The Victoria and Albert Museum is launching the first V&A Summer Camp – a free, two day celebration of design. The event incorporates both late night and family activities with the aim of sharing design knowledge and skills.

V&A SUMMER CAMP 2010

Friday 30th July: 18.30-22.00

Saturday 31st July: 13.00-17.00

Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL (020 7942 2000)

A derivative of the ‘V&A Village Fete’ of previous years, the Summer Camp involves a range of daytime activities in combination with the nocturnal revelry of ‘Friday Late’. The museum is hosting all-day workshops, talks, performances and participatory events presented by a range of designers, artists and makers.

Such designers include Peter Marigold and Markus Bergstrom, who are on hand to offer advice on how to devise and create furniture.

Toy designer Tony Hayward is showing visitors how to design their own take-away toy.

The ‘Typography Summer School’ is holding a discursive critique where any item featuring print can be brought along for exploration. Other ‘tents’ pitched around the museum aim to celebrate self-reliance and resourcefulness, with opportunities to make, repair, play, learn new hobbies and gather and swap skills.

Friday night features a night of balladry, ghostly tales and clog dancing. To accompany these events, the 2010 Serpentine Pavilion is hosting a one night sleepover exploring ideas of sleep mapping and the psychedelic qualities of insomnia. This is reviewed through talks, films, experiments and a midnight feast staged within the Pavilion.

Saturday highlights family-orientated pursuits, including a costume workshop for children and Morris dancing lessons, amongst many other activities.

The colour red is often symbolically associated with sin, guilt, pain, passion, blood, anger and debt. Might this be an over-analysis of French architect Jean Nouvel’s all red design for the 10th annual Serpentine Gallery Pavilion?

SERPENTINE PAVILION, 10th July-17th October 2010

SERPENTINE GALLERY

Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA (020 7402 6075)

As Nouvel would have it, his use of the colour red is supposed to reflect iconic British images of post boxes, telephone boxes and London buses. That seems all too stereotypical for us Londoners. We prefer Nouvel’s more straightforward justification which is that red simply contrasts with the green of its park surroundings.

The metal structure of the building consists of geometric forms, large retractable awnings and a freestanding wall that climbs 12 metres above the lawn. Glass, polycarbonate, and fabric structures combine to create a versatile system of interior and exterior spaces.

This year’s pavilion hones in on the idea of play, as it is Nouvel’s desire to bring the tradition of French civic parks to London. Visitors can partake in a game of table tennis on, yes, red tables.Other games of chess, frisbee and kite flying are also on hand to entertain the public throughout the summer.

Visitors can relax in the Serpentine Gallery Cafe or attend one of the many events taking place within the structure, including the popular ‘Park Nights’ programme of public talks.

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion commission is an ongoing annual programme of temporary structures by internationally acclaimed architects and designers who have not yet completed a building in England at the time of the gallery’s invitation.

Invited by the Gallery Director Julia Peyton-Jones and currently funded by a range of companies and individuals, including Arts Council England, each pavilion provides a welcoming spectacle for the arrival of summer.

LONDON DESIGN GUIDE has teamed up with New Designers to offer a 25% ticket discount on entry to this year’s shows. Simply quote the promotional code below when you book online or by phone.

DISCOUNT TICKET OFFER – SAVE 25%

£8.50 + £1.50 booking fee, instead of £14 on the door

Book now: 08448 480 139

Book online: www.newdesigners.com

Quote promotional code: ND155

New Designers takes place at the Business Design Centre, London N1 OQH. Nearest tube is Angel on the Northern Line.

For information on opening times and traveling to the venue, please visit the New Designers website.

Part 1: 1 – 4 July 2010 (Awards Preview 30 June)

Textiles, Fashion & Accessories, Contemporary Applied Arts, Ceramics & Glass, Jewellery & Precious Metalwork, One Year On

Part 2: 8 – 11 July 2010 (Awards Preview 7 July)

Product Design, Furniture Design, Visual Communications (including Graphic Design and Illustration), Spatial Design, One Year On

New Designers is renowned for showcasing the very best in graduate design. This year marks its 25th anniversary – and once again, the July exhibition showcases 3,500 of the brightest and most creative talents from Britain’s leading design courses. It is an event for fresh thinking and aspiration.

