Furniture Takes to the Streets

furniture for street somerset-house photo.jpg

It's the London Festival of Architecture and the architects have taken their furniture to the streets. Literally. Called 'London's Largest Living Room', the courtyard at Somerset House has been transformed into a complete suite of over-sized furniture on a colourful carpet. It was designed by Studio Weave with a pattern by Eley Kishimoto (a clothing and fabric designer) which is pink (the festival's colour) and inspired by the streetscape.

These delightful wooden plywood cut- out versions of sofas, armchairs, bookshelves and lamps offer a perfect resting place after a weary day at the gallery. Each one has a message written on it, about the location, the festival and other activities taking place. More of the chairs are scattered around town in random places. By taking these domestic items out into the public realm "it invites members of the public to think about the city landscape as their home, and consider how we could better use the often neglected open spaces around us." It's a way of getting people to take a fresh look at their environment.

street furniture london festival of architure photo.jpg

Cardboard Seating
These cardboard moving boxes were lined up and down a closed-off street and people were sitting, eating ice cream, taking photos and passing the time on them.

norman foster structure photo.jpg

Norman Foster's Structure

Towering over the road, and erected by a team of people pulling it up, this hot pink tensile structure is of similar design to that used for large tensile roofs. It is made of pre-fab components and has nylon cable and tensioned ropes to keep it in shape.

wall-recycled-chinese photo.jpg

Yung Ho Chang's Screens
These screens are made of recycled plastic containers commonly used on Chinese construction sites. :: London Festival of Architecture