Drenched in history, bursting at the seams with talent

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THE BRITIS H GUIDE TO MATE RIAL COMFORTS • EDITED BY
Dan Rubinstein
© COLLECTION OF BRADFORD MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
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Arts and Crafts
The softer side of British design is making a comeback.
Romantic ideals, medieval themes, and nature-inspired motifs from the Victorian age
are the U.K.’s latest unlikely rage in decoration. “People are buying period properties
and want to furnish them in the authentic colorways and original prints that would
have been used back in Victorian times,” says Helen Elletson, curator of London’s
William Morris Society and Museum. Spurred by the young and fashionable—
including J. W. Anderson, creative director of Loewe, who used the style in his
revamped shops—exhibitions are multiplying. Various museum shows in the country
have taken place recently, and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum will unveil newly
acquired drawings on November 7. williammorrissociety.org —Bridget Arsenault
Martin Brudnizki
A designer who helped shape
a decade of London style is
set to conquer your living room.
Interior designer Martin Brudnizki
set up his eponymous studio in
London in 2000, and the past 15
years have seen his office help
define a new look for British hospitality: both opulent and aristocratic,
but never at the sacrifice of character. His projects in the city
include J. Sheekey Oyster Bar and Dean Street Townhouse,
and his popularity led him to open a New York office in 2012.
Projects such as Soho Beach House, in Miami, and Cecconi’s
West Hollywood followed.
But it’s in Brudnizki’s adopted hometown of London that
he’s had a particularly busy fall. The restaurant Sexy Fish is set
to open this month on Berkeley Square, a joint design effort
between Brudnizki and Frank Gehry. And in September he unveiled the redesign of the Academicians’ Room in the Keeper’s
House at the Royal Academy of Arts. Brudnizki envisaged the
private-members area as a traditional English drawing room,
keeping the original Palladian detailing but adding an antique
zinc bar and perky furniture such as yellow ’50s Paolo Buffa
chairs. “We knew the interior had to tell its own story so, much
like an exhibition, we created our own narrative through a range
of vintage furniture from different periods,” says Brudnizki, 48.
And in June, he completed the West End establishment the Ivy as
an homage to the original by retaining key elements such as the
harlequin-stained windows, but added an onyx bar and new paneling. His latest venture, however, is &Objects, a product line that
launches with a bathtub, vanity basin, and light made in partnership with Drummonds. The look is almost Victorian, but devoid of
any fussy ornamentation and softened for the 21st-century user; a
full collection is following in 2016. mbds.com —Tom Morris
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Country Estates
Britain’s stately homes are
throwing open their doors,
parklands, and pastures
to top-shelf talent.
Contemporary artists suddenly have a greater variety of grand spaces to display their art than they
could ever hope for in a gallery. Here are three of
the best estates-turned-venues you can visit:
The family home of the seventh Marquess of
Cholmondeley, Houghton Hall (houghtonhall
.com) was built in 1722. James Turrell lit up the
neo-Palladian hall this summer for his exhibition
“LightScape.” Turrell has installed two permanent
artworks here, while an all-green canvas of clipped
hedges and topiaries are the background for
Richard Long’s huge silvery slate lake and Rachel
Whiteread’s shed set in cement.
Built in the 18th century with baroque flourishes
by Vanbrugh, Blenheim Palace (blenheimpalace
.com) landed Ai Weiwei sculptures in 2014,
and its foundation frequently hosts solo shows
of famous artists.
In 2015 Marc Newson took part in the “Make
Yourself Comfortable” exhibition (ending October
23) of contemporary-furniture designers at the home
of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Chatsworth
House (chatsworth.org), above, in Derbyshire. Every
fall, Sotheby’s selects artworks to show in Joseph
Paxton’s famous gardens there. —Nonie Niesewand
Design
Museum
One of the world’s
most progressive
museums prepares
for a rebirth.
Although it’s certainly a spot to peruse
seminal works by the likes of Jasper Morrison
and Eileen Gray, London’s Design Museum
isn’t just an exhibition venue. The institution
takes an active, even interventionist, approach
to the disciplines it canonizes, from fashion to
furniture, not only collecting and displaying
vital works but also championing the cultural
importance of design—taking the view that
“design” is not so much a product as a totalizing worldview.
Next year, the museum will move into a
new home in Kensington, one befitting its
ambitious plans. Like its current digs, an
erstwhile warehouse on the River Thames,
the museum’s new abode is a case study in
adaptive reuse—and a modernist icon to boot.
