This year between 13 – 21 September, The London Design Festival was held for the 11th time to celebrate and promote London as the world’s design capital and as the gateway to the international creative community. The cornerstone event of the London Design Festival, 100% Design was celebrating it’s 20th anniversary between the 17-20 September in Earls Court, exhibiting there for the last time before moving to its new home of Olympia London in 2015.
Steve Jobs said that “Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works”. This year at 100% Design Show, leading names in the design and creative industry – from Heal’s and Vitra, to Jaime Hayon, El Ultimo Grito and Nina Tolstrup presented a great range of beautiful yet functional designs. But that was not all 100% Design had to offer!
The latest product showcases were on display in all six sections:
Interiors,
Workplace,
Kitchens & Bathrooms sponsored by Turkishceramics,
Eco, Design & Build sponsored by Armourcoat,
Emerging Brands
International Pavilions.
The Foam Dome inthe Kitchen and Bathroom Hub 2014, sponsored by Turkishceramics, caught the attention of all passing visitors. vPPR Architects designed the dome to focus on themes of cleanliness and purity, the foam reminiscent of luxury bubble baths and indulgent spa experiences.
Piles of foam cascaded down the side of the dome at regular intervals in to an interior specifically fitted out with Turkishcermamics products, creating a playful, almost dreamlike atmosphere. Passers-by couldn’t resist interacting with the foam, throwing it in the air and making soapy wigs.
Don’t worry if you missed the show, here is a brief summary of the highlights:
Flexible Architecture Collection
Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck opened the show on 17th September with the unveiling of Flexible Architecture, his new ceramic tile collection for Ceramica Sant’Agostino.
100% Design
Upon entering the show visitors were greeted by the sparkling ICE Chandalier by designer Daniel Libeskind for Lasvit. Past this was the stunning and colorful kaleidoscope entrance tunnel by Studio Design UK. The 60 meter tunnel leading to the heart of the show, featured some top material suppliers including KAZA Concrete, Havwoods, Blackburn Metals, Rimex Metals, Formica, Stone Interiors, Eley Kishimoto, Timorous Beasties and OIKOS. 
Jaime Hayon on the stage
Some of the world’s most notable design names such as Philippe Starck, Jaime Hayon, Ross Lovegrove and Barber Osgerby among others inspired the visitors with their talks.
The interiors hub was also a hive of activity with a range of events for all ages. One of the most popular spaces was the Maker Carousel by Mette where for four days visitors from all ages took part in workshops and presentations, with the collaboration of Shape Studio, OpenDesk, Hirsch&Mann, Maker Library Network, BeatWoven, Florrie+Bill, Makers Cafe, Bee Very Creative, RepRapPro, Heal’s Discovers, OIKOS, 3Doodler and Shapeways.
For more info, please see:
http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk/page.cfm/action=library/libID=2/libEntryID=84/listID=3
Gary Powell
100% Design Late Night events offered visitors a chance to relax after a long day on the show floor, with drinks and music from Gary Powell and House of Peroni
The great iAlter by NBBJ hovered above the Workplace hub like a cloud. It flexed in response to the flow of visitors. iAlter, which was inspired by kinetic sculpture and the complexity of the computer-generated design algorithms used in architectural design, was meant to offer a space for networking, and a breather in the modern office environment.
In the Eco, Design & Build Section sponsored by Armourcoat, Thomas Matthews designed a space for SCIN Gallery to promote the latest in material trends. Visitors had the chance to handle objects and materials, ask to ask questions about their production. Experts talked about varied projects from biological 3D printing with mushrooms to up-cycling car parks into bars and imagining a future without waste.
This was only a small sample of what was available at 100% Design 2014. Check out the official show video for even more great exhibits:
