London Design Festival

London Design Festival Next edition: 12-20 September 2026

Discover designers from across the world and join us in celebrating London as a design capital on the global stage.

London Design Festival was launched by Sir John Sorrell CBE and Ben Evans CBE in 2003. Building on London’s existing design activity, their concept was to create an annual event that would promote the city’s creativity, drawing in the country’s greatest thinkers, practitioners, retailers and educators to a deliver an unmissable celebration of design. The launch of the first Festival took place at

Bloomberg on 25 March 2003, with a show of support from design, education, government and London organisations. 20 years later, this vision remains ever strong. In 2019, the Festival welcomed a record-breaking 600,000 individual visitors from over 75 countries. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, London Design Festival now moves into a new decade, celebrating how it has played a key role in the growth of the design industry, bolstering London’s position as a global destination for business, culture and tourism, and contributed to the UK’s reputation as a creative powerhouse. As one of the world’s leading design events, the Festival has also served as the blueprint for design weeks and festivals globally and continues to be a key moment on the cultural calendar.

Celebrate Pride with a vibrant programme spanning art, film, performance and community at 🌈Check out multidisciplinary ...
02/06/2026

Celebrate Pride with a vibrant programme spanning art, film, performance and community at 🌈

Check out multidisciplinary artist Mathijs Hunfeld .glorious.downfall as he takes up his residency throughout the month of June, alongside his immersive digital art experience, We Haven’t Located Us Yet in the hotel’s Gallery on 27 June.

That’s not all…programme highlights include Vaporetto Film Shorts Festival curated by Anouk Witkowska , featuring Womxn in Comedy with ; a special Pride edition of Drag On Show, a life drawing session led by RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Le Fil ; and a Pride Workout with Matteo in support of LGBTQIA+ charity, Mermaids ahead of the London Parade.

🎥 Plus, enjoy a series of thought-provoking screenings, including Film House: Pride Celebration, G.O.A.T. .o.a.t_filmclub by Ebele Tate and Pulse Cinema Screening .co.

Throughout June and July, will come alive with creativity, expression and connection.
Head to their link in bio to explore the full Pride programme. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Pavilion of the Moment, designed by in collaboration with and , reflects an evolving approach to construction – one th...
26/05/2026

Pavilion of the Moment, designed by in collaboration with and , reflects an evolving approach to construction – one that considers not only our environmental impact, but also the relationship between people, materials and the spaces we inhabit.

As a renewable, low-carbon material, the pavilion’s timbre structure represents a step towards a more balanced coexistence between human activity and ecological systems.

On view at Topkapi Palace Complex until 7 June. Read more about Pavilion of the Moment and GDFI’s Placemaking programme at the link in bio. 🔗

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’in, ve iş birliğiyle tasarladığı *Durmak İçin Bir Yer*, inşa pratiğine dair dönüşen bir yaklaşımı yansıtıyor; yalnızca çevresel etkimizi değil, insan, malzeme ve içinde yaşadığımız mekânlar arasındaki ilişkiyi de yeniden düşünmeye davet ediyor.

Yenilenebilir ve düşük karbonlu bir malzeme olan ahşaptan inşa edilen pavyon, insan faaliyetleri ile ekolojik sistemler arasında daha dengeli bir birlikte varoluş ihtimaline işaret ediyor.

Topkapı Sarayı Yerleşkesi’nde 7 Haziran’a kadar ziyarete açık olan *Durmak İçin Bir Yer* ve GDFI Placemaking programı hakkında daha fazlası için bio’daki bağlantıya göz atın. 🔗

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Reframing how we engage and experience space, Oblique Land is a public installation created for the Bosphorus-facing gro...
26/05/2026

Reframing how we engage and experience space, Oblique Land is a public installation created for the Bosphorus-facing grounds of Kabataş High School.

Its angled surface encourages visitors to move differently, shifting their balance and perspective as they engage with the view. In doing so, this site-specific installation recalls the historic hills overlooking the Bosphorus and invites the public to reconnect with this shared urban landscape.

Designed by and , Oblique Land is on view until 7 June.

Tap the link in bio to find out more about GDFI’s wider Placemaking programme guided by ’s curatorial framework via our link in bio. 🔗

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Mekânla kurduğumuz ilişkiyi ve onu deneyimleme biçimlerimizi yeniden düşünmeye davet eden Oblique Land, Kabataş Erkek Lisesi’nin Boğaz’a bakan avlusunda konumlanan kamusal bir yerleştirme.