Discover the dynamism, ingenuity and energy of the next design generation from architecture to animation, furniture to fashion, graphics to glass.

New Designers exhibition is the leading showcase of graduate design talent as they emerge from the UK’s design courses, presenting everything from architecture to animation, furniture to fashion, graphics to glass. Hosted under one roof at Islington’s Business Design Centre (BDC), visitors can access over 3,500 new talents across the two-part event.

NEW DESIGNERS 2010

PART 1: 1st-4th July 2010 >>> Textiles; Fashion & Accessories; contemporary Applied Arts; Ceramics & Glass; Jewellery & Precious Metalwork.

PART 2: 8th-11th July 2010 >>> Product Design; Furniture; Visual Communications (including Graphic Design & Illustration); Spatial Design.

BUSINESS DESIGN CENTRE

52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH (08448 480 139)

Due to the sheer volume of work being exhibited, New Designers is split across two shows with each show focussing on the creative disciplines listed above.

2010 is a landmark for New Designers, which will have been running for 25 successful years. To mark this anniversary, ‘Where are you now’ celebrates the success of a number of New Designer’s alumni with work displayed (and for sale) near the upper café.

Alongside the graduates’ exhibits is a special showcase of design entrepreneurs entitled ‘One Year On.’ As the name suggests, it presents a selected showcase of designers whose work has matured and progressed in their first year in business. Thorsten van Elten curates the 40 contributors.

An extensive talks and seminars programme adds further interest with sessions offering advice for professional development and insights into some of the key issues of the day.

We will be selling copies of LONDON DESIGN GUIDE at New Designers Part Two.

Three weekends, 16 days, over 300 events, 250,000 visitors, star names and a variety and vibrancy of installations, exhibitions, debates and dialogue, the biennial London Festival of Architecture (LFA) returns to the capital.

Established in 2004, LFA is a celebration and exploration of buildings, streets, spaces and places in the capital and highlights London’s reputation as an international creative hub. Since its inception, LFA has engaged a new audience helping to place architecture firmly at the forefront of the cultural agenda and shift its status from a specialist interest for the few, to an essential consideration for the many.

A varied programme of events including exhibitions, debates, dance, breakfast picnics, street markets, workshops, talks, parties, guided walks, bicycle and boat tours will see London, a heavy place of bricks, steel and concrete, invaded by a lighter city of canvas, tents, towers and pavilions.

LFA provides a platform for many of the leading figures of architecture and urbanism including Daniel Libeskind, Sir John Ritblat, Francine Houben, Rafael Vinoly, MVRDV, Alain de Botton, Rem Koolhaas, Ken Livingstone, Ed Jones, Sir Terry Farrell, Stephen Bayley, Deyan Sudjic, and Wayne Hemingway to debate and discuss timely themes and burning questions, addressing key issues such as how can we make London a better place to live and work in.

Centrally curated by three leading architectural institutions, RIBA London, The Architecture Foundation and New London Architecture, LFA is structured over three weekends across three London hubs: Central London (19th / 20th June), East London (26th / 27th) and South London (3rd /4thJuly) united under the Festival theme, ‘The Welcoming City.’ In addition to each weekend hub, a core series of activities and one-off events are running throughout the Festival across the capital. In the true spirit of ‘The Welcoming City’ practices London-wide are also opening their doors to the public and engaging with their local communities to provide insight into the profession through open studio tours, events and school visits.

Weekend 1, 19th-23rd June

CENTRAL: NASH RAMBLAS

RIBA London is opening the festival with a West End hub that celebrates John Nash’s key north-south route between two Royal Parks (Regent’s Park and St James’s) uniting a wealth of architectural, historical, cultural and commercial offers. Nash Ramblas highlights the origins of the route in the early 19th century and explores contemporary, as well as the future, plans and potential for this area as a major pedestrian destination.

Weekend 2, 26th-27th June

EAST: HIGH STREET 2012

The second weekend focus is the section of streets that stretch from Aldgate to Stratford and represent the last 6km of the London 2012 Olympic Marathon and the historic gateway into the City, as well as a wider current streetscape and regeneration strategy. The High Street is hosting a series of activities and interventions.

Weekend 3, 30th June-4th July

SOUTH: BANKSIDE URBAN FOREST

The final weekend of the Festival brings focus to the area stretching between the culturally vibrant South bank of the River Thames and the Elephant and Castle neighborhood further south. Taking its cues from Witherford Watson Mann architects’ Bankside Urban Forest scheme, it creates multiple opportunities for exchange between Festival visitors and local residents.

To explore the full programme of events, visit the LFA website.

Free Range presents the work of thousands of graduates from art and design universities around the UK, in several distinct categories over 8 weeks. The event takes place in the Old Truman Brewery in London’s East End.

FREE RANGE 2010, 4th June-26th July 2010

THE OLD TRUMAN BREWERY

91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

The event embraces all the creative disciplines, from art, graphics and photography to architecture, interiors (including product and furniture design) and textiles. Furthermore, educational charity D&AD are bringing ‘New Blood‘, their creative talent show, to Free Range for the first time.

Free Range was originally conceived over 10 years ago as a regeneration project for The Old Truman Brewery, alongside 93 Feet East and Fashion East, a successful millennium strategy that has brought people and businesses into the area and established it as a creative hub in London.

For the full programme of exhibiting colleges, visit the Free Range website.

Please note, the exhibitors change weekly. As a result, the exhibition open days during this period are Fridays to Mondays, 10am-7pm.

LDG PROMOTION: Vintage at Goodwood is the latest addition to Britain’s summer festival portfolio. We have teamed up with the organisers to offer LDG readers a 10% discount on admission tickets. Be sure to book before 1st July! Details below.

Vintage at Goodwood takes place over 13^th, 14^th and 15th August on the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex. It is the latest addition to Britain’s summer festival portfolio. It will bring together authentic music, fashion, food, film, art and design, making it a unique festival of British culture and its worldwide influence.

Vintage at Goodwood features an inspirational line up of world renowned bands, with performances by the latest contemporary acts, DJs and collectors from each decade who have all been inspired by the past, as well as the living legends who have inspired them.

Vintage pays homage to the best of British fashion design through a line-up of catwalk shows, hands on creative experiences and the very best purveyors of vintage clothing.  The event will explore the musical, design and cultural lineages and offer a glimpse of where we go from here.

It will be the festival of choice for those who want style and glamour rather than a weekend of roughing it, the choice to go dancing in high heels, not wellies, and prefer eating in restaurants instead of outside a burger van.

TICKET OFFER: Vintage at Goodwood is offering the readers of London Design Guide a 10% discount on admission tickets which are booked between 1st June to 1st July 2010.  Visit the ticket section of the Vintage website, enter the code VINLDG10 when prompted and away you go!

To find out about the latest additions to the lineup and other exciting things being planned, visit the Vintage at Goodwood website.

Clerkenwell Design Week is a new three-day festival launching in an area already thriving with design activity in London. Centred around the area’s concentration of furniture showrooms, the festival aims to focus attention on a packed programme of exhibitions and installations.

CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK, 25th-27th May 2010

Exhibitions, events, installations, seminars, talks, bike tours, and parties are taking place across venues in Clerkenwell.

The hub venue is The Farmiloe’s Building, 34 St John Street, EC1M 4AY.

For full listing of events during the festival, visit the Clerkenwell Design Week website for more information.

At 5pm on 28th April, auction house Phillips de Pury & Company is staging its spring DESIGN sale in its London showroom. The sale focusses on rare and important pieces from celebrated 20th and 21st Century designers.

