Dezeen Magazine

This week's VDF featured Archigram, Faye Toogood and UNStudio

This week's VDF highlights include Archigram, Faye Toogood, Ben van Berkel and an exclusive piano performance by Rosey Chan

In the fifth week of the Virtual Design Festival, we interviewed Standard Architecture and Sauerbruch Hutton, as well as launching an exclusive series of videos about Archigram.

Virtual Design Festival is the world's first digital design festival, with a full schedule of events running until 30 June.


This week's VDF featured Archigram, Faye Toogood and UNStudio

Monday 11 May

VDF x Archigram: The debut instalment of our four-part video interview series with Archigram saw former members Peter Cook and Dennis Crompton recount how the influential collective rose to prominence in the 1960s.

Screentime with Stefan Behnisch: Monday's live interview featured German architect Stefan Behnisch of Behnisch Architekten.


This week's VDF featured Archigram, Faye Toogood and UNStudio

Tuesday 12 May

VDF x Friedman Benda: In the latest instalment of our Design in Dialogue video series with New York gallery Friedman Benda, designer Faye Toogood admitted to experiencing bouts of impostor syndrome due to her lack of formal training.

VDF x Archigram: Our second Archigram video interview saw Cook and Crompton speak at length about the group's Plug-In City concept, in which prefabricated capsules could allow inhabitants to essentially "grow" their own dwelling.

Screentime with Virginia San Fratello: Virginia San Fratello of US architecture Studio Rael San Fratello spoke to Dezeen's editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs about her viral project, in  which she set up pink seesaws that bridged the US-Mexico border.


This week's VDF featured Archigram, Faye Toogood and UNStudio

Wednesday 13 May

VDF x Architects, not Architecture: We streamed three selected talks from the Architects not Architecture archives, in which Francine Houben, Richard Rogers and Reiulf Ramstad spoke candidly about their lives, experiences and influences.

VDF x Archigram: In part three of our video interview series, Peter Cook delved deep into Archigram's Instant City concept, which he describes as a travelling "cultural circus" that could turn a small village into a kind of proto-city.

Screentime with Ben van Berkel: In a live interview, UNStudio founder and architect Ben van Berkel discussed his work on smart cities and how they can help us live more sustainably.


This week's VDF featured Archigram, Faye Toogood and UNStudio

Thursday 14 May

VDF x Archigram: In the final instalment of our video interview series, Archigram's Dennis Crompton spoke about the sports and entertainment complex in Monte Carlo that was meant to become the collective's first completed building – and how those plans were ultimately foiled.

Screentime with Standard Architecture: Standard Architecture founders Silvia Kuhle and Jeffrey Allsbrook spoke live from Los Angeles about their efforts to make architecture that is "landscape-generative rather than landscape displacing".


This week's VDF featured Archigram, Faye Toogood and UNStudio

Friday 15 May

Screentime with Sauerbruch Hutton: Matthias Sauerbruch and Louisa Hutton spoke to Dezeen for a live interview about some of their practice's most renowned projects, including the transformation of a former military uniform factory into their office and studio.

VDF x Rosey Chan: A day-long programme curated by Rosey Chan showcased some of the musician's most prominent collaborations with different designers.

This included the premiere of her art collaboration Water Dancer, a screening of the Parametricism short film created in collaboration with Patrik Schumacher, and a performance created for British designers Fredrikson Stallard.

To round off the week, Chan joined us for a live interview and an exclusive performance of two improvised piano pieces.


Previous weeks

Did you miss week four? Read our summary of the highlights, including exclusive interviews with Carlo Ratti and Iris van Herpen, as well as a cocktail masterclass from the owner of Milan's Bar Basso.

Did you miss week three? Read our summary of the highlights, including a video message from Ben van Berkel and an exclusive screening of Gary Hustwit's Dieter Rams documentary.

Did you miss week two? Read the summary of the highlights from the second week, including Ron Arad, SO-IL, Kunlé Adeyemi, Nelly Ben Hayoun, Beatie Wolfe and Studio Drift.

Did you miss week one? Read the summary of the first week's highlights include live interviews with Li Edelkoort and Klein Dytham Architecture plus the now-legendary VDF launch movie.

For more information about VDF or to join the mailing list, email [email protected].