The quirky building, capped by a complexcurved copper-skinned roof, is the former
Commonwealth Institute, a cultural-exhibition
space that shuttered more than a decade ago.
Architect John Pawson was commissioned to
execute the reinvention. On the outside, the
’60s detailing will remain intact, if upgraded,
but inside Pawson will be given license to do
what he does best: sculpting ethereal compositions of light and space.
The original structural concrete skeleton
will be on full display. “I’m allergic to the idea
of museums striving to build themselves
ostentatious ‘iconic’ structures, but this really
was one,” says director Deyan Sudjic. “And
with Pawson’s work, we’re making it even
better than it was.” The move allows for muchneeded expansion, tripling the museum’s
square footage. “The aim is to stage moreambitious exhibitions,” says Justin McGuirk,
the museum’s newly minted chief curator.
“Not only in terms of the number of objects on
display but also being able to take on bigger
thematic shows that require at least two years
to produce.” designmuseum.org —Jen Renzi
Ercol
English heritage is alive and
well in this brand that looks
to the future of living.
Founded in 1920, the family-run fourth-generation furniture-maker
Ercol has long been known as an icon of British design. Archival
pieces such as the Windsor chairs have been staples of U.K.
kitchens ever since the manufacturer updated the 16th-century
design in the 1940s. But the brand, known for its use of wood, has
realized that it can’t rest on its laurels and has begun working with
talents such as Paola Navone and Terence Conran to widen its
appeal. At April’s Salone del Mobile, in Milan, the firm showcased
a cushioned beech-wood sofa by Navone and a stackable dining
chair by the Japanese designer Tomoko Azumi. And frequent
special editions (above) made in collaboration with fabric-house
Timorous Beasties produce wild results. ercol.com —Alicia Kirby
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ILLUSTRATION BY YANN LEGENDRE; SOTHEBY'S; COURTESY ERCOL
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Flora Starkey
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Flora Starkey’s flower arrangements—frenzied, yet with purpose; bright tones countered by dark melancholic shades—evoke the English gardens of the 18th century,
which celebrated idyllic wildness over controlled symmetry. Her fashion background,
after ten years of running her own clothing line, has led to clients such as British Vogue and Louis Vuitton. Her works are also seen at various celebrity affairs,
including the opening gala for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Alexander McQueen
exhibition, last March. And she recently styled the ad campaigns for Commes des
Garçons’ new Floriental perfume and Givenchy’s fall/winter collection. “Flowers,
which are transient by nature, aren’t like clothes that you can archive,” say Starkey,
“so capturing them on film is important.” florastarkey.com —Joe Harper
FROM LEFT: FLORA STARKEY; HELENE BINET; COURTESY FIERA
Nicholas
Hawksmoor
Skip Westminster. The
works of this 1700s
architectural legend
deserve a closer look.
While many architecture buffs focus their attention on contemporary British talents like
Norman Foster and David Chipperfield, the dean
of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Mohsen
Mostafavi, believes at least one architect of the
past deserves the admiration of tourists as well:
Nicholas Hawksmoor. Although not a household name, “He is often mentioned as a favorite
architect by other architects, especially those
working in London,” says Mostafavi. A protégé
of Christopher Wren, Hawksmoor designed eight
muscular London churches in rapid succession in
the early 1700s that were purpose-built to serve
as sky-piercing urban markers while also demonstrating the dominance of the Anglican church.
All are explored by new drawings and powerful
black-and-white photographs by Hélène Binet
in Mostafavi’s new book, Nicholas Hawksmoor:
London Churches (Lars Müller), including that of
St. Mary Woolnoth, below. Today, notes Mostafavi,
visits to the churches still reveal Hawksmoor’s
“incredible, sometimes strange, imagination that
reconciled and juxtaposed ancient and modern
images and ideas.” —Tim McKeough
A fashionable floral designer makes botanical culture glamorously global.
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Home + Design
Garden Bridge
The city’s answer to New York’s High Line is both
hotly anticipated…and downright loathed.
London’s Garden Bridge, on which construction starts this winter,
was conceived as a floating forest hoisted above the Thames on
two stalks from which long petals span the river’s width. First proposed by the actress Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous) in 1998
as a memorial for Princess Diana, the idea gained fresh momentum
in 2013 when she co-opted the talents of the dynamic 40-something
London-based designer Thomas Heatherwick, then riding high
thanks to his much-admired “cauldron” for the 2012 Olympic Games.
