The May Design Series combine the future-focused DX with kbb LDN, featuring the latest innovations in kitchens and bathrooms; Interiors LDN, a showcase of the best contemporary British and international design for the mid to high-end furniture and interiors market; and The ARC Show, dedicated to the best intelligent and creative lighting today.
The exploratory DX exhibition space will celebrate design excellence and bring together selected people and products. DX Freight will bring together an edited selection of the best of the European show season; The Conversation Series offers insights, experience and showcases from leading global industry figures, exploring themes from ‘design on the edge’ to how we approach creating living space in an overcrowded world. Live highlights include a keynote presentation and DJ set from Karim Rashid and a special evening curated by Musicity, both housed in the DX Bar, designed by MA students from the RCA. Exhibitors include Ligne Roset, Hitch Mylius, Grace & Webb, Armourcoat and PP Mobler.
With exhibition design by Ab Rogers, the concept will see the four ‘districts’ of the show come together in a city-scape, with the visitor led on an engaging journey through the space.
The May Design Series will also offer a definitive destination for inspiration for London-based interior design, property, architectural and retail communities that buy and specify for projects around the world. The May Design Series serves to bring together leading practitioners and the finest international brands, to form a world-class, comprehensive trade show for London.
Event highlights include: The Conversation Series, a high level talks programme featuring sessions for architects, developers, designers and retailers. Visitors can gain insight into the latest advancements, discuss forward-thinking ideas, pressing topics and hard-hitting issues, through the programme of speakers. Topics include ‘Design on the Edge’ looking at design projects in extreme places, from space to the Antarctic, including speakers from A-ETC, who have designed architectural concepts for NASA; Hugh Broughton Architects, who have won commissions including the RIBA International competition for the design of Halley VI Antarctic Research Station and the design of the US Atmospheric Observatory at Summit Station in Greenland; and Studio Seilern, whose recently completed residential project in Zimbabwe won the World Architecture News House of the Year 2012 Award. ‘Future Cities: Designing Apartments for an Overcrowded World’ will examine how we plan and develop our domestic living spaces in the context of population growth and crowded urban environments.
Karim Rashid, one of the most prolific designers of his generation, will be hosting a keynote session within the Conversation Series programme on 20 May. With an epic career spanning over 20 years, Karim has over 3000 designs in production, over 300 awards and numerous projects undertaken on a global basis.
DX Freight May Design Series is at the end of the European show season and in partnership with leading industry brands, the series will showcase the best products from Maison et Object, IMM Cologne, Stockholm Furniture Fair and i Saloni in Milan, offering a global edited representation of the market.
Out of the Dark is a pioneering charity and social enterprise that trains, educates and employs young people by taking old furniture and teaching them how to recycle, restore and revamp them into refreshingly beautiful pieces. Out of the Dark will be using fabric donated by Timorous Beasties to create a new collection of furniture to be showcased and purchased at the event.
Royal College of Art Bar Competition will also be hosted at the series. MA Interior Design students from the Royal College of Art were set the challenge of designing two public spaces within the May Design Series: the DX Bar and the Champagne Bar. The brief was to create lively hubs, each with a distinct design aesthetic, where visitors can meet up, relax, reflect and re-energise. Temporality, sustainability, clever design and visual impact were some of the considerations taken by students in creating dynamic spaces.
Musicity, co-founded by XFM and BBC Radio 3 DJ Nick Luscombe, commission recording artists to compose original music in response to an aspect of the city that inspires them. They will host a session on sonic design and how advances in technology are allowing sound to transform our experience of the built environment.
