London’s top cultural leaders are paired with influential designers to create a ‘Legacy’ piece in American red oak for the London Design Festival.
Sir John Sorrell, chairman of London Design Festival, has called upon his friends at London’s top cultural institutions to collaborate with some of the world’s most prolific designers to create a ‘Legacy’ piece in American red oak that will be shown at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London in September.
The project is in collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), whose European director, David Venables, spearheaded the idea, and Benchmark Furniture whose Berkshire workshop will make all the pieces over the summer.
“AHEC is always pushing the boundaries for American hardwoods and we wanted to create a project that celebrates the use of red oak to demonstrate not just how beautiful it is for furniture making, but also to test the performance and quality of this abundant wood,” says David Venables. “It’s a fabulous project with incredible designers. We can’t wait to see what emerges from these unique collaborations.”
Sean Sutcliffe, the founder of Benchmark, says: “I am looking forward to working with some designers that we have not worked with before, and re-engaging with some that we have. I’m going to be interested to see what they come up with, in a ‘single material’ like American Red Oak – and in such a short timeframe. I am also excited to get a brief glimpse into the personal thinking of some of the leaders of London’s major cultural institutions.
“Whenever we do a project of this sort, we always end up with something of a festival atmosphere at Benchmark, with all our makers engaging with new challenges, in a very short timeframe, and lots of super interesting visitors through our doors. I’m looking forward to the fun we shall have working with AHEC on this great project, which champions the use of sustainable wood sources.”
The designers and commissioners are as follows:
- Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, will work with designer Jasper Morrison
- Sir Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum Group, will work with Marlene Huissoud
- Yana Peel, CEO of the Serpentine Galleries, will work with Ed Barber and Jay Osgerby
- Alex Beard, CEO of the Royal Opera House, will work with Konstantin Grcic
- Amanda Nevill, CEO of the British Film Institute, will work with Sebastian Cox
- Tamara Rojo, artistic director of the English National Ballet, will work with Martino Gamper
- Maria Balshaw, director of Tate, will work with Max Lamb
- Iwona Blazwick, director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, will work with Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges
- Kwame Kwei-Armah, artistic director of the Young Vic, will work with Tomoko Azumi
- Sir John Sorrell will work with Juliet Quintero
About the London Design Festival
London Design Festival is a key constituent of London’s autumn creative season, alongside London Fashion Week, Frieze Art Fair and the London Film Festival. Established in 2003 its role is to celebrate and promote London as the world’s design capital and gateway to the international design community and it has now established a reputation as one of the largest and most exciting design events in the world. This year the Festival will run from 15-23 September and over 400 events and installations will be on offer across the capital, from an exciting programme at the V&A to plus over 300 partners who will participate in the nine-day Festival.
Website: www.londondesignfestival.com
Social media: @L_D_F