival, the V&A is the first point of call for Festival visitors: the place to meet, pick up information, visit inspiring installations and events, and to enjoy the Festival atmosphere.

Throughout the Museum there will be a range of specially commissioned installations and displays to enjoy, as well as a broad programme of special events, talks and workshops taking place throughout the week in the bright, modern setting of the V&A's Sackler Centre, and in the Museum.

Visit the Festival’s information desk in the Main Entrance to find out more.

More info at:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/london-design-festival-at-the-v-and-a-2013/about-the-festival/