Last week, from 16 to 24 September, the London Design Festival 2017 took place. Between all sorts of wonderful design installations, such as a bionic chandelier that cleans the air using algae, there were several noticeable for their use of materials. Below, we have selected 4 of the most interesting material designs.

Transmission
This installation, made by Ross Lovegrove, is a soft, undulating sculpture, made from Alcantara. This sound-absorbent and pliable material is composed of polyester and polyurethane, and has a suede look and feel. The material is streaked with gold and silver threads, creating a pattern of flecks.

The folds in the 21 metre-long, freestanding installation are inspired by the red gown worn by a lady on the 15th-century tapestry that was displayed in same room as Transmission, at the Tapestries Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A).

While We Wait
While We Wait is a large towering structure made from limestone, designed by architects AAU Anastas. The stones used come from different regions of Palestine, fading upwards from earthy red to white.

The shape of the stones was designed by a computer, cut by robots and hand-finished by local artisans.

For other constructions by AAU Anastas, click here and here.

Rachel Kneebone
Also at the V&A, 4 porcelain statues of Rachel Kneebone are on display. Kneebone is known for her finely sculpted work of white porcelain, often involving organic forms and human body-parts.

The sculptures are exhibited until 14 January 2018 at the V&A.

Ice-Skating Shelters
A cluster of ice-skating shelters, designed by Canadian based Patkau Architects, is part of the exhibition Plywood: Material of the Modern World. The shelters were made by bending plywood sheets and attaching them to a timber frame. For more information about these shelters, click here.

Other items in the Plywood exhibition include the fastest and highest-flying aeroplane of WWII called the Havilland Mosquito and the downloadable self-assembly WikiHouse. The exhibition is on display until 12 November 2017 at the V&A.

Photos: London Design Festival