MultiPly is a nine-metre-high carbon-neutral tulipwood pavilion that was recently displayed in the V&A’s Sackler Courtyard at the London Design Festival.

The wooden pavilion is one the festival’s Landmark Projects and aims to encourage visitors to consider the ways in which buildings are designed and built.

The innovative installation was created through a collaboration between the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Waugh Thistleton Architects and ARUP. MultiPly utilises cross-laminating, a wood engineering technique that enhances weight bearing and strength.

The tulipwood used to create MultiPly can store the equivalent of 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide and can be replaced in the American hardwood forest in just five minutes.

“The main ambition of this project is to publicly debate how environmental challenges can be addressed through innovative, affordable construction,” says Andrew Waugh, co-founder of Waugh Thistleton Architects. “We are at a crisis point in terms of both housing and CO2 emissions and we believe that building in a versatile, sustainable material, such as tulipwood, is an important way of addressing these issues.”

The three-dimensional pavilion has a maze-like structure and is constructed using 17 modules of tulipwood. The pavilion has digitally fabricated joints, with the crown of the structure comprising of a module that has a thermo-treated protective layer. The use of tulipwood enhances the design, as it is both eco-friendly and inexpensive.

See more projects by Waugh Thistleton Architects, here.

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From bold prints inspired by public transport upholstery and a striking piece by Douglas & Company to Christopher Jenner’s new silverware range and a happy London installation, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 145.

1. Menja Stevenson’s German Transport-inspired Patterns

“I know some people may think these are hideous, but I think that they are seriously cool,” says Content Producer Michaela Stehr. “Creating fashion with the patterns people see everyday is cutting edge and relevant.”

Image credit: thisiscolossal.com

2. AHEC, Alison Brooks Architects and Arup Collaboration: The Smile

“This urban installation is fascinating,” says Features Editor Tracy Greenwood. “The Smile showcases the structural and spatial potential of cross-laminated timber, using American tulipwood.”

Image credit: londondesignfestival.com

3. Stonekeeper MMXVI

“Douglas & Company are known for their striking pieces,” says Online Editor Lindi Brownell Meiring. “You can view this beauty at the New Wave exhibition at Southern Guild in Cape Town – on until 23 September.”

Image credit: douglasandcompany.co.za

4. Christopher Jenner’s New Silverware Range

“These nostalgic silverware pieces by Christopher Jenner put a modern twist on the traditional,” says Managing Editor Lise Avis.

Image credit: christopher-jenner.com

5. Ann Christine Baegte Scatters

“I love it when designers are environmentally conscious,” says Assistant Managing Editor Samantha Charles. “Ann uses hemp to create her scatters, which leave a very low carbon footprint.”

Image credit: annchristinebaetge.wixsite.com

Browse more like VISI picks of the week series – week 145 on picks of the week 69.

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The London Design Festival, which ran from 19 – 27 September 2015, once again provided an exhilarating platform for the best of both British and international design.

Inhouse Brand Architects’ creative director, Aidan Hart joined the global design audience. Here, he shares his top five designs from designjunction; a leading showcase of contemporary interior design held annually during the Festival.

1. Miniature Furniture by Ana Jimenez Palomar

Originally from Mexico, Ana Jimenez Palomar was selected as one of 16 young creatives who were invited to exhibit at the UAL Now initiative at designjunction. Scaled, miniature versions of Palomar’s range, marked by unexpected shapes, bold colours and humour were showcased as part of her delightfully unconventional range.

2. Treasures from The Gem Room

Held in the old jewellery workshop of the former Central Saint Martins University of the Arts, The Gem Room was cited as a London Design Festival hot spot for good reason. The multi-purpose space hosted both an intriguing design showcase and an exclusive, invite-only culinary experience. Audiences were presented with SaphirKeramik – a material containing the derivatives of sapphires, and were given the first taste of Studio Appétit’s highly anticipated Things of Edible Beauty collection.

Image credit (left): laufen.com

3. Playful Textiles by Kirkby Design and Ligne Roset

Contemporary fabric brand Kirkby Design made no mistake in collaborating with New York-based ‘doodle’ artist, Jon Burgerman, to present an exhilarating new collection that formed part of an interactive display at designjunction. Launched in association with Ligne Roset, the range is a visual treat with quirky characters and carefree illustrations.

4. Classic Shelving Presented by String

At this year’s designjunction, String Furniture presented the latest execution of their classic String-shelf that was first designed in 1949 by architect Nils ‘Nisse’ Strinning. Selected as the overall winner for Best Exhibition design, the showcase astounded with an eclectic display that intertwined narrative and theatrical elements.

