A series of six temporary installations – the results of collaborations between a new generation of architects and designers with some of London’s most respected design brands – is unveiled today as part of the London Festival of Architecture.
Showroom Showcase is the result of a design competition inviting emerging architects and designers to create small-scale yet unique architectural installations that can be enjoyed by a large physical and digital audience during this year’s London Festival of Architecture. The winning teams each worked with a design brand partner to create a display for the partner showroom, aiming to both reflect the design brand and encourage passers-by to pause, enjoy and discover more. Working only with paper, the designers demonstrate the intricacies and design potential of a seemingly simple material in these installations, which will be on display throughout the Festival this June.
1. Fragment by Inclume for Gaggenau (at Wigmore Street)
This installation represents the craftsmanship that Gaggenau has pursued since its founding as a hammer mill and nail forge, in 1683. It is an abstract interpretation of the story of the brand: ‘It began with a spark.’ Black paper shapes signify the brand’s roots at the edge of the Black Forest in Germany, with the orange representing the fragments emanating from the forging process. The tactility and texture of the design recalls the handcrafted nature of working with metal and includes several forged nails which are suspended across varying focal points of the window.
Twitter & Instagram: @inclumestudio
Instagram: @gaggenauofficial
To hear from the designers and the showroom about the project, go here
2. Made in Italy by Nathan Ward for Smeg (on Regent Street)
This Smeg window display celebrates the architectural influences that characterise the innovative Italian appliance manufacturer. The design takes you on a journey from the brands founding home in Guastalla near Reggio Emilia in the northern Italy, to its Regent Street flagship store – telling a truly Italian story.
Instagram: @thisisnathanward
Instagram: @smegstorelondon
To hear from the designers and the showroom about the project, go here
3. ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS by Urban Radicals with Eftychios Savvidis and Mariza Daouti for Poliform (on King’s Road)
By convention paper and by convention stone, by convention pebble, by convention rock, by convention matter; but in reality, bits and bytes. Playfully paraphrasing the philosopher Democritus, the material transitions in this design have been created by both digital and physical processes, resulting in a seemingly megalithic structure that is equally primitive and contemporary. Pebbles found along the coast were 3D scanned, post-processed into mesh and simplified into faceted forms, before being resized, printed on paper and reassembled by hand.
Instagram: @urbanradicals
www.poliformuk.com , www.poliform.it
Twitter & Instagram: @PoliformUK
To hear from the designers and the showroom about the project, go here
4. The Pleat Garden by Unit 8 with VitrA (in Clerkenwell)
The Pleat Garden uses pleats and origami folding techniques to create a set of flower-inspired geometries that gently float inside the showroom, creating an abstract garden. The garden reacts to changes in the environment, floating in the wind and diffusing the light as this passes through the intricate pleat patterns. Complementing the VitrA Voyage colour palette, the pleated flowers offer a dual reading, creating a delicate balance between both sides of the showroom.
Instagram: @unit8.uel [@sonamdahya @austin.dwg & @atelierlajuntana]
Twitter: @VitrABathrooms
Instagram: @Vitralondon
To hear from the designers and the showroom about the project, go here
5. The 3 Little Bricks by Ten Tectons for EH Smith (in Clerkenwell)
Inspired by the fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs, EH Smith’s brick-making legacy and its shopfront near Smithfield Market, this design re-imagines a continuation of this well-known story. The display follows the three little pigs’ escape from Smithfield, showing them expand their brick houses in a city called Swinefield, where they lived happily ever after.
Instagram: @Ten_Tectons [@ericwong_folio, @the_unitedsuburbs & @quach_michael]
Twitter & Instagram: @EHSmithArch
To hear from the designers and the showroom about the project, go here
6. Loop fruits by Delve Architects for Fisher & Paykel (at Halcyon Interiors)
The installation concept focuses on the core of Fisher & Paykel’s brand – the joy of food and design innovation. The installation translates the elegance and simplicity of their kitchen appliances by celebrating the abundance that lives within them, through hand-sewn, colourful paper sculptures of food. The exhibit comes alive through augmented reality, allowing visitors to interact with it through animated Instagram filters.
Twitter & Instagram: @delvearchitects
Twitter: @_jasperstevens
Instagram: @fisherpaykel
Instagram: @halcyoninteriors
To hear from the designers and the showroom about the project, go here
André Holmqvist, Programme Manager, London Festival of Architecture, said:
“It is a real pleasure to see the unveiling of the Showroom Showcase project. After a year of Covid restrictions, the installations bring colour and life back to our streets and show that London is back in business. I think visitors will be struck by the inventiveness of the installation concepts and just how much can be achieved using a simple material like paper.”
