Now open
18 – 24 Sep 2017

Design Frontiers 2017

FREE
18 – 24 Sep 2017
Terrace Rooms
& West Wing Galleries

Encounter works from 30 international designers pushing the frontiers of the design world.


Opening hours

Mon 18 Sep 11.00 - 18.00
Tue 19 Sep 11.00 - 17.30
Wed 20 Sep 11.00 - 20.00
Thu 21 Sep 11.00 - 20.00
Fri 22 Sep 11.00 - 20.00
Sat 23 Sep 11.00 - 18.00
Sun 24 Sep 11.00 - 18.00

Last entry is 30 minutes prior to closing. 


From Harry Beck’s iconic map design for the London Underground to creatives like Vivienne Westwood and Gareth Pugh pushing the boundaries of fashion, London has long been regarded as the centre for design innovation. Design Frontiers cements that reputation, with thought-provoking and inspiring work from the 30 designers renowned for shaping and leading their respective disciplines.From automotive to fashion, product design to graphics, Design Frontiers takes over the Terrace Rooms and West Wing Galleries with a series of installations and exhibitions showing how these designers push the frontiers of the design world.

“This group exhibition, of some of the world’s most exciting designers, coincides with London Design Festival, and will be an unmissable highlight. Design Frontiers displays the broad reach of the discipline: the way in which design touches every part of our everyday lives, and ultimately how it might improve them.”

Ben Evans, Design Frontiers

What's on

Please don't feed the Designers

PriestmanGoode will move part of its design studio to Somerset House for Design Frontiers. The installation 'Please Don't Feed the Designers' will showcase real designers - from visualisers to materials specialists - working on real projects, allowing visitors to engage with the creative process and gain insight into what it's like working at the frontiers of the future of transport.

Trashpresso: Pentatonic

Pentatonic presents the world's first mobile off-grid recycling plant. Using London's rubbish, Pentatonic will create architectural tiles that will piece together an immersive installation, demonstrating the power and potential of upcycling.

Prototypa

Swedish design studio, Form Us With Love, present Prototypa, a platform that nurtures the relationship between industry and creatives through a dialogue about one of the most distinct parts of the design process—prototyping.

My Canvas

With contributions from 19 designers and artistic talents from around the globe, the Kvadrat exhibition 'My Canvas' will pay homage to a Kvadrat staple: the vibrant and elegant upholstery textile Canvas 2, created and colour set this year by renowned Italian colourist Giulio Ridolfo.

Moving Mephitic Air


Somerset House Studios residents Superflux and Strange Telemetry, together with artist Wesley Goatley draw on their critical art and design practices to create new ways of sensing and understanding London’s air pollution crisis. Local air pollution data has been captured and transformed into exploratory visualisations and surround-sound data sonifications. The installation creates a way to compare human and machine interpretations of the world, and explores how critical uses of data in art and design can explore them both.

Axyl - by Benjamin Hubert and LAYER

Benjamin Hubert of experience design agency LAYER will introduce the AXYL collection for Allermuir, creating a new range of sustainable furniture with a distinctive materiality and format.

Jaguar

Ian Callum, the director of design at Jaguar since 1999, will explore the future of travel and the process of electrification in the automotive industry in an immersive, two-room installation - from the sketch to reality and the future of travel.

Materialise - The Big Studio and Pentlands Brands


Katie Greenyer of Pentland Brands will present Materialise, a celebration of individual components that piece together in perfect harmony, creating products that help athletes swim faster, climb higher and train harder. The installation will put the spotlight on creative pattern cutting, fabric technology and pioneering design behind performance pieces.

Nolii

Benjamin Hubert and LAYER are launching nolii, a lifestyle-focused tech brand co-founded with design and tech entrepreneur Asad Hamir. Key products from theinaugural collection, designed by LAYER, will be previewed in an immersive installation that celebrates the simple beauty of being connected.

Luminous Reflections

Tord Boontje is similarly redefining the chandelier in his collaboration with Swarovski – his collection, Luminous Reflections, will feature the first ever unfaceted crystal components created by the Austrian company, conjuring fluid and organic light effects.

Mineral Gravity

Arik Levy’s collaboration with luxury surfaces company COMPAC, Mineral Gravity, will involve a large-scale sculptural mono-block mineral quartz island that appears to float within its exhibition space like a black iceberg, as if carved from a single block of quartz.

Design Frontiers coincides with the city-wide London Design Festival.

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