London Design Festival reveals programme for 2017

Villa Walala, by Camille Walala

The organisers of the London Design Festival (LDF) have announced the details of its 2017 edition.

Now in its 15th year, the festival will feature a series of commissions across the UK capital, including an installation by textile designer Camille Walala at Broadgate Circus, Liverpool Street.

Villa Walala will comprise a soft-textured, inflatable “building-block castle” in the heart of London’s financial district. Made from vinyl, sealed PVC inners and high-strength nylon, the installation will be covered with digitally printed patterns.

The brightly coloured installation will aim to “visually dominate an otherwise grey space” and “inject a little joy into what may otherwise have been just another day at the office”, says LDF.

V&A Museum

The Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum is set to remain as the main festival hub for its ninth year, and will play host to various installations and commissions.

British designer Ross Lovegrove’s Transmission installation is inspired by the museum’s collection of 15th century Devonshire Hunting Tapestries. The 25-metre, free-standing tapestry is made from alcantara, an animal-based textile alternative.

Palestinian architects Elias and Yousef Anastas will also debut their installation While We Wait; a reinterpretation of the wall which separates a monastery and the local community in the Cremsian Valley in Palestine. The stone-based installation features a lace-style pattern, and will act as an immersive space that visitors can walk around and touch.

A new group exhibition called Design Frontiers will also launch for 2017, taking place at Somerset House and coinciding with the rest of LDF. The exhibition will bring together 30 international designers and will focus on innovation and the future of design.

Economic impact report

The overall festival comprises eight official design districts across London, including this year’s new addition of one in Mayfair, alongside those in Bankside, Brompton, Brixton, Chelsea, Clerkenwell, Islington and Shoreditch.

Several tradeshows will also take place during the course of the festival, including 100% Design, Decorex International, Designjunction, Focus/17 and London Design Fair.

To mark the 15th anniversary of the festival, its organisers have released the results of an economic impact report commissioned by the Greater London Authority, which indicates that LDF has contributed £313 million to the London economy over the last 10 years.

The London Design Festival will run from 16-24 September 2017 at venues across London.

Villa Walala, by Camille Walala
Transmission, by Ross Lovegrove
Transmission, by Ross Lovegrove
Transmission, by Ross Lovegrove
Transmission, by Ross Lovegrove
While We Wait, by Elias and Yousef-Anastas
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