A spirited approach to the city’s public bodies and to the national
media presented the plant-covered, copper-clad 1,200-foot-long
pedestrian crossing as London’s answer to New York’s High Line.
Destined to link the cultural institutions of London’s South Bank to
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Indie Design
Magazines
New publications
show the Brits’ knack
for clever quirkiness.
The print magazine
continues to flourish.
“Publishing has been
democratized through
blogging platforms,
print-on-demand
technology, and crowdfunding opportunities like
Kickstarter,” says Katie
Treggiden, cofounder
of Fiera, a biannual that
focuses on design fairs.
Her experience with
Kickstarter gave her more
than $25,000 to get Fiera
off the ground. Elsewhere,
Modern Design Review,
edited by a former
Wallpaper staffer, is a
tome of ruminations on
products and furniture,
and was nominated for
an award by the Design
Museum. Hole & Corner,
a quarterly, is geared to
“celebrate craft, beauty,
passion, and skill,”
covering subjects such
as embroidery work in St
Paul’s Cathedral. —B. A .
Temple, the city’s sequestered ancient legal district that abuts Covent Garden and the West End, the bridge was formally approved by
Mayor Boris Johnson in 2014 and is due for completion in 2018.
Controversies have swirled ever since. There have been suggestions that the combined charisma (and connections) of Lumley and
Heatherwick propelled their proposal through a number of stages
on the commissioning route. And the site’s private management—
and regular closures scheduled for corporate events—troubles
Edwin Heathcote, architecture critic of the Financial Times. “The
river is one of the last public common spaces in London…the bridge
is de facto privatization of the river,” he says. Heathcote considers
the bridge an infrastructure project being undertaken where none
was needed, spoiling the view from other bridges. He’s not a fan
of the design, either. “It’s lumpy and overbearing and in the wrong
place,” and he believes the endeavor to be a reflection of “the
mayor’s propensity to fall for one-liner ideas.” gardenbridge
.london —Hettie Judah
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Home + Design
Emily Johnson
One of England's oldest crafts is coaxed into the
21st century by a design-driven upstart.
Limited Edition
A cheat sheet on the names to know this season in the ever-shifting
design-gallery scene, where anything is possible.
At Galerie Kreo (galeriekreo.fr), new works by big-name designers such as Hella
Jongerius and Jasper Morrison are paired with 1950s lighting. An exhibition
by Pierre Charpin, featuring tables, consoles, and porcelain vases with clown
faces, is open until November 14; Gallery Fumi (galleryfumi.com) is hosting
works by Max Lamb, Faye Toogood, and Glithero at its appointment-only
space until the end of the year (the table, above, is by Brooksbank & Collins).
Mayfair’s Sarah Myerscough Gallery has just reopened as Phos Art + Design
(phosartanddesign.com), with a show on interactive artist Dominic Harris until
October 31; Carpenters Workshop Gallery (carpentersworkshopgallery.com) will
be exhibiting Spanish star Nacho Carbonell’s lamp sculptures. And departures
contributor Michele Oka Doner’s sculptures will be on show at St James’s
David Gill Gallery (davidgillgallery.com). —Becky Sunshine
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The Modern House
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Looking to buy in London, but craving something a bit clean lined?
This agency should be at the top of your list.
King’s Cross
One of the city’s postindustrial areas is ready for a
transformation into a public park.
“For many of us, gasholders are defunct, mysterious landmarks
on the urban skyline,” says Hari Phillips, director of Bell Phillips
Architects, the company responsible for the regeneration of
Gasholder Park, in King’s Cross, once a red-light district and
now one of the most desirable North London neighborhoods.
Twenty-five meters high and originally built in the 1850s, the historically protected structure,
which in 2011 was dismantled piece by piece for restoration, will frame the new verdant space,
opening this year as part of a larger 67-acre neighborhood development. The design incorporates a circular colonnade fabricated in mirror-finished stainless steel that’s in “constant dialogue with the gasholder, providing delightful and surprising views of it as one moves around
and through the space,” continues Phillips. What was once an industrial site is blossoming into
an outdoor oasis. The project’s landscape designer, Dan Pearson, has been gaining traction
with his contemporary leafy designs, and he’s also behind the dynamic Handyside Gardens, a
zigzag of flora sandwiched between a new urban development and derelict train sheds. —B. A .
