London Design Festival 2015: windows that charge electronic devices and benches produced using solar power were among the sustainable products, furniture and food items exhibited across four floors at London gallery 19 Greek Street (+ slideshow).

A theme of ethical living ran throughout the Soho gallery's Art of Progress exhibition, which included a cafe with a "planet-friendly" menu and a floor converted into an apartment to showcase of furniture, product and lighting design.

A lecture room hosted talks from speakers around the theme of sustainability, while visitors to the top of the five-floor Victorian town house were encouraged to take a break from the bustle of London Design Festival with a series of workshops on mindfulness and meditation.

Work from designers including Mischer'Traxler, Peter Marigold and Studiomama founder Nina Tolstrup was on display.

Marjan van Aubel added her current windows to the first three floors of the building, allowing visitors and passersby to use collected solar energy to charge their phones.

Vienna duo Mischer'Traxler showed their hollow Idea of a Tree benches – made from cotton, glue and resin as unique records of the sunlight conditions on the day they were produced – as well as naturally dyed and hand-knotted wool carpets created for rug company Nodus.

For this year's London Design Festival, the pair also filled a room at the V&A museum with glass bulbs containing hand-made insects, which fluttered in response to the movements of visitors.

Peter Marigold showed alternatives to standard lighting, with lamps powered by forks stuck into vegetables, as well as purposefully uneven shelves made from panels of wood supported by a single log split into four corner pieces.

Belgian designer Lionel Jadot contributed a distinctive table, with a top that had bundles of copper rods inserted into it, as well as a table with a surface made from a piece of reclaimed ceiling.

Julian Lechner also used reclaimed materials, with ceramics made from used coffee grounds, and Tord Boontje recycled bottles to develop a collection of glassware.



"In curating The Art of Progress, 19 Greek Street will send a powerful message about the lifestyle choices we can all make to contribute to a more sustainable and ethical future," said gallery founder and creative director Marc Péridis.

The Art of Progress took place from 17 to 27 September 2015, as part of the London Design Festival.

Other exhibitions that took part during the event included a showcase of hand-crafted Irish products, a collection of independent Taiwanese lighting and furniture design, and a show that commemorated 50 years of British road signage.