Image credit: facebook.com/stringfurniture

5. Handcrafted Lighting from Ango

Ango, a Bangkok-based design house specialising in luxury handcrafted lighting, presented a mesmerising collection. Incorporating unusual shapes and materials, the environmentally friendly lighting range combines raw, natural materials, sculptural form and the latest technology to produce trailblazing innovative designs.

Find out more about the London Design Festival at londondesignfestival.com.

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Famed architect Zaha Hadid’s gleaming sculpture Crest will be installed across the Victoria and Alfred pond during the London Design Festival, from 13 to 21 September 2014.

Commissioned by ME by Meliá, the Meliá Hotels International’s lifestyle brand, Crest is a suspended installation hovering over the pond of the V&A’s John Madejski Garden, celebrating the 2016 launch of the new ME Dubai Hotel designed by Zaha Hadid.

Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the annual London Design Festival and see Zaha’s futuristic vision converse with its historic surrounds, before the sculpture gets dismantled and relocated to its permanent home on the grounds of the new ME Dubai Hotel. Here, according to Zaha, it will continue, “to explore the relationships between fluid and Cartesian, solid and void, surface and structure inherent within the hotel’s design.”

The new ME Dubai hotel consists of 100 rooms and is based in the Opus building in the Burj Khalifa District. It will also be home to four penthouse suites, each with a private roof terrace, as well as the group’s signature Suite ME. Guests can expect to eat like royalty in the hotel’s Michelin-star restaurant.

CEO of Meliá Hotels International, Mr. Escarrer, says, “We are very excited that this spectacular piece of public art at London Design Festival will launch ME Dubai. The ME brand is centred on culture and design and this continues our series of renowned collaborative partnerships following the launch of Foster + Partners’ ME London last year.”

Watch out for more of Zaha Hadid’s shapely designs, she’s got another hotel up her sleeve: Macau’s City of Dreams hotel tower is opening early in 2017.

londondesignfestival.com

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1. Facets

Faceted, hexagonal shapes were visible across a range of materials, especially reflective and almost deconstructed surfaces.

2. The reinvention of timber

Wood was prevalent, particularly combined with steel. Beautiful handcrafted joinery was everywhere, as well as ply moulded to unique and new shapes. Timber used with irony to ape materials such as fabric or metal was a refreshing departure for wood.

3. Not feeling the felt

From the stands on show it was evident that while felt endures, its popularity is on the wane, as it was not as common as last year.

4. 3D printing

With the technology now affordable and accessible, there was a host of jewellery and ceramics produced by 3D printer. Architectural scale models of building exteriors show a new and clever use of this technology.

5. Flying solo

Clustered groupings are no longer such a popular choice for lighting with single hanging pendants occupying more of the spotlight.

6. Viva Africa

There was a strong African influence in repetitive geometric patterning that provided detail to tabletops, fabric and a host of other applications.

7. Leather

Leather is emerging as a new and intriguing material used unexpectedly – think lampshades and the like

8. Craft

A strong trend for some time now, fine craftsmanship continues to come through strongly throughout. 

1. www.moili.co.kr, www.ydesigny.com
2. www.oreedesign.com
3. www.ruskasa.com, www.design-milk.com
4. www.bjornanderssonstudio.com
5. www.alexandraraben.dk
6. www.tabisso.com
7. www.evonidesign.com
8. www.soundtect.com
9. www.innermost.net
10. www.paulcocksedgestudio.com, www.kickstarter.com

 

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Besides the incredible furniture and accessories by Moooi designers – including Marcel Wanders, Studio Job, Joost van Bleiswijk, Neri & Hu, Moooi Works / Bart Schilder, Bertjan Pot, Raimond Puts, Lorenza Bozzoli and ZMIK (Mattias Mohr & Rolf Indermuhle) – it is the idiosyncratic Moooi touches like the colourful Hans Boodt mannequins making themselves at home, the combination of bold colours and patterns that refrains from juvenalising the space, and the meeting of old and new styles in a fresh new genre that really thrills our eyes. 

Adding a spot hue to your home is as easy as a lick of paint, some bold candles and scatters, and possibly something more decorative like a statement vase or artwork. Don’t you love how Moooi just painted one chair red in the otherwise white dining area? No need to be afraid of assymetry – Studio Job’s new Paper Patchwork & Paper storage solutions by Studio Job being case in point.

Creating contrasts between clean and bold, and cluttered and delicate, is also very effective. Modern and contemporary styles are brought to life next to more classical forms that have been brought back to life with unusual materials and colours. Consider for instance the juxtaposition of the sophisticated brightness of ZMIK’s Kroon chandelier with the artistic temperament and intimate nature of Marcel Wanders’ Canvas and Cloud sofas.

