Design Festival 2012: Something for Everyone

It's easy to be distracted by sustainable design’s engineering. To be dazzled by the triple-paned windows and the attic’s insulation coefficients. 

But this week it’s the art of design that's taking center stage in London. That’s where the London Design Festival is taking shape and inspiring designers from all walks, including architects, artists and audiophiles. No matter your profession, the art of design is on center stage.

The Sound Portal design is a rubberized black mass in the center of Trafalgar Square, looking perfectly out of place amongst the classical square’s architecture and statues. 

It is the brainchild of think-tank BE OPEN, whose mission is to foster creativity and innovation. Visitors to the portal will be treated to “soundscapes” on some of the most advanced audio equipment in the world. Designers say the point of BE OPEN is to remind visitors to appreciate the sounds as well as the sights of the Festival.

How much adventure can 12 hardwood chairs have? Plenty if they fall into the hands of Royal College of Art students. The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) wanted to advertise American lumber without the usual pop up tent and tradeshow table. Instead, they asked the students to use the lumber in new, ecological and interesting ways. The art installation, called Out of the Woods: Adventures of 12 Hardwood Chairs, coincide with research the AHEC is doing into the Life Cycle Assessment of their products. See more on the research as well as pictures of the 12 chairs here.

And then there is the installation by the artist Kris Ruhs. The German artist has filled a post-industrial display building with swaths and piles of shredded tires, inner tubes and other recycled and found materials. Sounds like a junk yard, but the installations remind you that all these materials can be graceful again in the right hands. Called Landing on Earth, the installation makes the user think about all the materials routinely tossed away in our daily lives and how they can come alive again. 

Inspired installations, each with a message to think beyond the everyday in your design.