Design Festival Overload

Images from In Prasie of Shadows at the V and A. From here

Last week in London design festivals dominated the Boidus agenda, as Open House London threw open the doors of the city, London Design Festival kicked off and Tent London filled the spaces of the Truman Brewery. Fashion also got involved with London Fashion Week bringing style to Somerset House. As you will see from our Facebook page we have been taking lots of photos of these events around the city and uncovering new and interesting talent. Check out the images here:

• Open House
  1. 85 Swaines Lane for Open House
  2. Shoreditch Prototype House for Open House

• London Design Festival
  1. Size and Matter: Paper Cone by Shigeru Ban for London Design Festival (LDF09)
  2. Eunic London: In Praise of Shadows at the V and A for LDF09
  3. The Tournament by Jamie Hayon for LDF09
  4. Serpentine Pavilion

 So the weekend is upon us again and we are gearing up to escape our day jobs to bring more design, architecture, art, food, fashion and music to you. You may or may not have picked up the official guide, the Incidental newsletter or the Icon Design Trail guide. So Boidus has picked out some events that are of interest:

 Tent London at Truman Brewery

 AA/ FAB Designing Fabrication @90-92 Great Portland Street

 Central St Martins College of Art and Design. Up All Night Student Showcase

 Goldsmiths College Make-believe Student Showcase

Made in E1: The Cass Postgraduate Show

London Fashion Weekend

Keep an eye on our Twitter page and Facebook page for updates over the weekend of where we will be and what we will be doing. If you are going to any events over the weekend, or have been to events this week, let Boidus know what was good and what was bad.

Get Ready for Open House London 2009

19^th-20^th September

http://www.openhouse.org.uk/index.html

Siobhan Davies Dance School. Part Open House London 2008

The weekend is fast approaching when the annual Open House London takes place. This weekend (19^th-20^th September) will see as much as 700 sites across the capital throw open their doors to the public. Whether you like old or new, hi-tech or low tech, homes or castles there will something to interest you. If you happen to be an Architecture or design student beginning a degree, or continuing with studies, then this is a great opportunity to get inside a building, take your photos and be inspired. Last year Boidus was inspired by the Siobhan Davies Dance School to do just that. So this is a great opportunity to get ahead of the game or just indulge your passion.

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Sietch Nevada: Desert Oasis for a Drought-Stricken Future

by Bridgette Meinhold

Teaching architecture as a challenge

By HK Mokwete [Architect]

After finishing my MA early this year from Portsmouth University, I decided to relocate back home (Botswana) after being offered a teaching opportunity with a local university.  My move was both influenced by the then worsening recession situation in the UK and also positively, as a chance to challenge my self at something I had not done before.
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Pestival

My experience of the “Pestival” on London’s South Bank outside Queen Elizabeth Hall was an impressive 6m cube.

Built of layers of timber that looked like a large scale laser cut model the sculpture represented a termite’s nest.

Originally designed as an 8m cube the “nest” had an intricate series of “dens” and caverns that reminded me of caving and pot holing when I was a teenager.  We were lucky enough to meet the artist and were allowed an exclusive “free range” explorative investigation of the structure.  Inside the spaces feel cosy and home like, we climbed up inside one of the cavernous holes to discover a small bridge like section and a dip down into a “den”.  Inside the den I felt like no one knew I was there, poking my head out of a “window” I felt hidden, passers by didn’t realise I was watching them!

The timber structure was a temporary installation as part of the Pestival, which is no planning on touring other locations.  It is soon to be moved to London Zoo and I strongly recommend if you get a chance to go along and see it.

Termite Pavilion Time Lapse from Park Light Pictures on Vimeo.

More images to come soon

The Diversity of Hyde Park: The 7/7 Memorial

Article contributed by Victoria Lee – Architectural Assistant and RIBA Part 2 Student

On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon between Lovers Walk and Achilles Gate in London’s bustling Hyde Park stood 52 pillars of strength shining and gleaming serenely in the summer sun.    London’s largest park and neighbour Kensington Gardens are no stranger to memorials, including the Albert Memorial and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, a celebration and commemoration of life and a place for reflection.

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