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Before the Modern House was established, in 2005, the luxury real estate
market in the U.K. was one-dimensional. That is what led Matt Gibberd and
Albert Hill to launch their venture: a design-led agency that specializes in
modern and contemporary architecture in Britain. The Modern House has
sold everything from artist Augustus John’s studio to the only Marcel Breuer
house in Britain. The team of ten sells property across the Isles from their
base in London, and also has a booming vacation-letting sideline. They
celebrate their tenth anniversary this year with a book and a new office. With
their background in publishing—Gibberd was a senior editor at the World of
Interiors, Hill the design editor of Wallpaper—the pair identified a gap in the
market. “I think that estate agencies traditionally have found modern housing
difficult to sell, and have therefore neglected it,” says Gibberd. Fundamentally,
though, livability is still what sells in the U.K., even to those seeking iconic
design. “Young couples, as their families expand, will always covet houses
with three or four bedrooms, outside space, peaceful surroundings, and a
sense of community,” says Gibberd, who is married to noted London designer
Faye Toogood. Gibberd and Hill acknowledge they were one step ahead of
the curve in predicting the renewed appreciation for modernism in the U.K.
Brutalism and suburban postwar Span houses have recently rocketed in price,
but what do they predict will boom next? “It will be interesting to see what
happens with postmodernism.” themodernhouse.net —T.M.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: EMILY JOHNSON; GALLERY FUMI CONTEMPORARY DESIGN; FRENCH+TYE
Giving British ceramics a new lease on life is 1882 Ltd, a firm
that makes objects that include intricately chiseled water carafes by Max Lamb and bone-china plates daubed with sprays
of color by L.A. artist Mr. Brainwash. The firm has partnered
with top-shelf names such as Faye Toogood (below) and
Philippe Malouin—the Canadian designer made plates crafted
from molds formed around piles of sugar—to create objects
that stand out in a conservative U.K. industry. Based in Stokeon-Trent, historically a hub for the production of earthenware,
founder Emily Johnson established the company in 2011 with
her father, the former head of manufacturing at Wedgwood.
The name, 1882, is a nod to their lineage, as the duo are
the fourth and fifth generation of the illustrious tableware
manufacturer Johnson Brothers, which was established in that
year. In September the firm produced a 20-foot-high tower of
ceramic mini “shops” by artist Barnaby Barford for a show at
the V&A and introduced new pieces by Lindsey Adelman and
Kiki van Eijk. “The most important thing for me is to reinvigorate this industry in the U.K.—my ancestors would be rolling
in their grave if I didn't—but inject it with fabulous design,”
explains Johnson. 1882ltd.com —A .K.
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The New Craftsmen
A single shop rises as the best go-to destination
for handmade objects from across the kingdom.
With its associations of the homespun, craft and luxury
may seem opposed. Launched in 2012, retail venture
the New Craftsmen aimed to change that, dedicating itself to showcasing the best of British craft in a
Mayfair store that it opened last year. “Craftsmanship
is about dedication to the finest skills and materials,
while also committing time to creating each piece,”
says cofounder Catherine Lock. “It’s also about recognizing the scarcity of those who are great and the
unique work they do. These for me are the characteristics of luxury.” The store stocks everything from tableware (Patina candlesticks, above, $300) to textiles, and
they’ve worked with more than 75 craftsmen since it
launched limited-edition projects, including a $14,500
four-poster bed, made using 18th-century techniques,
and spoons made of sterling silver and boxwood, retailing for $3,450. thenewcraftsmen.com —T.M.
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Barber & Osgerby
A duo has just won its nation’s
highest design honor. What’s left
to create after everything from
coins to Olympic torches?
It started with a table. In 1996,
friends and newly minted Royal College of Art graduates Jay Osgerby
and Edward Barber designed a
London eatery that, had the budget
allowed it, would have featured a
slick two-legged number in laminated plywood, dubbed the Loop
Table by the designers; the piece
was picked up by the manufacturer
Isokon and exhibited at the London
Design Festival the following year.
There it was spotted by a furniture
impresario, Giulio Cappellini, who
promptly brought the duo into his
fold of high-caliber furniture designers. After that, says Barber, “We
thought we might as well carry on.”
Patternity
The first book from a pair
of daring design upstarts
changes the way we look at
the world around us.
