London's St James's quarter has a long history of tailoring and shoe-making, and now two new thought-provoking installations there draw on this heritage. Both commissions come courtesy of the Crown Estate - the property portfolio owned by the Crown - and are an attempt to bring further design delight to a pair of recently refurbished office buildings.
Acoustitch is a bold three-dimensional wall feature in the foyer of 11 Waterloo Place, home to the National Bank of Egypt. Acoustitch's creators, architecture firm RCKa, had a depth of just 150mm to play with as the piece was to sit behind the reception desk. Although it had to be shallow, it also needed to improve the foyer's acoustics. RCKa's solution was a 3-D re-think of traditional woven fabric swatches, made of foam found in sound recording studios. The acoustic foam was cut into triangular blocks and dyed different colours including gold, pin, navy blue and grey.
Architect Dieter Kleiner explains that pinpointing the positioning of the coloured blocks was 'trial and error'. Those efforts have paid off, as viewers are treated to a variety of visual effects as they pass to and fro in front of Acoustitch.
Round the corner at 11 Charles Street is Lola Lely's Cosmology of St James's, a mobile inspired by local bootmaker John Lobb. 'I was given over their archives and re-imagined how the pieces could be worked in a different material,' says Lely. So Lobb customers Oscar Wilde and Bosie are here represented as a pair of shiny love-birds, formed from curling the template of a brogue shoe.
Meanwhile local resident Isaac Newton is represented as a rotating orbit. 'The whole piece is about the cosmos and is suspended in gravity,' says Lely. All nine satellites rotate slowly as the automatic door opens and lets outside air in. If the finer details are lost on visitors, they should soon be able to refer to a written explanation that Lely is preparing for the foyer.
The installation created by architecture practice RCKa sits behind the reception desk and is a three-dimentional wall feature.
Because of the project's positioning, the architects only had a depth of 150mm to play with
The piece is inspired by traditional woven fabric swatches, made of the same foam used in sound recording studios.
The multi-tasking piece improves the space's acoustics.
Round the corner at 11 Charles Street is designer Lola Lely's Cosmology of St James's installation. Its nine rotate slowly as the automatic door opens and lets outside air in
This piece is a mobile inspired by local bootmaker John Lobb
Famous Lobb customers Oscar Wilde and Bosie are represented as a pair of shiny love-birds, formed from curling the template of a brogue shoe
-
The Sinclair name is back, attached to a pocket-sized games console with an educational edgeGrant Sinclair’s name is freighted with early computing history. Wallpaper* tapped up the British inventor to find out more about his new GamerCard console and other innovation
-
Beloved sushi restaurant Sōgo Roll Bar comes to Highland ParkThe sushi hangout begins a new chapter in its second location, becoming the perfect spot for a quick grab-and-go or a relaxed tasting experience in east LA
-
Japanese designer Shinichiro Ogata's latest venture is a modern riff on the traditions of his home countryAs he launches Saboe, a series of new tearooms and shops across Japan, we delve into Shinichiro Ogata's creative vision, mirrored throughout the spaces and objects, rituals and moments of his projects
-
Design beyond humans: a new exhibition argues that the world doesn’t revolve around us‘More Than Human’ at London's Design Museum (until 5 October 2025) asks what happens when design focuses on the perspectives and needs of other species, from bees to seaweed
-
‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’: 1882 Ltd plate auction supports ceramic craftThe ceramics brand’s founder Emily Johnson asked 60 artists, designers, musicians and architects – from John Pawson to Robbie Williams – to design plates, which will be auctioned to fund the next generation of craftspeople
-
‘Disabled people have always been here’: a new V&A show centres on disability in designCurator Natalie Kane takes us through five key exhibits from the London show, where design points the way to a more inclusive society
-
Malta’s London Design Biennale installation ‘reclaims death as a moment of reflection, not fear’Wallpaper* speaks with Andrew Borg Wirth, curator of Malta's installation, ‘URNA’, which reimagines cremation rituals
-
11 things that caught our eye at Clerkenwell Design Week 2025The Wallpaper* team bring you highlights from London’s Clerkenwell Design Week (20-22 May) – from public installations to product launches and a biscuit bar
-
‘R for Repair’ at London Design Festival displays broken objects, re-formedIn the second half of a two-part exhibition and as part of London Design Festival 2022, ‘R for Repair’ at the V&A displays broken objects, re-formed
-
‘Finding quality through the act of making’: Pearson Lloyd celebrates 25 years of designPearson Lloyd’s show ‘Change Making’ reflects on past designs from its archives, showcasing the influences on and evolution of the studio, from furniture design to the NHS
-
Tom Dixon marks his studio's 20 years with a show of design experimentsMushroom, cork, steel coral and more: Tom Dixon showcases an overview of his design experiments as he celebrates his practice's 20 years
