Lee Broom presents Opticality
(UK) – London Design Festival 2016 will feature Opticality, Lee Broom’s post modern exhibition of optical illusion.
This September, the british product designer will celebrate the retail launch of the Optical lihting collection by transforming his Shoreditch store, for one week only, in to a postmodern Op Art experience.
Previewed at this year’s Salone Del Mobile in Milan as part of Broom’s ‘Salone Del Automobile’ exhibition – which was nominated for the Milano Design Award 2016 and named one of the 16 best shows out of over 1,500 installation during Milan Design Week 2016 – the Optical collection will be available for purchase at Lee Broom or through any of the many dealers who represent the Lee Broom brand across the globe from September.
Inspired by Op Art of the 1960’s, Optical reflects the monochrome graphics and mood of the era with a modern linear pattern, which when viewed from all sides, changes at every angle. The collection will take centre stage in the store, which will be completely re-designed for the event.
Optical also holds strong personal associations for Broom, being inspired by the period in which he grew up in the early 90’s when he decorated his bedroom with a strong Op Art aesthetic.
In Lee Broom style, ‘Opticality’ will be an innovative installation. Fully decorated in black and white, the store will become an exploratory space inviting visitors to take a journey through a display of optical illusions to discover the collection displayed and presented against a graphic monochrome backdrop.
The exhibition will also feature existing pieces updated in a new finish to reflect the mood of the ‘Opticality’ theme.
Broom commented: “The London Design Festival is always such a special show for me as it’s on home ground. I get the opportunity to dramatically re-design our store in Shoreditch each year and ‘Opticality’ will be no different.”
Made by the Forge Forge
Designed by Chris Eckersley, handcrafted by Made by the Forge, the Forge pendant features hand-spun copper and aluminium shades with a hand-riveted blacksmithed band on the pendant's rim. The Forge is available in polished copper, aged copper or aluminium.
BIID past president Diana Yakeley awarded OBE
(UK) – In the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2016, Diana Yakeley received an OBE in recognition for service to the interior design profession.
A multi award-winning designer, Yakeley’s 35 year career has embraced interior, garden and furniture design for projects in Britain and internationally. Her work covers all aspects of contemporary design, both luxury residential and commercial, including a commission from The British Government during the London 2012 Olympics to showcase the best of British design to world leaders, policy makers and investors.
Yakeley has served as President of the BIID for two terms and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers (FCSD). Yakeley trained at the Inchbald School of Design in 1979 and commenced practice in 1981 with Yakeley Associates. Her career flourished as she built a reputation for understated, elegant and luxurious design. In 1983 she was elected to the BIID and her involvement with the Institute continued to grow, with her election to fellowship of the Institute in 1994.
In 2003, Yakeley chaired the Institute’s Continuing Professional Development Committee where she helped drive the BIID’s commitment to on-going professional training and development. In 2008, she was given the BIID’s prestigious Award of Merit. In 2005, she served as President of the BIID and again in 2011. She has been instrumental in enhancing the professionalism of the Interior Design profession and continues to maintain an active role in the Institute by chairing its Audit Committee and by mentoring young interior designers.
In 2004-2005 Yakeley chaired the joint RIBA/BIID committee, which produced the pivotal British interior designer/client Form of Agreement and has continued to advise on subsequent updates. In 2009, she was instrumental in the BIID joining the Construction Industry Council and in 2010 she co-authored the first book on the professional practice of Interior Design, The BIID Interior Design Job Book, which affirmed the growing reputation and credibility of the interior design profession. She has given seminar on professional practice at a number of university interior design departments and has judged numerous interior design awards schemes.
Yakeley has designed numerous interiors for residential, commercial, civic and other buildings in Britain and abroad. In 2011, she was asked by the British Government to curate the temporary conversion of iconic Lancaster House in the Mall as The British Business Embassy during the London 2012 Olympics to showcase the best of British design and manufacture.
In 1992, Yakeley won an international design award at the US National Business Aviation Association convention held in Dallas for excellence in the interior design of a business jet for a Formula One motor racing team.