“Taking note of coincidences,
from a tiny seashell, the way our
hair follicles grow, to a swirling
galaxy, the patterns that surround
us have the power to remind us of our part within a much bigger
picture and give much-needed perspective,” says photographer/
art director Anna Murray, one half of the creative studio Patternity. “In a more everyday sense, even the most mundane of
patterns can remind us to stop and take notice, to adopt a more
mindful way of both seeing—and being.” Which is why she and
the product/surface designer Grace Winteringham set up their
studio five years ago. Established as an online research source,
the pair has since turned their archive into a successful business, becoming the go-to people for everything pattern related,
creating events, installations, and products that range from art
and ceramics to hosiery and more with names like Apple, Céline,
Nike, and the BBC. To celebrate their five years of studio projects
this fall, they released their first book, Patternity: A New Way of
Seeing (right). patternity.org —B.S.
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Good thinking. As they approach
their 20th anniversary, Barber &
Osgerby is on the cusp of becoming something like the Sir Edmund
Hillary of the design world, having
climbed pretty much every major
peak in the profession, from projects with Vitra to tables with Knoll.
“We love the diversity of clients
we’ve gotten to work with,” says Osgerby, and in recent years that pool
has expanded beyond furniture to
include major institutions, among
them the Royal Mint (they designed
a limited-edition two-pound coin),
automaker BMW (for which they
made a gigantic installation last
year), and the London Underground
(they’re creative advisers for the
system’s new Crossrail line).
This fall, the team will receive
2015’s London Design Festival
Medal, joining a crew of such previous winners as Thomas Heather-
wick and Ron Arad. While they’re
at it, they’re using the occasion
to launch everything from a new
shower system to a Japanese paper
lantern. For a firm that’s long prided
itself on precision and a distinctly
English sense of self-effacement,
it’s a rare moment to look back at
their long march from tabletop to
mountaintop. “We agree about 95
percent of the time,” says Barber.
It’s a cooperative model that the
pair has managed to extend to
a fast-growing parallel practice,
Universal Design Studio, specializing in interiors and architecture
projects such as the exhibition tent
at October’s Frieze art fair and a
restaurant and lounge for London’s
Design Museum. As for the medal,
says Osgerby, “At least it’s not a
lifetime-achievement award.”
barberosgerby.com —Ian Volner
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GARETH HACKER PHOTOGRAPHY/COURTESY THE NEW CRAFTSMEN; ILLUSTRATIONS BY YANN LEGENDRE (2); MICHAEL POLIZA/BRENDAN FREEMAN
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Home + Design
NO. 1 PALACE STREET sounds like a posh
address, and it is. Slated to open in 2017, the
property is positioned across from Buckingham
Palace. Originally built as the Palace hotel, the
1861 structure evolved into offices until its
recent sale. Each of its five areas will maintain
a period theme based on existing architectural
styles—Italianate French Renaissance, Beaux-Arts,
Queen Anne, and soon a contemporary wing. The
300,000-square-foot development will include 72
apartments, 14 with views of the Palace Gardens,
plus a private cinema, spa, gym, pool, dining
facility, and underground parking. Design firm
N Studio will create the custom-designed interiors
with a nod to the five distinct period styles.
numberonepalacestreet.com
Royal Warrant
The ins and outs of the world’s
most powerful seal of approval.
Using brands awarded with a
Royal Warrant of appointment
is the closest thing to living in
Buckingham Palace. They’re
given to companies that provide
services or goods to the royal
family, including everything
from chocolatiers and cosmetics
brands to brush makers and—we
can only imagine for cocktails
at the palace—Angostura bitters. The warrants are awarded
by the Royal Warrant Holders
Association, which just marked
its 175th anniversary, and seals
of approval come from three
grantors: the queen, the Duke
of Edinburgh, and the Prince of
Wales. Each is signified by his
or her own coat of arms that
warrant holders, or grantees,
may be bestowed after at least
five years of ties with the royal
households. There are around
800 holders; those awarded
directly by Her Majesty include
Scottish soft-furnishings brand
Allan Coggin, Axminster carpets,
Dorma linens, and Hypnos beds
and mattresses. —T.M.
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The Designers Guild ROYAL COLLECTION of
fabrics and wallcoverings is overseen by the British textile-designer Tricia Guild, whose luxurious prints and patterns are part of her signature
oeuvre. Exclusive access to the monarch’s various
residences and archives, including Windsor Castle
and St James’s Palace, provide an endless source
for designs, including “Elizabeth” florals, which
were created in celebration of the diamond jubilee.