The lights and lamps are sculptural in their grandiosity and talking points of the rooms. Between the high stream inventiveness of Joost van Bleiswijk’s Construction lamps, the pragmatic playfulness of Studio Job’s Bucket lamps and the graceful symbolism of Lorenza Bozzoli’s Juuyo lamps, we wouldn’t know what to choose.

Also integral to the effect is multidisciplinary Dutch artist Levi van Veluw’s work which finds a perfect balance between interior design and artistic photography. The photographs suggest a narrative world behind the portraits, which unfold stories and feelings on a large scale.

www.moooi.com

Our content director Sumien Brink was at the London Design Festival this year. Catch her blog highlights here.

See our article about the Moooi showroom in Milan this year and read our interview with Marcel Wanders here.

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Hosted at Habitat’s Platform space on King’s Road, the Graphic Africa exhibition features the work of 16 designers from 10 African countries and runs well beyond the London Design Festival, until Sunday 20 October.

Entailing over 20 pieces of new furniture, and a capsule collection of ceramics, glassware and lighting, Graphic Africa was curated by Trevyn and Julian McGowan of Source. The exhibition includes modern furniture and lighting by Johannesburg’s Dokter and Misses, hand-strung iconic furniture from Mali’s Cheick Diallo, crafted metal furniture by Burkina Faso’s Hamed Ouattara, artistic ceramics by Cape Town’s Imiso Ceramics and graphic textiles by Mali’s Boubacar Doumbia.

Much of the work is the result of the Design Network Africa project, including the debut of Heath Nash’s new glassware developed in Kenya and featured in the SPRINGLOADED VISI 68. Boubacar is also working with Rebecca Hoyes, Habitat’s senior designer, to produce a collection of cushions, throws and home textiles based on “mud cloth” techniques.

In turn running from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 September, 100% Design is the massive expo that happens annually at Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre. This year’s South African pavilion is called Framework and features the contemporary furniture design of over 13 local designers.

From Vogel and Pierre Cronje’s traditional-with-a-twist to the modernist edge of Joe Paine and Indigi Designs, and the zippy cork of Snapp and Wiid, not to mention the ever-popular Willowlamp and distinguished Tonic, we’re proud to confirm that there is most definitely a distinctive, sophisticated aesthetic emerging in South African furniture.

As an aside, we couldn’t help but notice that the 100% Design marketing campaign is most certainly inspired by Li Edelkoort’s totem trend, which she announced at Design Indaba earlier this year.

South Africa might be at the tip of the Earth, but good ideas float to the top!

www.londondesignfestival.com

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Piet Hein Eek’s prototype lamp at Tom Dixon

The Dock, Tom Dixon’s headquarters at Portobello Dock, has become an out-of-the-way gathering spot during the London Design Festival. This year, he invited Nika Zupanc and Piet Hein Eek to exhibit in his shop, where Piet unveiled this huge multi-shade lamp, a prototype for a new design we’ll be seeing more of soon.

South African designers at MINT

A great surprise was spotting one of Willowlamp’s chandeliers in the window of Mint in the Brompton Design District. For the London Design Festival, owner Lina Kanafani put together an eclectic range of pieces by upcoming South African talent, which included Adam Hoets’s lights, Gregor Jenkin’s furniture and 3-D sculptures by Michaella Janse van Vuuren.

Benjamin Hubert at designjunction

Young London-based industrial designer Benjamin Hubert’s new Pelt chair for De La Espada seamlessly wraps a Tshirt-shaped plywood seat around solid wood legs. Every detail is resolved, resulting in an elegant but economical piece that looks timeless. As part of his exhibit at designjunction, Benjamin deconstructed each finished product with a display of the materials used – whether cement, cork, plywood or underwear fabric – to reveal his materials-driven process.

JAILmake at TENT London

London design studio JAILmake took exposing their work processes one step further, by condensing their 205sqm workshop into a 5sqm stand at TENT London. They had no products on show, yet visitors walking past stood in wonder, while the three designers worked on projects, undeterred. “We’re worried that designing and making are becoming distanced, and we want to bring them back together,” they said.

The new Central Saint Martins campus

Designed by architects Stanton Williams, the campus is the creative heart of a massive urban regeneration project that has transformed 67 acres of derelict land to the north of King’s Cross and St Pancras International railway stations. The college, situated in a converted granary and two railway transit sheds, was the site of the Global Design Forum, a one-day conference that invited luminaries such as Yves Béhar and Thomas Heatherwick to engage in debates about pressing issues affecting the design world. 

Design Indaba will be uploading all their London Design Festival videos over the next few weeks. See them all here.

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