BIID President Daniel Hopwood commented: “On behalf of the BIID, I’d like to offer our congratulations to Diana for this prestigious accolade which recognises her enormous contribution to the Interior Design profession. Through her work with the BIID, she has done great work to develop professional standards of best practice and to champion the importance of continual professional development of those in the interior design industry.”
Past President of the International Interior Design Association (UK Chapter) and Past Chairman of the BIDA Christopher Vane Percy comments: “I am delighted to congratulate Diana on this well-deserved honour in recognition for her all she has done to develop levels of professionalism for the Interior Design industry. Her extensive body of work demonstrates her considerable design talent and the OBE is a fitting testament to all she has done for our profession.”
Graham Watts, OBE, Chief Executive, Construction Industry Council said: “Diana has made a huge contribution to our industry and this honour is so richly deserved. I warmly congratulate Diana on this important achievement and for all she has done to help raise professional standards as part of the built environment sector.”
Tala introduced in Selfridges
(UK) – Selfridges launches first sustainable lighting brand, featuring Tala’s Canopy of Light installation marking its presence in luxury department store.
Founded in 2013 by four partners at the University of Edinburgh, Tala creates sustainable design products. The word Tala derives from an African concept of Conservation Through Beauty and serves as the unifying ethos of the brand.
The young lighting brand’s collection has launched initially in Selfridges flagship store on Oxford Street, London ahead of a Spring roll-out. To celebrate sustainable British design, Tala’s Design Director Joe Armitage designed a bespoke installation made from a British Oak tree, which he crafted to display an array of 150 Tala Gaia LED lights.
The design takes inspiration from the launch of the Ten Trees programme; for every 200 units sol, they plant 10 native trees in the UK with The Heart of England Forest charity. Maxwell Wood, Co-Founder of Tala said: “Selfridges is one of the longest standing premium retailers, pioneering the idea that shopping should be an experience. We’re thrilled to have joined Selfridges and have the opportunity to give the Selfridges customer the full Tala experience.”
Selfrdiges Home Buyer Clare Sprigings added: “The Tala range offers a brilliant lighting solution combining classic decorative qualities and pioneering LED technology. We’re excited to have Tala on board at Selfridges in our Home Department.”
The Tala range is available to buy in store at Selfridges London Oxford Street and at Selfridges online.
Lasvit launch Lollipop collection
(Czech Republic) – Slovakian designer Boris Klimek designed the Lollipop collection for Lasvit consisting of table, standing and pendant lamps.
Klimek experimented with the technique of slumped glass, exploring its wide possibilities in terms of glass colouring, glint and internal structure. Made of amorphous glass plates, combined with the metal holder and inserted light source, the resulting objects are reminiscent of lollipops.
Klimek studied at the Zlin Atelier of the Academy of Arts Architecture and Design in Prague. He received numerous prizes for his work and is currently based in Prague, where he focuses on product and interior design as well as exhibition displays. His designs show conceptual overlaps and often carry stories. Klimek’s designs aim both at function and beauty, particularly through their poetry, playfulness and ability to spark fantasy and emotion.
dpa lighting opening new Edinburgh studio
(UK) – dpa lighting consultants will open a new office in Edinburgh, Scotland, later this year.
The practice is driven by the individual team members; with the return of Douglas Brennan to dpa 18 months ago, opening an office in Douglas’ home city seemed a logical course of action. The office will be engaged with a variety of international projects, primarily from the Middle East, but is well placed to service commissions in Scotland and the North of England as well.
dpa are in the process of recruiting additional Senior Designers and Designers to create a new team, which will coordinate closely with the other dpa offices in the UK, Dubai and Japan.
Plumen x Made.com launch second lighting collection
(UK) – Plumen x Made.com team up again to create Memoir, a new lampshade collection inspired by 1950’s task lamps.
Continuing their partnership following the release of their first collection in January 2015, Memoir features three shade designs, tailored to compliment the dimmable Plumen 002 LED bulb’s shape and light qualities.