This year’s “Buckingham” references 16th- and
17th-century works from the palace HRH calls home.
Embroidered linen voile, inspired by a dress worn by
Elizabeth I, and an engraving of the original palace
reproduced on wallpaper panels can create a room
adorned in velvet, voile, and silk, and still be inspired
by a queen. designersguild.com —Melissa Feldman
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Teacup
A start-up brings youthful pizzazz to
that most sacred of British objects.
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Sebastian Cox
The British woodworker creates the rustic
country kitchen of our dreams.
British brand DeVol has collaborated with
emerging talent Sebastian Cox to create a new
rustic-chic kitchen system. The London-based
Cox is part of a burgeoning British craft movement that’s confronting sustainability by revisiting traditional techniques. The kitchen uses
coppiced wood—a method that involves cutting
young trees at the stem to allow for regrowth—
and swilling, which weaves green wood into a
strong material, adding a lattice-like beauty.
From $17,180; devolkitchens.co.uk. —J.H.
With an encyclopedic knowledge of bone
china, Richard Brendon knows exactly which
rules to break in order to create his one-of-akind objets. For his ongoing Reflect collection
(below), he scours antiques shops for saucers
to pair with cups that he’s gilded in reflective
platinum or gold. For his recent Speck pieces,
Brendon covered the naturally occurring
black specks in the china with copper dots,
beautifying the imperfections. A special edition of Reflect will be sold at Harrods for the
holidays, and his work is featured in “Blue &
White: British Printed Ceram,ics” at the V&A
until January 3, 2016. Reflect sets from $145;
richardbrendon.com. —J.H.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: NORTH ACRE LONDON; DESIGNERS GUILD; RICHARD BRENDON; DEVOL KITCHENS
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The Queen
Her Royal Highness
is always a source
of inspiration for the
privileged and
commoner alike.
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PERFECTION PERFECTED!
SETTING THE STANDARD, YET AGAIN.
Hackney Wick
Upper Riverside
Take a quick detour to this burgeoning district
for unexpected vintage finds.
Trend-setting virtuoso Tom Dixon
creates the perfect pied-à-terre
in London.
A leafy neighborhood squeezed between the site
of London’s 2012 Olympic Games and Victoria Park,
Hackney Wick’s quiet muddle of modern low-rise
dwellings and ramshackle, artfully graffitied 19th-century warehouses is studded with creative studios and
rehearsal spaces. The first symptoms of hipsterization:
high-end bike workshops, an artisanal pizzeria, and
two midcentury-design stores that are destinations for
collectors from as far away as the U.S.
The Modern Warehouse (themodernwarehouse
.com) moved to a gated mews in the neighborhood
five years ago, creating a light-filled two-story showroom dressed with impeccable Scandinavian pieces
by modern masters, including Hans Wegner (Keyhole
Rocker, $2,035) and Nanna Ditzel (Oda Chair, $4,320),
licensed Finn Juhl–designed furnishings, and vintage
flatweave and Berber rugs. Long a key address for
top interior designers, the store takes in new stock
The 147-acre Upper Riverside development, on
London’s Greenwich Peninsula, won’t be completely finished for reportedly 20 years, but
sales are under way for 35 flats at No. 2 Upper
Riverside, slated for a 2018 opening. It’s the
first residential interior from celebrated talent
Tom Dixon, who recently designed the new
Mondrian London. His penthouses, lofts, and
studios will have bespoke kitchens with copper cabinetry and vividly colored bathrooms.
greenwichpeninsula.co.uk —J.H.
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Already a crowded month for design,
next September Somerset House will host
the inaugural London Design Biennale,
with installations from up to 40 countries,
with the theme “Utopia by Design.”
Advisers include MoMA’s Paola Antonelli
and architect Richard Rogers. The Biennale
will run September 7 through 27, 2016;
londondesignbiennale.com.
Z
London’s best-known architect, who lives
and works in Clerkenwell, loves her
hometown for its unloved icons, endless
layers of history, and ingrained creativity.
Victoria and Albert
The world’s grande dame of decorativearts institutions explores the vibrancy
and diversity of Indian opulence.
