Set within London’s creative hub of Clerkenwell, which boasts more creative businesses and architecture firms per square mile than anywhere else across the globe, Clerkwenwell Design Week is the United Kingdom’s leading independent design festival; a celebration of design and manufacturing excellence by homegrown and international design talents. Opening today and taking place from 24-26 May, the fair brings to life the town’s designer showrooms and historic buildings with a series of creative installations, workshops and other live events.
If you’re one of the many design lovers attending the fair this year, here’s what we think you should definitely have on your agenda.
HakFolly
London-based architecture firm FleaFollyArchitects and Dutch wooden flooring company Hakwood have collaborated on a 4.5-metre high timber temple located at the historic St John’s Gate archway. The stacked timber structure both evokes Clerkenwell’s religious history and offers a refuge of meditative calm.
The Museum of Making
Set within St. John’s Square, this blue-toned deconstructed barn was created by Swedish architecture firm White Arkitekter – which has a special focus on sustainability – and engineers Price & Myers. Based on the archetypal Swedish barn, the structure provides a social space dedicated to creativity and craft; daily workshops will be hosted there throughout the festival.
Billboards
The fair even takes the concept of signage to the next level. Leading the way through the various showrooms and events are a series of abstract glass tile sculpture installations by London-based Giles Miller Studio, created in collaboration with British Ceramic Tile. The line in each piece indicates where fair-goers should go next.
The Sensorium
Clerkenwell’s historic gardens are being transformed into an immersive experience thanks to international multidisciplinary design firm HASSELL and Scandinavian seating brand HÅG. The garden will be a veritable bouquet of sensations, from sound to smell to textures; a black space at the centre invites visitors to view the garden through various peepholes, prompting questions about the effect of differing perspectives.
One Thing After Another
Designed by architect Sam Jacob for London showroom Sto Werkstatt, One Thing After Another is an exploded shed, which is sure to generate discussion throughout the fair. The piece was created by 3D-scanning a standard garden shed, then using the digital copy to fabricate a structure with Sto Werkstatt’s volcanic stone-based material Verolith.
One Thing After Another by Sto Werkstatt and Sam Jacob Studio. Photography © DavidParry
Tom Dixon: The Church
British Designer Tom Dixon will be installing a geometric chandelier, Curve, from his Materiality collection, a kitchen, and a co-working space inside the 17th century St James Church on Clerkenwell Green in collaboration with its vicar, Andrew Baughen. The entire project will be donated as a permanent fixture after the fair, providing a creative resource and social space for Clerkenwell residents.
The post Six installations to see at Clerkenwell Design Week appeared first on Home Journal.
