Arup’s exhibition at London Design Festival showcases a regenerative future where people and nature co-exist

The London Design Festival is an annual event that takes place in the capital of the United Kingdom. It promotes London as a pioneering design capital globally, and this year the festival celebrated its 20th anniversary! ‘Arup’ was a key partner this year, and was involved in a myriad range of activities and projects. Arup’s Foresight team presented an exhibition on the topic of ‘Regenerative Futures’. The team explored what a regenerative society could look like in the future. They showcased their explorations through a series of props from designers and researchers who work in regenerative design themselves.

“The concept of regenerative design calls for a long-term transformation to combine the needs of people with those of the planet by re-thinking and redesigning the world around us. ” Which is exactly what Arup succeeded in doing – they’ve created designs that help humans and nature co-exist seamlessly.  Other regenerative companies featured in the exhibition were – EOOS NEXT, Blast Studio, Lulu Harrison, Rachel Horton-Kitchlew, Green&Blue, SPACE10, and Studio MOM.

Designer: Arup

Arup and Studio MOM collaborated to create MyHelmet – a mycelium bio-manufacturing. In Arup’s imagined regenerative future -Mycelium has become incredibly popular, and the market for it has even exceeded that of concrete! In fact, the global mycelium market is valued at $6.17 trillion this year and will reach $9.72 trillion by 2070. This helmet showcases the versatility of this material. Mycelium has found immense functionality in the field of fashion, food, product design, and even the built environment industry!

The Blast Studio created the ‘Coral Lamp’ from waste coffee cups! Since the ‘Stop-single-use’ campaigns in favor of banning single-use coffee cups haven’t worked in the past, this waste stream is utilized as a valuable material resource in the future. By transforming coffee cups into beautiful lamps – the reusability and potential of an otherwise harmful material have been showcased.

Designed by Green&Blue, the BeeBrick is a safe urban nesting for solitary bees. In the future, designers consider plants, animals, and large natural systems as actual ‘users’ of their design. According to rules and policies, products such as BeeBrick have to be included in all new builds. These policies now provide habitats for all local wildlife!

In the future, Augmented Reality technology has developed even further – allowing physical and virtual environments to merge seamlessly, through a viewing mode called ‘Mirrorworlds’. Foresight at Arup created these AR glasses which allow designers to interact with nature, and receive feedback in real-time while conducting fieldwork! The developed AR tech allows designers to easily comprehend contextual nature-based data, enabling them to deliver more net-positive outcomes.

EOOS NEXT designed a zero-emissions utility vehicle that is used as a form of transport by commuters every day. It is 3D printed from plastic waste. When they aren’t using public transport, commuters travel using a bike, or an electric small-format vehicle (EVs). This has reduced personal carbon emissions by 60-70%, allowing humongous carbon credit savings for individuals and small businesses.

Foresight, also designed, a ‘Dragonfly’. This Dragonfly functions as an autonomous data collection machine. No one really pays attention to them in the future. They are simply regarded as living organisms busy at work! They are used in nature-based solutions, to collect data, and deliver it to regenerative designers, so they can utilize it for their fieldwork. These dragonflies also monitor changes and alert biohazards.

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Design London 2022: A Peek at the Future of Design Today

In-person events are back in full swing, and there’s no better time to generate collective energy and interest than today. After a highly successful inaugural showcase last year, Design London has returned during a very trending time for the global city. With double the floor space to welcome exhibitors and visitors alike, Design London is gathering not only the finest and widest selection of designs across multiple industries, from architecture to interiors to lighting, from across the world. It is also a venue where discussions between the brightest minds in design will be held, previewing and shaping the trends that will carry design into the future, including topics that will give it a more prominent role in saving our planet.

Attend Design London 2022 by registering here!

Furniture, Lighting, and Interiors

Thanks to recent events, people have become more conscious of the role the furniture and lighting play in setting the correct atmosphere at home. Previously considered to be something that only connoisseurs would appreciate, designer products and bespoke designs have entered mainstream consumer consciousness. We’ve seen a rise in interest and sales of such products, and Design London is curating some of the biggest and rising names that are shaping that market.

Danish brand HAY joins Design London for the first time with Palisade, an intriguing metal bench that snakes across the ground to provide both seating capacity as well as visual interest to any outdoor space. Compatriot Thors Design, meanwhile, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with Gaia and Globe plank tables, the latest in the company’s line of bespoke furniture made from recycled wood.

Designer: Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec (HAY)

Designer: Thors Design

Lighting is just as important as furniture in setting the mood, both through their lights as well as their very design. The Akoya pendant lamp from Fabbian, hangs like a clam ready to drop its precious pearl, an imagery that makes it perfect for beach houses and similar architectures. In contrast, the industrial vibe that the pipes of Ago’s Cirkus pendant lamp give is a better fit for more enclosed and darker spaces.

Designer: Filippo Protasoni (Fabbian)

Designer: Ago

It’s easy enough to downplay the design of the floor we walk on or the walls that get covered up by shelves and decorations, but even these can make or break the ambiance that you’re aiming for. For example, handmade tiles from New Terracotta combine old ancient techniques with modern aesthetics, creating a truly unique appearance for any room. In a similar vein, Creadoor adds a pinch of 3D graphics to traditional woodworking techniques to create stunning bespoke doors and walls that give a room a unique personality of its own.