This fall the Victoria and Albert Museum
plays host to some jewels in their crown
with “The Fabric of India,” as part of the
museum-wide India Festival. From the
sacred to the everyday—saris, banners,
and even a chintz-covered tent pitched
by Tipu Sultan (1750–1799)—are part of
an exhibition comprising 200 historical
and contemporary examples of garments
and textiles. Woven from cotton, silk, and
wool, the fabrics will showcase a varied
spectrum of handmade processes and
techniques. Among them, muslin embroidered with glittering green beetle wings,
sequins, and gold wire; and a black-andwhite houndstooth ikat sari by the fashion
duo Abraham & Thakore. Runs through
January 10, 2016; vam.ac.uk. —M.F.
FROM TOP: JOHN SHORT/BÉTON BRUT; THE ROMO GROUP
OLD WORLD SYRAH
Global heavyweights will make
2016 a year to remember.
regularly and can help clients track down rarities or
outfit a home. “We needed more space and wanted
to stay local to Victoria Park, where we had become
known as an evening destination,” explains co-owner
David Tatham of the move. “Hackney Wick wasn’t
quite on the map then, but we were used to being a
little out of the way, and it made us all the more keen
to ensure that a visit to us was worth the effort.”
Opened this past April, Béton Brut (betonbrut
.co.uk), shown, occupies a cool concrete-floored
shop at the bottom of a residential block, where it
shows postwar European furniture (Ernest Race
Heron chair and stool, $3,770) with an emphasis on
Dutch modernism (JJM Hoogervorst ceiling lamp,
$1,880) and de Stijl. Outside the showroom, dealers
Sophie Pearce and Augustus Greaves will work with
clients on their wish lists of pieces, relaying photos
and dimensions of finds likely to be of interest. The
duo moved to Hackney Wick for the space, but for
Greaves there’s a family link: Greaves & Thomas
furniture makers operated out of a Hackney workshop until 1965. —H.J.
Zaha Hadid’s London
FROM TOP: GREENWICH PENINSULA; VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON
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Mark Your Calendar...
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Home + Design
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Your Next Wallpaper
Give your home a bit of
electric glamour with
these high-contrast prints.
The color-rich contemporary
designs from Black Edition—part of
the Nottinghamshire-based Romo
Group, makers of fabrics, wallcoverings, pillows, and trim—are anything
but demure. Their latest introductions for fall include the digitally
printed Kansai wallpaper (above).
This pattern, by the brand’s design
director, Emily Mould, is also available to the trade on silk-linen and
velvet. blackedition.com
Best London restaurant and why?
The Wolseley. Chris Corbin and Jeremy King transformed the space in the grand tradition of Europe’s
great cafés with excellent service. I also enjoy
Yauatcha and Hakkasan. The food is delicious.
What’s London’s best-kept dining secret,
undiscovered by tourists?
Near my office, Moro restaurant, in Exmouth
Market, is always welcoming for lunch.
What’s the best pub in London?
It’s not really a pub, but Shoreditch House club,
in East London, is a great place to relax with
friends. It’s only ten minutes from my home.
Favorite building or architectural icon?
I really like the Brutalist postwar buildings
on the South Bank. The Hayward Gallery, the
National Theatre, all that area. It’s one of the only
examples of such post-’60s work remaining in
London. This Brutalist architecture has fallen out
of favor and most of it is being demolished—but
they’re actually some of the best examples of
architecture in London. I think the South Bank is
fantastic. In addition to its established cultural
institutions, the outdoor riverside spaces are
hugely popular and allow for so many temporary
exhibitions, installations, and events. What’s the West End’s best theater?
It’s not really in the West End, but Sadler’s Wells
Theatre is very near my home—they have a
great program of contemporary-dance performances by some excellent companies.
What makes London a unique place to live? I can say from my personal experience, it is a
very liberating experience living in London. It
has always been a great place to work because
the British don’t really care what you get up
to. My own work developed entirely because I
live in London. It is a very British situation; the
U.K. has traditionally given a platform to those
from around the world who want to research
and innovate.
What is very important to me, as an architect,
is the remarkable knowledge and skills of the
city’s engineers and consultants. There’s a
uniqueness to London—the education, the
amount of research and invention. Anything you
want, you can always find someone in London
with tremendous experience to advise you.
What will London look like in ten years? London always inspires projects that are unpredictable. Unlike most European cities, there are
still large gaps in London that allow for major
urban interventions. Looking at the Olympics
site, for example, 20 years ago, we researched
how London could be developed toward the east.
It’s fascinating to see this now a reality with
the 2012 Olympics as the catalyst. The majority
of work in London is corporate, which sees the
private domain having a tremendous impact
on the city. I feel this should be discussed and
debated to a much greater degree. ♦
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