As a precursor to the London Design Festival, the Wapping Project has invited four leading design practices to move in for the month of September and work from their ample exhibition space, opening up the design process to the uninitiated.
For Design is simply complex, the former boiler house of this east London institution has been turned into a hive of design activity, with creative types mulling over their Macbooks and holding impromptu meetings under the gaze of the former power station's superannuated machinery.
Working from such a location is a challenge: as Vicky Richardson, editor of Blueprint magazine, who are producing their November issue from the Project, explains, the relative lack of facilities has meant some creative work-arounds, and the evening flow of interested diners at the building's restaurants means that the team have had to shift their working hours later in the day to accomodate the busiest period. But as a warts-'n-all look through the keyhole of the design industries, it's is an intriguing concept.
Blueprint aside, the exhibition also features bag design royalty in the form of Ally Capellino, whose installation takes visitors through the "complexities of a typical Ally Capellino design"; Tracey Neuls, the designer behind footwear company TN_29, who is selling a limited number of special edition brogues; and architectural dealers Van der Meersch & Weston, who are bathed in a series of spotlights in the Project's former Coal Store.
Design is simply complex, at the Wapping Project, E1W 3SG. Open Mon-Sat 12pm - 10pm, Sunday 12pm - 5.30pm. Until September 27th. Entry is free.