‘DESIGN’ auction, 28th April 2010, 5pm

PHILLIPS DE PURY & COMPANY

Howick Place, London SW1P 1BB (020 7318 4010)

Top: ‘Unique three-arm ceiling lamp’ by Serge Mouille (c.1955): estimate £70,000-100,000.

Above: ‘Mexique’ bookcase by Charlotte Perriand and Atelier Jean Prouvé (1953): estimate £80,000-140,000.

167 lots are offered in this curated sale, with estimates totaling £1,490,400 (low) and £2,137,900 (high). PAGE UPDATE: SALES TOTALED £1,822,075.

Above: ‘Totem’ floor lamp by Serge Mouille (c.1962): estimate £80,000-120,000.

A large collection of important midcentury French works by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, and Serge Mouille features alongside property from the apartment of Laurence and Patrick Seguin, Paris.

Above: ‘Willow’ sculpture by Harry Bertoia (c.1970): estimate £35,000-45,000.

Other significant works include designs by Ettore Sottsass, Harry Bertoia, Shiro Kuramata, and Atelier Van Lieshout.

Above: ‘Fisherman’s House’ by Atelier Van Lieshout (2000): estimate £35,000-55,000.

All lots can be viewed in person at Phillips de Pury from 21st-27th April 2010 or via their online catalogue.

Above: ‘Exceptional large wall light’ by Poul Henningsen for the Concert Hall, Scala Theater, Arhus, Denmark (1955): estimate £15,000-20,000.

All images courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Company.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro, in partnership with the Design Museum, are staging a new series of talks titled Made in Italy – The Influence of Italian Design, taking place in May. Enter our competition to win tickets to these talks (details below).

Launching on the 5th May 2010, each evening talk will explore the values behind Italy’s creative force, looking at future trends and bringing together the most exciting figures in Italian contemporary design – from designers to manufacturers and creative directors.

DATES: 5th, 10th & 20th May 2010. ENTER OUR COMPETITION TO WIN TICKETS:

Choose which talk you would like to attend by specifying your preferred date in an email to: info@londondesignguide.com with ‘Made in Italy’ in the subject line. (Your details will not be passed on to any third parties).

Competition closes at midday on Tuesday 4th May. We have two pairs of tickets to giveaway for each event. Winners will be chosen at random and notified by email on 4th May. Each winner will receive two tickets to the talk.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. Congratulations to all of our ticket winners.

Full event details below.

Talks take place on 5th, 10th & 20th May at the Design Museum, London:

Wednesday 5th May, 7.30pm >>> Made in Italy: Il Modo Italiano

This first ‘Made in Italy’ discussion analyses the context for Italian design. Find out more about the role of the manufacturer, designer and consumer and the idiosyncratic relationships that link all three. Speakers include Claudio Silvestrin, Piero Lissoni, and James Irvine.

Monday 10th May, 7.15pm >>> Made in Italy: Italian Industrial Design

Be it desirable, stylish, innovative, challenging, reliable or any combination of the above, this discussion will focus on how Italian industrial design makes an impact and leaves a mark. Hear experienced designers unpick the nuances of the Italian industrial design scene. Speakers include Mario Bellini, Dr Penny Sparke, Matteo Thun.

Thursday 20th May 7.15pm >>> Made in Italy: The Future

The achievements of the last 50 years of Italian design are clear, but where is Italian design heading next? To conclude the ‘Made in Italy’ series, a distinguished panel analyse current trends and try to anticipate what could or should be coming next. Speakers include Antonio Citterio, Ross Lovegrove and Roberto Giolito.

Deyan Sudjic (director of Design Museum) will chair each talk.

Additional talks will take place in Brighton on 12th May and Glasgow on 18th May.

Please do not enter this competition unless you are available to attend.

Stay informed of future competitions by signing up to our mailing list.

Images of iconic Italian designs, supplied courtesy of the Design Museum Collection.