Dezeen Magazine

Designjunction 2014

Designjunction returns to London Design Festival in September 2014

Dezeen promotion: UK design show designjunction will return to London Design Festival from 18 to 21 September 2014, with an expanded space and an exclusive exhibition by Dezeen and MINI.

Now in its fourth edition, designjunction is set to exhibit more than 180 international design, retail and innovation brands over four floors of The Sorting Office on New Oxford Street in London.

Lighting inside The Sorting Office – Above: chairs by Johansson Design
Lighting inside The Sorting Office

Prominent design labels including Modus, Zanotta and Anglepoise will be showcased at designjunction, alongside new brands like Marset, Innermost and Johanson Design.

A new trade show dedicated to high-end decorative lighting called lightjunction will make its debut at the festival, taking over the basement, first and second floors of the 1960s building, which was previously a postal sorting office.

Specialist lighting brands including Zero, Channels and Artemide will be there to display some of their latest products.

Two exclusive installations by London-based lighting designer Jake Dyson and OLED designers Blackbody will be presented as part of lightjunction.

For this year's edition, designjunction will partner with curators Ventura Projects to present Ventura London, an experimental and conceptual exhibition of work by young designers.

As part of the ongoing Dezeen and MINI Frontiers series exploring the fusion of design and technology, six designers were tasked to reimagine the future of mobility.

designjunction14_shop-at-the-show

They will present their work in a dedicated exhibition on the ground floor, showing proposals to create cars from living biological material and use augmented reality technology to replace road signs.

The ground floor of the building will also host 25 pop-up shops selling products ranging from ceramics to jewellery, as well as timepieces from Dezeen Watch Store.

A flash-factory area where several prominent designers will demonstrate parts of the manufacturing process is to feature on the same level.

The New MINI
The New MINI

Waterford Crystal will walk attendees through its crystal-cutting method, Bert&May will show how they cut and hand-paint ceramic tiles, and British manufacturer Coakley & Cox will upholster furniture live at the festival.

There will be cafes and restaurants run by Transport for London, Alessi and coffee specialists La Marzocco on the festival site, as well as a wine bar hosted by the Chilean Embassy.

Designjunction will take place from 18 to 21 September, during this year's London Design FestivalTickets to designjunction are available to buy now for £8 plus booking fee.

See our coverage of designjunction 2013 »

Read on for more information from the event organisers:


Designjunction 2014

The fourth edition of the critically-acclaimed designjunction returns to the industrial surrounds of the Sorting Office, on New Oxford Street for this year's London Design Festival in September. Spanning four floors of the magnificent central London venue – one more than in previous years – designjunction 2014 will showcase more than 180 leading global brands promoting design, retail and innovation.

This year's exciting line-up will see the return of a host of iconic brands and loyal designjunction partners including Modus, String, Innermost, Channels, Anglepoise, Bla Station and Zero joined by newcomers to the show such as Marset, Johanson Design, Lightyears and Selletti. Also showing at designjunction 2014 will be a stellar array of smaller, cutting-edge labels including Buster & Punch, James UK, Utopia & Utility, Bravo, and Brokis.

Poke Stool by Kyuhyung Cho for Innermost
Poke Stool by Kyuhyung Cho for Innermost

In another exciting development, designjunction2014 will see an exclusive installation from iconic British car manufacturer MINI, in partnership with leading design publication Dezeen, called Frontiers: The Future of Mobility.

Six commissioned designers will explore this idea including preparing the human body for space, making cars out of living biological material and using augmented reality to replace road signs.

After the successful editions of Ventura Lambrate, Ventura Interieur and Ventura Berlin, designjunction2014 hosts Ventura London organised by Ventura Projects. Visitors can expect to see experimental and conceptual exhibitions alongside the most recent developments by the next generation of designers.

Lighting display at designjunction 2013
Lighting display at designjunction 2013

Shop at the show

A number of exciting new pop-up shops and high-end design stores will create a first-rate retail experience throughout the show. The ground floor will comprise more than 25 stores for design savvy visitors wanting a unique shopping experience. Products available range from fashion and fine jewellery, to watches, ceramics, glassware, books, lighting and more.

Key retail brands include Outline Editions, Magma, Places & Spaces and Native Union.

The vibrant flash factory area makes a comeback this year. Courtesy of some of the world's leading design manufacturers, it will once again bring the process of industrial production to life. On-site you will see bespoke ceramic tiles cut and hand-painted from Bert&May, intrecute crystal-cutting from Waterford Crystal plus live upholstery making from British furniture manufacturer Coakley & Cox.

Mona lamp by Lucie Koldova for Brokis
Mona lamp by Lucie Koldova for Brokis, exhibited at designjunction 2013

Lightjunction

This September, London's leading design destination, designjunction, will bring a dedicated lighting show to the London Design Festival, the first in the city.

Lightjunction will present the very best of global decorative lighting brands and will encompass the entire basement of the Sorting Office as well as reaching across parts of the first and second floors. Organised in partnership with Cameron Peters Fine Lighting and Megaman, this year lightjunction will be bigger than ever with pioneering lighting installations to be presented by Blackbody and Jake Dyson in the basement hub.

Leading lighting brands to look out for throughout lightjunction include Lightyears, Artemide, Zero, Anglepoise, Cini & Nils, ÖRSJÖ, Marset, Buster + Punch and Brokis – all of whom will present new products.

Within the lightjunction basement hub we will also launch 'lightdating' – a platform for like-minded professionals and lighting industry VIPs to meet and connect. Our aim is to bring together representatives from the world's finest decorative lighting brands with the most influential interior designers and professionals on the circuit through a schedule of one-to-one meetings.

A fully-serviced restaurant from TfL, which is celebrating the year of the bus, will provide visitors with an array of on-site food and drink. There will also be a café courtesy of Italian artisan coffee makers, La Marzocco and an on-site wine bar from the Chilean Embassy.

Designjunction's seminar program promises to bring the industry's best creative and critical minds together on current and future hot issues facing design. Curated by the leader in the field, Aidan Walker, the program will explore technology, sustainability, Danish design, the volatile world of retail, architecture as product and product as architecture and much more.

BLOWN lamp by Samuel Wilkinson for &tradition, exhibited at designjunction 2013
BLOWN lamp by Samuel Wilkinson for &tradition, exhibited at designjunction 2013

About designjunction

Designjunction has firmly established itself as the leading destination for contemporary interior design and culture, held annually during the London Design Festival and Salone del Mobile, Milan. Known for its uncompromising selection of leading global brands, designjunction is at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge design within an expertly curated space.

In 2013, designjunction featured more than 150 world-class international brands set against the industrial backdrop of a 1960's Sorting Office in the heart of central London. The five day exhibition attracted more than 21,000 visitors through the door, expanding to seven times the size of its original format in 2011.

In April 2014 designjunction launched the fourth edition of EDIT by designjunction, Milan, a curated offering of the flagship London show. Transforming a historic 18th century building in the heart of Milan's fashion district, the show attracted over 10,000 visitors over five days.

Chairs by Johansson Design
Chairs by Johansson Design, exhibiting at designjunction 2014

Festival schedule

Thursday 18 September: 11am - 9pm
Friday 19 September: 11am - 8pm
Saturday 20 September: 11am - 8pm
Sunday 21 September: 11am - 5pm

Address: The Sorting Office, New Oxford Street, London, UK, WC1A 1BA

For the full list of exhibitors visit www.thedesignjunction.co.uk or Tweet @_designjunction #dj14