100% Design in Review

September 28, 2016

Making a suitably stylish return for its 26th year, the 21st September 2016 saw the return of 100% Design, the longest running – and biggest – design trade event in the UK.

Video credit: Mike Smithski

With a reputation for showcasing the latest talents in interiors, design and architecture, the team from Callender Howorth was in attendance, keen to make a note of the trends emerging from both new and established names exhibiting at the show – and interior designers in London, of course. This year’s theme was ‘Experience’, calling upon designers to explore the way in which design can guide, and ultimately improve, the way in which we live our lives.

As is the case with every year before it, 100% Design commissioned a series of installations to be displayed across the exhibition floor, with each aiming to challenge existing boundaries in design and encourage animated, intelligent discussions about concepts, and new material capabilities.

One such installation is the high profile main auditorium – often referred to as the ‘intellectual heart of the show’, intended to call to the imagination of all who visit. This year London-based architect Miska Miller-Lovegrove brought her keen eye and extensive experience to the project, resulting in a space inspired by Vescom, with the auditorium ‘stretched and stitched at angles’, creating – and we quote – a ‘translucent acoustic nest’.

Colour and fabrics were indeed key this year, with the immediate entrance taking visitors along ‘The Design Path’, a carpeted walkway that revealed the full variety of colours and textures available in the Hakwood range. OLED lighting illuminated much of the exhibition space, with Ron Arad’s OLED light artwork serving to highlight the perfect blend that can exist between state-of-the-art lighting technology and artistry.

Meanwhile the Materials Cloud bar, designed by Studio Glowacka with specialist fabricators 2MZ, was a big talking point at the show. Taking its lead from the modular construction toys that were popular in the 1970s, this installation interlocked new shapes and structures, ultimately forming in geometric orbs of interlocking plywood hexagons, coming to rest above the bar’s surface.

The Materials Cloud bar was intended as a social space, as was the famous Central Bar – the latter boasting legendary status within the UK design industry. Here, it is said you can literally feel at the centre of the design industry, with the bar home to much networking and collaboration year after year. 2016 saw its design team inject a series of colour scales, adding drama to the central space, defining the area and providing shelter from the hustle and bustle below.

Whilst established creatives hatch new ideas, new artists themselves are also emerging, with this year seeing the launch of Design London, a new showcase within the field of interiors. Discovering new talent is what this exhibition is all about, with each year providing a platform to a wide range of up-and-coming talent. From Mairi Helena, an interior surface pattern printer company based in Edinburgh, whose luxurious designs rework elements of her photographic portfolio of Scotland, to Lux’Ellence, a high-end metal furniture creator from Villedieu Les Poeles, the ancient Normandy town famous for its ornamental brassware in France, this new talent is at the heart of the 100% Design exhibition – and future of the industry itself.

Offering an innovative approach to luxury interior design, Callender Howorth finds inspiration in design events like 100% Design. To discuss your interior design project, contact Callender Howorth. Our team of experienced professionals are on hand to assist with your property’s transformation.