Eğimli yüzeyi, ziyaretçileri alışılmış hareket biçimlerinin dışına çıkararak bedenin dengesini ve bakışın yönünü dönüştürüyor. Böylece bu mekâna özgü enstalasyon, Boğaz’a hâkim tarihî yamaçların hafızasını yeniden çağırırken, izleyiciyi ortak kent manzarasıyla yeniden bağ kurmaya davet ediyor.

ve tarafından tasarlanan Oblique Land, 7 Haziran’a kadar ziyaret edilebilir.

’nin küratoryal çerçevesiyle şekillenen GDFI Placemaking programı hakkında daha fazlası için bio’daki bağlantıya göz atın. 🔗

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Positioned along the entrance axis of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Wall | Tribune | Gate is an installation r...
25/05/2026

Positioned along the entrance axis of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Wall | Tribune | Gate is an installation reflecting İstanbul’s layered history and evolving urban fabric.

Lightweight and temporary in form, the structure connects past and present, using simple architectural gestures to reveal the hidden layers of the city.

The installation, designed as a place to gather, pause and observe, takes inspiration from the ancient Hippodrome, once one of the city’s most important public spaces during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

On view until 7 June, Wall | Tribune | Gate has been designed by and of .

Find out more about GDFI’s wider Placemaking programme guided by ’s curatorial framework via our link in bio. 🔗

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Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi’nin giriş aksında konumlanan Duvar / Tribün / Kapı, İstanbul’un katmanlı tarihine ve sürekli dönüşen kentsel dokusuna odaklanan bir yerleştirme.

Hafif ve geçici yapısıyla geçmiş ile bugün arasında bir bağ kuran enstalasyon, yalın mimari jestler aracılığıyla kentin görünmeyen katmanlarını görünür kılıyor.

Bir araya gelmek, duraksamak ve gözlemlemek için tasarlanan bu yapı; Roma ve Bizans dönemlerinde şehrin en önemli kamusal alanlarından biri olan antik Hipodrom’dan ilham alıyor.
’den ve tarafından tasarlanan Duvar / Tribün / Kapı , 7 Haziran’a kadar ziyaret edilebilir.

’nin küratoryal çerçevesiyle şekillenen GDFI Placemaking programı hakkında daha fazlası için bio’daki bağlantıya göz atın. 🔗

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A Melting Tomorrow is an immersive dining installation inspired by the curatorial idea: “Time is not a linear structure ...
22/05/2026

A Melting Tomorrow is an immersive dining installation inspired by the curatorial idea: “Time is not a linear structure but an endless flow, and to live in all times simultaneously.”

The work explored time through food, presenting an eating experience where nothing is fixed or permanent. Rather than thinking in terms of past, present, and future, the installation suggested that everything exists in a continuous state of flux.

Designed by , A Melting Tomorrow was part of the Forum’s Placemaking programme of public installations and sat within the curatorial framework titled Praise of Transience by . Read more about the full programme via our link in bio. 🔗

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Akıp Geçen Bir Yarın, “Zaman doğrusal bir yapı değil, sonsuz bir akıştır; tüm zamanlarda aynı anda yaşamaktır” fikrinden ilham alan sürükleyici bir yemek deneyimi.

Yemek aracılığıyla zamanı araştıran bu yerleştirme, hiçbir şeyin sabit ya da kalıcı olmadığı bir deneyim alanı sunuyordu. Geçmiş, şimdi ve gelecek arasında keskin ayrımlar kurmak yerine; her şeyin sürekli dönüşüm hâlinde var olduğunu hissettiren akışkan bir zaman anlayışı öneriyordu.

tarafından tasarlanan Akıp Geçen Bir Yarın, Forum’un kamusal yerleştirmelerden oluşan Placemaking programının bir parçası olarak, ’nin Geçiciliğe Övgü başlıklı küratoryal çerçevesi içinde izleyiciyle buluştu.
Programın tamamı hakkında daha fazlası için bio’daki bağlantıya göz atın. 🔗

✦ 13-16 May
✦ Global Design Forum Istanbul
✦ Hagia Irene, Topkapi Palace Complex

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22/05/2026

More highlights from Day 02 at Global Design Forum Istanbul! 🇹🇷📍

Moving at a much slower, more precise and attentive pace, we heard from Serap Ekizler Sönmez , Samer Yamani , Selva Gürdoğan and Guta Moura Guedes on the importance of preserving local craft traditions and the irreplaceable weight of the material world. 🧶

Discover the full talks programme via our link in bio. 🔗

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Global Design Forum Istanbul | 02. Gün’den öne çıkanlar!

Daha yavaş, daha dikkatli ve daha hassas bir ritimde ilerleyen bu günde; Serap Ekizler Sönmez , Samer Yamani , Selva Gürdoğan ve Guta Moura Guedes yerel zanaat geleneklerinin korunmasının önemini ve maddesel dünyanın yeri doldurulamaz ağırlığını ele aldılar.

