London is a crossroads, a meeting place and synthesis of heterogeneous cultures, trends, fads and inspirations, which makes it the ideal starting point to discover the innovations and anticipations in the world of design. In particular, in product design, the buzz is all about searching new materials that give new appeal to the product. Along with materials, surface texture and embossing are also becoming more an important than ever, as demonstrated by the exhibition "The Future is Here" on display at the Design Museum and focusing on innovative materials.
Inspiration, innovation, provocation
Chris Lefteri, world-renowned expert on materials, introduced five reports on materials of the future in the exclusive Roca Gallery designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid.
When design meets other disciplines such as chemistry, engineering and even biology, it offers visionary glimpses in the not-too-distant future. The transformation of milk protein in plastic material with good resistance and odourless (The milk of human kindness), the design of special materials with a modified structure that changes its properties and that makes them particularly suitable in the biomedical field (Synthetic Materials, Organic Hierarchies).
The most curious and provocative report was that of Carole Collet, Textile Deputy Director at Central Saint Martins, which began projecting global scenarios in 2050, when the resources available on Earth will definitely not be sufficient to satisfy the needs of the global population. How can design help seek solutions to this foretold disaster? Madame Collet’s answer is the “reprogramming of living beings". If we’ve succeeded in decoding DNA, it means we have the ability to recombine it to re-engineer, for example, a strawberry plant in such a way that its roots branch out to form cotton lace (BioLace project).
Chris Lefteri Design set up a material library with a series of innovative materials and technologies. ML Engraving was among them, with its exclusive laser engraving and embossing techniques.
Click here for a detailed listing of the exhibited materials.
London Design Festival 2013
The London design week ended on 22 September, offering many creative and conceptual ideas: what is the purpose of design? How can culture affect design? And vice versa? Questions that are so far-reaching, they can be interpreted in a variety of ways.
As for the Fuorisalone, the Design Festival adorned the city with events, exhibitions and installations, both in the city centre and in the districts of design: Shoreditch Design Triangle, Clerkenwell Design Quater and Brompton Design District the most notable ones. Research towards sustainable design was the leitmotif of the event: plenty of wood, bioplastic materials and textures were the stars along with organic food, a must for Londoners.