Loaded with the warm light of the sculpted Plumen 002, the fine perforations of the metallic shades break the light into fragments, blurring and texturing it as they drift around the room. The family includes sconce, table and pendant lights allowing you to co-ordinate home spaces, offices and typing pools.
Made Studio Product Designer Beatriz Nuno said: “We developed the Memoir Collection with Plumen based on a 1950’s task lamp with a futuristic twist from the perforate shade and polished brass detail. Working with a design-led technology brand like Plumen allowed us to incorporate their new LED bulb, the Plumen 002 LED – it’s energy efficient and really complements the collection. Collaborating with such an innovative brand allows us to expand our range and introduce more original and exciting design. that’s what Made.com is all about.”
The collection gives a modern twist to the 1950’s task lamps. The sharp edged steel and polished brass combination give any room a sophisticated feel and its elegant, angled shape is striking in any dimly lit corner of the home. The steel conical shape helps diffuse the light onto a surface below whilst the mesh material allows you to enjoy the bulb’s sculptural silhouette, even when turned off.
Plumen Co-founder and Creative Director talks about the collaboration: “The moody Memoir collection builds on the Plumen X Made collection that saw great success with the Plume and Rehm pendant shade designs launch last year. This new shade family includes pendant, desk and wall sconce lamps to coordinate fittings across any space. The black and brass colour ways evoke the smoky, panelled offices of tightly styled 50’s interiors with the ultra-modern inclusion of the sculpted Plumen 002 LED bulb. a perforated metal sheet wraps the bulb, softening glare, directing light to where you nee it, whilst adding texture and mystique as each tiny perforation acts as a camera obscura, sending tiny pockets of light across the space.”
John Cullen Lighting talks kitchens at Clerkenwell
(UK) - John Cullen Lighting joined kitchen designers Bulthaup Clerkenwell to speak at London showroom during Clerkenwell Design Week.
Associate Designer Luke Thomas from John Cullen Lighting told a full audience how to create the best lighting for this room at the heart of any home. He explained that the most important element is for the lighting to be flexible throughout the day to change for the multitude of uses from cooking, eating, working and dining.
Using a number of images of Bulthaup kitchens with lighting schemes and fittings designed by John Cullen Lighting, Thomas showed how layered lighting creates the most interesting effects from adding an LED strip under an island to create a floating effect or adding floor washers into a kick plinth to show off the floor finish. Thomas discussed how the introduction of LEDs has opened up a fresh new world of lighting possibilities but it was key to select the good quality LEDs with good colour consistency, colour rendition and colour temperature.
Zaha Hadid Design hosts open gallery
(UK) - Zaha Hadid Design Gallery opened doors to the public during Clerkenwell Design Week.
First opened to the public during CDW 2013, Zaha Hadid Design Gallery (ZHDG) has since become a hub for showcasing the latest in Hadid’s product design, while referencing the late designer’s process and approach developed over the last 35 years. Through exclusive fashion and jewellery pop-ups, to architectural installations exploring the latest in material and fabrication research, the ZHDG provides an insight into the immersive world of Hadid and her life’s work.
Featured at the ZHDG are the Aria and Avia lamps designed for Slamp, as well as the Seamless Collection, which was Hadid’s exploration into a new language of design and architecture; fusing complex curvilinear geometries with detailed ergonomic research. Also presented are a continually evolving exhibition of architecture models, and the studio’s latest product design.
Take a look at darc’s latest issue to read more about the late design legend’s achievements and life’s work: https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/darc16_digital_issuu/c/smdkhk0
Giles Miller's Billboards guide Clerkenwell visitors
(UK) - Giles Miller Studio presented Billboards at Clerkenwell Design Week 2016 to lead visitors around events.
Working with the concept of wayfinding, Giles Miller Studio produced a series of four large-scale abstract signage sculptures. Square glass tiles were composed to create a centralised ‘swoosh’, featured in each sculpture, designed to subtly evoke the movement of visitors to the next festival destination. Each sculpture is lit from within and omits a warm glow come nightfall, ensuring their functionality at all hours of the day.
