A festival within a festival: that's the best way to describe the symbiotic, synergetic presence of BE OPEN at London Design Festival this year.Conceived by its visionary founder Elena Baturina as a 'global think tank' on a mission to 'foster creativity and innovation', BE OPEN was launched at Milan Design Week earlier this year and is now well established on the international circuit as a pioneering inspirational force. Throughout the week, Wallpaper* will team up with BE OPEN to report on a series of cultural happenings that promise to challenge the perceived limitations of contemporary design today while showcasing exciting new talent from all over the world. If you can't attend BE OPEN in person, Wallpaper.com will be there for you.
An ideal exhibition platform for young design studios, Tom Dixon's west London HQ will host the BE OPEN Space during the London Design Festival. It will serve as a dynamic and interactive marketplace for emerging talent, and a meeting ground for exploring the five senses. Designer-engineers Pan Studio and JailMake have collaborated on a site-specific installation for the terrace that references medieval trade markets and Florence’s Ponte Vecchio; the eight self-contained wooden huts mirror the architecture of the converted wharf building.
A big black acoustic pod has landed at the centre of Trafalgar Square. Visitors are invited inside the architectural boom box to experience works by musicians and sound artists including Jana Winderen, Tom Jenkinson, Ivan Pavlov, Nathaniel Robin Mann and Jo Thomas. Each original soundscape or aural mood piece plays out in marked sonic contrast to the omnipresent hum of traffic outside, offering a design experience that can't be seen.
The BE OPEN Talks programme begins at London’s Hospital Club with a discussion led by Tom Dixon. Participants discuss how understanding of our sensory systems can help us design everything from more efficient household products to skyscrapers that can breathe, grow and 'think'. The event concludes with a performance by BE OPEN Sound Portal artist Jo Thomas
The BE OPEN Awards is a global initiative supporting young design talent in specific creative disciplines, with an emphasis on projects showing the potential to become future must-haves. Launched earlier this year with a rallying call of ‘Create The Future Now!’, it will select three winners from more than 300 submissions from 47 countries. Winners will receive study grants at leading design institutions and enjoy a share of €10,000 to develop various projects. Work from the nine finalists will be showcased at 100% Design. Results will be announced during a ceremony at Earl’s Court.
A lunchtime lecture at the V&A invites visitors to experience the London Sound Portal via the sonic expertise of world-class acoustic engineers Arup. The Sound Portal team and associated BE OPEN artists discuss the making of the portal, the implications of multisensorial projects and the future of sound
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