Designer: New Terracotta

Designer: Creadoor

Design Throughout the World

While it’s natural to presume that many of Design London’s participants will be coming from neighboring countries in the region, it is also an opportunity to showcase design hailing from all over the world, especially from Asia. The Korean Pavilion, for example, will house products from some of the country’s small- to medium-sized design companies. Be mesmerized by the reflective surfaces of iamHERE’s benches and stools, or take comfort in the embrace of Woorim Workshop’s curvaceous wooden lounge.

Designer: iamHERE

Designer: Woorim Workshop

The Thai Pavilion, on the other hand, will showcase a variety of furniture and decor sharing a common sustainability theme. The BiiN plant stand, for example, recycles waste material from the industrial sector to create a multi-functional piece of furniture that can act as a plant stand, storage container, or side table. Sarn lamps use traditional weaving patterns and materials to create unique lampshades for pendant lamps.

Designer: Eggwhite Design Studio

Designer: Thingg

Designing for the Future

More than just a showcase for contemporary product designs, Design London will also be a forum for the industry’s luminaries to share their creativity, passion, and vision for what the future holds. It is also an exhibit of a variety of designs that can help change the course of history in making sure that products of the future do right by the planet we live on.

Designer: Lee Broom

A headlining talk from award-winning British designer Lee Broom will go back in time to reveal the influences that gave birth to his many masterpieces that harmoniously blend classic and modern aesthetics. Sustainability advocate Jay Blades MBE will go over his unique approach to making things, as well as his crusade to create and sell furniture using recycled or reclaimed materials.

Designer: Jay Blades MBE

Sustainability has been a big topic in design in the past years, and, unsurprisingly, it has a huge presence this year in London. Net Positive tiles, for example, are made from recycled plastic fishing nets using a zero-waste manufacturing process. Something that can be immediately appreciated is the Island Steps, a 3D printed installation from 100% cement-free concrete that can be a place to sit back and rest while enjoying this guilt-free oasis, whether indoor or outdoor.

Designer: Coldharbour Tiles

Designer: Steuart Padwick (Versarien)

Whether it’s materials for sprucing up your room’s walls or furniture that will give meaning and life to your living space, Design London 2022 will offer eye-catching and mind-blowing designs that display the collective genius of the industry from different corners of the world. Not settling for the status quo, the destination will also provoke the industry’s best minds and talent with talks and discussions, pushing the boundaries of design toward a better future not just for humans but also for the planet.

Register Now to attend Design London 2022!

Design London 2021.
22/09/2021 – Photograph by Sam Frost ©2021.

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The Skyline Chess Set lets you play a game of chess with your favorite city’s iconic buildings!

Imagine the Harry Potter chess set… but with Muggle Architecture.

With 6 cities to choose from, scattered across North America, Europe, and Asia, the Skyline Chess set makes the game of chess a tad bit grander and classier than you’d expect. The board comes with its patent checkered design, but ditches the conventional army-inspired chess pieces for scaled-down replicas of iconic landmarks like the Burj, Eiffel, London Eye, and the Empire State Building.

Designer: Skyline Chess

Click Here to Buy Now

The chess set converts city skylines into chess players, with entire sets dedicated to the iconic buildings of New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, and Dubai. Skyline Chess Sets let you play either as a singular city (with the board effectively being a visual representation of the city’s map) or battle it out between two cities, finally settling the debate of which one’s better – New York or London!

Each Skyline Chess Set comes in a variety of materials, featuring pieces made from acrylic, stainless steel, or even luxurious bronze, and the boards made out of card, wood, or marble. True-blue architecture enthusiasts can even grab brutalist editions of the game with die-cast resin pieces painted the signature concrete gray!

Combining the age-old popular strategy game with the undying beauty of architecture, the Skyline Chess Set’s appeal lies not just in the gameplay, but also in the fact that it makes a beautiful piece of tabletop decor. While the chess sets only come in 6 cities for now, the folks at Skyline Chess are actively expanding their collections with upcoming editions featuring Tokyo, LA, Hong Kong, and Shanghai!

Click Here to Buy Now

Click Here to Buy Now

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Amazon UK’s first checkout-free Fresh grocery store opens in London

Amazon has opened its first checkout-free store outside of the US, a Fresh store powered by the "Just Walk Out" tech used in US Go stores. The shop, located in the West London borough of Ealing, offers Brits the same automated shopping expe...

Uber still can’t have cars in London, but it’s buying a ferry on the Thames

Uber may have lost its license to operate vehicles on the streets of London, but that isn’t stopping the company from offering a boat service. The Thames Clipper commuter service will soon be rebranded Uber Boat, and it will be bookable through the U...

Watch how this whimsical monster uses storytelling to depict the time!

The Number Cruncher watch has hands, but they aren’t for telling time! The watch face features an adorable cartoon monster that uses its hands to munch on numbers in a way that tells the time while also telling a story of sorts.

This blue monster (stomping its way through Central London) comes with a window at its stomach, and within its left hand. The hour of the day appears as the number in the monster’s hand, and as it munches on it, the minutes appear within the monster’s digestive system. It’s a good thing there’s no seconds dial on this watch because I honestly don’t know where one could possibly put it!

The Number Cruncher comes with a stainless steel body, a metal-mesh watch strap, and is waterproof up to 5ATM.

Designer: Mr Jones Watches

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Click Here to Buy Now

Heathrow Airport installs anti-drone system that can locate UAV pilots

The UK knows first-hand how disruptive drones can be to major airports. Last March, it introduced legislation to widen the drone no-fly zone around airports to five kilometers. Now, to enforce the new rules, London's Heathrow Airport has installed a...