✦ 13-16 May
✦ Global Design Forum Istanbul
✦ Hagia Irene, Topkapi Palace Complex

Yakîn explores space through the lens of Islamic mysticism. Instead of seeing space as something purely physical, the in...
21/05/2026

Yakîn explores space through the lens of Islamic mysticism. Instead of seeing space as something purely physical, the installation invites us to think of it as something that exists within us.

At the centre of Yakîn is the idea of the human self as layered and evolving – represented by flowing silk curtains that gradually become denser. As visitors move through the installation, they are invited to reflect on a more essential idea of space, one that is shaped by human experience and deeply connected to the self.

Open until 7 June, the installation was created by , , , .turkylmaz and Architecture Department students from .

Read more about Yakîn and the wider Placemaking programme guided by ’s curatorial framework at the link in bio. 🔗

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Patterns of Possibilities v2 is a digital installation inspired by the curatorial idea, “There is no such place as İstan...
21/05/2026

Patterns of Possibilities v2 is a digital installation inspired by the curatorial idea, “There is no such place as İstanbul, there is only knowledge called İstanbul.”

Rather than presenting İstanbul as a fixed entity, the project explores the city as something shaped by perception, memory, and chance through continuously evolving visual algorithms.

Patterns of Possibilities v2 is a continuation of 2015 project and was part of the Forum’s Placemaking programme of public installations under the curatorial framework by . Tap the link in bio to find out more. 🔗

✦ 13-16 May
✦ Global Design Forum Istanbul
✦ Hagia Irene, Topkapi Palace Complex

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“The design of the chair draws its strength from local resources and Istanbul’s visual identity. The native wood used fo...
20/05/2026

“The design of the chair draws its strength from local resources and Istanbul’s visual identity. The native wood used for the frame is finished in Ochre Red - the most symbolic hue of Istanbul’s civil architectural heritage. This choice of colour anchors the chair’s modern form to the city’s historical texture, making it both a functional tool and a visual statement.” – Celâleddin Çelik

Specially designed for Global Design Forum Istanbul by and in collaboration with , Kızılcık is an architectural response to the dynamic and functional needs of the Forum.

Kızılcık is constructed entirely through interlocking joinery. This approach highlights the honesty of the material and the precision of the cut, resulting in a design that is both simple in its assembly and sharp in its silhouette.

Following the Forum, the chairs will be donated to several institutions across Istanbul. 📍

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“Sandalyenin tasarımı, gücünü yerel kaynaklardan ve İstanbul’un görsel kimliğinden alıyor. İskeletinde kullanılan yerel ahşap, İstanbul’un sivil mimari mirasının en simgesel tonlarından biri olan Aşı Boyası Kırmızı ile tamamlandı. Bu renk seçimi, sandalyenin çağdaş formunu kentin tarihsel dokusuna bağlıyor; onu hem işlevsel bir nesneye hem de güçlü bir görsel ifadeye dönüştürüyor.” – Celâleddin Çelik

ve tarafından, iş birliğiyle Global Design Forum Istanbul için özel olarak tasarlanan Kızılcık; Forum’un dinamik ve işlevsel ihtiyaçlarına mimari bir yanıt niteliği taşıyor.

Kızılcık, bütünüyle geçmeli birleşim sistemiyle inşa edildi. Bu yaklaşım, malzemenin dürüstlüğünü ve kesimin hassasiyetini görünür kılarken; hem yalın bir kurguya hem de güçlü bir silüete sahip bir tasarım ortaya çıkarıyor.
Forum’un ardından sandalyeler, İstanbul’daki çeşitli kurumlara bağışlanacak. 📍

✦13-16 May 2026
✦Global Design Forum Istanbul
✦Hagia Irene, Topkapi Palace Complex



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19/05/2026

Highlights from Global Design Forum Istanbul 📣✨

Day 02 brought together conversations on AI, architecture, material futures, decolonising design education and the systems shaping how we live, build and think.

Hear from Professor Lesley Lokko OBE in conversation with Beatrice Galilee . Together, they discussed colonial structures embedded in architectural education and what this practise owes to the people it has historically left out.

While Ma Yansong joined Olaf Grawert , Han Tümertekin , Andrew Waugh and Professor Lale Özgenel to discuss one poignant question: Why do we keep making new things when so much already exists?

From critical discussions on intelligence, reuse and the future of architecture – the Forum sessions continued to challenge what design can and should do.

✦13-16 May 2026
✦Global Design Forum Istanbul
✦Hagia Irene, Topkapi Palace Complex

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