Some old, some new but all exciting at London Design Festival

08 Sep '08

5 min read

Now in its sixth year, The London Design Festival has established itself as a major event on the international design calendar, appealing to an increasingly wide audience, from consumers to professionals to students and all those with a keen interest in design.

For 2008, the Festival promises an even greater array of creative events, imaginative exhibitions and installations taking place across London, involving a diverse range of talents, from established innovators to rising stars.

The organisers of The London Design Festival are working directly on an important number of key projects for 2008. These include:

Size + Matter
Last year saw the inaugural Size + Matter initiative staged at Southbank Centre with two dramatic installations by Zaha Hadid and Amanda Levete. For 2008, David Adjaye, one of the UK's leading architects of his generation, is aiming to create a pavilion made of American tulipwood, supplied by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) at Southbank Centre.

Adjaye selected tulipwood for its inherent flexibility, strength and varying colour hues. Visitors will be able to walk inside and experience the material in an enclosed space. Adjaye has created a number of temporary pavilions in the past which have been displayed in Venice, Rome, London and Croatia.

Size + Matter will remain in place until the Frieze Art Fair (16–19 October) and offered for sale at Phillips de Pury & Company's London Contemporary Art Evening sale in October.

Southbank Centre
The Festival team has worked with Southbank Centre to develop a programme of design-related events that will act as a focal point for the start of the Festival (13-17 September).

Alongside the events programme (detailed below) the Royal Festival Hall will host Design-Nation's Eureka exhibition during The London Design Festival 2008. Eureka was the brainchild of the late Peta Levi MBE that celebrates the quality of British design and collaborations between designers, manufacturers and retailers.

Southbank Centre events programme will be made up of a series of activities looking at issues behind design from a number of perspectives:

The Business of Design Talks breakfast seminar series with The Financial Times (15-19 September) will cover a range of issues including Intellectual Property, creative cities, brands and creative learning with top-rated business and design speakers.

An inspirational day long event, Show-n-Tell will see a roster of famous and soon-to-be-famous designers take to the stage to provide an insight into their influences and approaches at the Purcell Room, 16 September.

In partnership with New Media Knowledge and Carrenza, Digital Design Day will be a day-long programme of activity including educational sessions, presentations, seminars and networking dedicated to the digital media design community, culminating in the third annual Y Design Awards – celebrating and awarding the best in digital and interactive design. www.ydesignawards.com

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