The functional sculptures were produced in collaboration with British Ceramic Tile, who celebrated the launch of their new London Hub in Clerkenwell during the festival. The sculptures were composed of over 8,000 hand-crafted tiles in an array of metallic colours. Each structure adopted a scale-like composition of overlapping tiles, creating an intense sense of depth and movement.
This is the third time the Giles Miller Studio has designed and crafted an installation for Clerkenwell Design Week and Billboards both represents the functional sculptural artworks the studio is known for, as well as the studio’s on-going creative development.
Photo: Sophie Mutevelia
Tom Dixon illuminates St. James' Church
(UK) – Clerkenwell Design Week 2016 saw Tom Dixon make London's St James’ church available as a creative resource.
Tom Dixon collaborated with Andrew Baughen, the Vicar of St James’ classic 17th century church on Clerkenwell Green. Baughen saw the potential of making his unique building available to the daytime residents of Clerkenwell – the creative workforce, and a place for the residential community to use as a resource.
The partnership involved the British design studio installing a large central chandelier of Curve pendants in the main space, a co-working environment featuring Melt pendants and standing lamps, and a kitchen all to be donated as permanent fixtures.
The extraordinary volumes of this heritage site allowed Tom Dixon to demonstrate its new lighting and furniture products recently launched in Milan against a series of historic backdrops – the panelled wood of the 18th century vestry, the bare stone construction of the entrance hall and the huge volumes and stained glass panels of the main church provided a variety of design challenges.
As the Church evolves and adapts to the new conditions of the 21st century, the opportunity of opening up to new audiences and unexpected collaborations becomes a necessity. For the design audience and the more permanent residents of Clerkenwell, Tom Dixon aimed to see a contemplative and spiritual space become more comfortable and accessible with the designer’s intervention.
Clerkenwell keeps design moving
(UK) - The seventh edition of Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) saw 34,973 visitors explore the three-day show in May.
With over 90 local showrooms and more than 300 exhibiting brands, CDW brought London’s most idiosyncratic and creative headquarters alive. Visitors came from over 70 countries, mixing with exhibitors drawn from more than 20 countries.
Sponsored by Renault for the second year, 65% of the visitors to CDW were professionals – registered as architects or designers, confirming the importance of CDW for London’s creative sector. The show was delivered through a unique format including eight exhibition venues, over 150 local businesses and a series of original site-specific installations and over 400 events.
New for 2016 was the comprehensive re-calibration of the show, which stretched across Clerkenwell, and masterplan by local architecture practice OMMX. This provided a fresh outlook on both the area and the experience of visiting a business-focussed design event. Way-finding guided visitors between festival locations as they explored the new parts of Clerkenwell to hunt out the latest in design. Along with geographic expansion of the exhibitions, a gateway destination to Clerkenwell’s showrooms was added at Brewhouse Yard and The Goldsmiths Centre took centre stage as the show’s Live Events Hub.
The Conversations at Clerkenwell series of talks and panel discussions, sponsored by 250 City Road, included a host of design thinkers and influencers such as Tom Dixon on his CDW installation, The Church, John Cullen on how best to light the kitchen, and many more from the design world.
William Knight, Show Director of Clerkenwell Design Week, said: “It has been a sensational year for Clerkenwell Design Week with a completely new layout and the introduction of exciting new venues, such as the iconic Fabric nightclub and Design Fields near Exmouth Market. The campaign covered by Parallel, new way-finding and a strong set of installations all contributed to a memorable and transitional edition of the show.
“Much of the work is down to the commitment of creative teams and sponsors including Giles Miller and British Ceramic Tile’s Billboards installations. We know Clerkenwell is a dynamic and significant part of London’s design economy – our ambition is for CDW to reflect this and express it in new and original ways. The layout for the show has created a unique experience, and one which we believe will allow for sustained growth in the future.”
