Take a First Look at the Country Pavilions Heading to London Design Biennale 2023
Each will explore real-world issues through the lens of creativity.
The London Design Biennale has announced the first round of exhibitors set to create pavilions for its 2023 edition. Under the theme of “The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations”, the show will take place from June 1 to 25, bringing designers and architects from countries across the globe together across the setting of London’s Somerset House.
Now, with less than five months to go until its opening, the concepts for the pavilions representing Abu Dhabi, Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dubai, India, Malta, the Swiss museum Mudac, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, South Korea, Spain and Peru, Taiwan, The Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom and Ukraine have been announced.
Each will interpret the theme set by the curatorial team, and create a site-specific installation in a designated area within or around the central London building. “The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations aims to create an alternative geopolitical landscape driven not by competition nor conflict, but rather cooperation,” says Aric Chen, General Director of the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, which has partnered with the Biennale team on this year’s edition. “We all agree that global challenges require global collaboration. This is easier said than done, but in some small way, we hope real international exchanges will arise from this biennial in a way that also invites visitors to become part of the process.”
PolandCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
UkraineCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
MaltaCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
The global changes to have taken place since the last edition in 2021 will be explored by many of the pavilion teams. Poignantly, Ukrainian designers are set to demonstrate the country’s creative history, in a bid to showcase the importance of collaboration plays in fostering connectivity during wartime. In addition, neighboring country Poland will pay homage to the humble window and will examine it as a symbol of cross-pollination.
Marketplaces and village squares have inspired both Malta’s and India’s pavilions, which will be located in the majestic courtyard and River Terrace spaces respectively. Matla’s design will feature fabrics using traditional Phoenician-Maltese dyes, while India will look to the open ‘chowk’ markets found at street junctions, and will create an interpretation of a traditional woven daybed known as a charpai.
“The previous Biennale took place towards the end of the global pandemic and once again the global context has drastically changed. Despite this, international design teams continue to demonstrate the possibilities of what can be achieved through design and design thinking.”
A UNESCO-recognized weaving technique practiced by Bedouin women in the UAE will be spotlighted by Abu Dhabi. Named “Al-Sadu”, the craft is used to create tents and communal spaces for community meetings. A collaborative effort will be presented by Spain and Peru, who will take historic design practices and showcase their relevance and importance in the modern day.
Spain and PeruCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
The Democratic Republic of CongoCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
TaiwanCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
PortugalCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
RomaniaCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
South KoreaCourtesy Of London Design Biennale
The Netherlands pavilion will be ever-changing throughout the duration of the show, in reference to “themes of societal disorientation”, and The European Union Delegation to the United Kingdom will present the New European Bauhaus initiative, which creatively links the European Green Deal to society’s lived experience.
Over at Romania’s installation, our need to connect to nature will take centerstage. South Korea, however, will look beyond the world in front of us and will use mixed reality to adjoin past and future – all within the setting of a traditional garden. The Automorph Network – a collaboration between scientists and designers – brings individuals from France, Italy, Israel, and the US to explore biomimicry for the purpose of innovation.
Elsewhere, Taiwan will draw attention to its unique geographical location and its growing importance as a world trade hub; a robot named Ai-Da will shed light on the ways in which AI technology might shape creativity; the national museum of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will become a virtual world; The Care Pavilion looks to the politics and ethics of care; Portugal will endeavor to bring about change on the issue of violence against women; and The Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts in Lausanne, Switzerland will present a global management system for planetary issues.
“The Biennale is the place to see what is on people’s minds, across the world, right now,” Victoria Broackes, Director of the London Design Biennale, concludes.
The London Design Biennale takes place at Somerset House from June 1 to 15. In other design news, Snøhetta has unveiled its design for a new landmark innovation hub in Bangkok.
Somerset House
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