Utopia by Design

The London Design Biennale opens for the first time at the Somerset House with pavilions from over 37 countries and territories, exploring today’s declinations of “Utopia”.

London Design Biennale at the Somerset House, 2016. Photo Bradley Lloyd Barnes

The first ever London Design Biennale, in partnership with Jaguar and Somerset House, is now open to the public for a three-week take-over with installations, artworks, prototypes and designs from 37 countries and territories that have come together in an entertaining and inspiring exploration of the role of design in our collective futures.

**Top:** London Design Biennale at the Somerset House, 2016. **Above:** India Pavillion at the London Design Biennale 2016. Photo Bradley Lloyd Barnes

The Biennale’s 2016 theme “Utopia by Design”, chosen as part of Somerset House’s UTOPIA 2016: A Year of Imagination and Possibility, to mark the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s text. The resulting commissions are richly varied, including fantastical imaginings of future cities, homages to unrealised utopian proposals of the past, and innovative solutions for issues in 21st-century life.

South Africa Pavillion at the London Design Biennale 2016. Photo Bradley Lloyd Barnes

Visitors will be able to grab a pomegranate juice, falafel or a wet shave in Annabel Karim Kassar’s meticulous recreation of a bustling Beirut street on the Thames riverfront (Lebanon); influence mischer’traxler’s precarious light sculpture as it moves, dims and brightens in reaction to its spectators (Austria); eat the conceptual food of Chung-Ho Tsai in Rain Wu’s tranquil forestlike setting (Taiwan); relax in the mouths of ferocious beasts courtesy of Porky Hefer (South Africa) or wander around the Santander of 2100 in a virtual reality realisation of the smart city’s future (Spain).

Mexico Pavillion at the London Design Biennale 2016. Photo Bradley Lloyd Barnes

Mexican architect Fernando Romero explores the ‘transnational’ border city as a solution for migration and increasing populations; Israel presents an innovative proposal for how first aid might be distributed in disaster zones; a trio of Nigerian designers look at how environmental balance might be restored to the Niger Delta and Australian Brodie Neill draws attention to – and finds beauty in – ocean-based plastic waste.