As part of our London Design and Architecture Educational Tour 2018 we will visit on Sunday 23rd Head Above Water at designjunction.
We will have the pleasure to meet and chat with British designer Steuart Padwick a designer of furniture, lighting and products for domestic and contract spaces. He designs to enhance people's lives with pieces that fit the needs of their modern environments.
‘Architectours is a brilliant idea. To see a work in motion, an idea evolving, and start to understand the reason a design exists, is a wonderful insight into the creative workings of an architect or designer. With my furniture and lighting designs I like to create something that makes people smile, gives them a lift in their step, and adds pleasure through their use. Head Above Water is more personal. I wanted to create intimacy on a large scale. A symbol of hope and to open a door perhaps.' Steuart Padwick
Steuart Padwick will introduce us the dramatic change to the London skyline during designjunction in support of mental health with his project Head Above Water. With its panoramic views of St Paul Cathedral and the iconic city skyline, Head Above Water is a 9 metre high sculpture on Queen's Stone jetty (aka Gabriel's pier) on London's South Bank.
The ‘Head' is deliberately gender, ethnicity and age neutral and stands as a symbol of hope, bravery, compassion, positivity and change, for those who have come through or are still confronting mental health issues, and the people who support them.
Steuart Padwick first sculpted a head in clay and then developed the concept into its current form using precision engineered, renewable and sustainable cross-laminated timber panels, provided by Stora Enso. To realise the structure Steuart Padwick worked with structural engineering expertise, Ramboll. It is a model of sustainable, smart design and build.
At night the Head Above Water will be lit, and people will be able to engage with its changing colours to reflect how they are feeling through a designated Twitter feed – in real time. Dr Sally Marlow Phd, Engagement and Impact Fellow, The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (loPPN) at King's College London has advised on the changing colours based on the research, study and practice of psychiatry, psychology and related disciplines by the loPPN team. Consulting engineers and lighting design specialists Hoare Lea are the masterminds behind the lighting scheme.
The piece of public art will be supporting the mental health campaign Time to Change, (run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness) who will use this dynamic platform to engage and stimulate the discussion to eradicate mental health-related stigma and discrimination.
After Steuart Padwick presentation we will be visiting designjunction which is part of the annual London Design Festival in South Bank, the city's most iconic cultural and creative hub.
designjunction will present a stellar line-up of UK and international brands – both established and emerging – showcased across three key venues including the Doon Street site (furniture, lighting and retail), Riverside Walkway (outdoor installations) and Oxo Tower Wharf (exhibitions and experiential events), all of which are owned and managed by Coin Street Community Builders (CSCB).
Discover more about London Design and Architecture Educational Tour 2018 here and be part of the tour: please fill the online form at the end of the page by the 15th of September. The tour is free thanks to the support of Lavagnoli Marmi.
Only 15 lucky participants will be selected to join this free tour and contacted by the organisation with the details of the programme.
If you are an architecture or interior design student after your subscription we will ask you to send your portfolio to info @ architectours .it. Senior architects of each studio will choose their preferred.
Follow our tour with #architectoursLND18 and #lavagnoli on social media
