London itself is an arbiter of great design and a hub of creative talent. Every year at The Practice, we’re keen to see what a host of architects and designers dream up when the London Design Festival hits town.

This year celebrated 10 years of the annual event. One of our favourite exhibits was by Japanese designer, Oki Sato, who created an installation of white metal chairs customized to respond to their surroundings. Shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the piece entitled ‘Mimicry Chairs’ by Nendo, the Japanese design studio, reflect paintings, and even transform into giant white frames in a room hung with tapestries. It’s a little complex to envisage, but take a look at the image below to get a better idea:

 Mimicry Chairs by Nendo, Oki Sato

Chairs with a life of their own? Spooky but quite ethereally beautiful, right? And in the main entrance to the V&A itself, visitors could see ‘Prism’, an installation featuring screens projecting London’s city data in real time, designed by Keiichi Matsuda. Elsewhere over the course of the exhibition were more innovative showcases. One such was Victor Papanek’s extension of his ongoing project, ‘Design for the Real World’ in which he creates sustainable pieces for modern living. These have been anything from a community lighting scheme in Tower Hamlets, to a pedal-powered mobile coffee shop.

And we’ve seen an international ripple effect. Beijing Design Week, for example, runs from today until the 6^th October, featuring over 100 exhibitions, acclaimed talks, workshops and pop-up shops, with a spotlight on both emerging local talent and international superstars. What’s particularly noteworthy about the event is that it allows unsung designers an opportunity to showcase their efforts. Aric Chen, Creative Director of the event argues that this is key: ‘There are a lot of talented, smart, hard-working, and creative people here, but they’re missing a platform or the infrastructure to grow.’ There’s no denying that the spectacle certainly offers exposure; last year’s Design Week produced around $25 million in contracts for local designers, manufacturers and distributors.

So what can we expect this year? Perhaps we’ll be interested in discovering more about the ‘GeoCity Smart City’ exhibition, a showcase of how future data visualization and information design can improve urban life. Or maybe instead of imagining the future, visitors will be keen to explore the past with a photographic exhibition of the city’s ancient Hutong area.

The Practice team are really looking forward to upcoming events. We’ve of course got the Frieze Art Fair hitting Regent’s Park from mid-October, and the TYPO London International Design Conference shortly after; it’s an event that recognizes the myriad of creative processes and features a diverse mix of international speakers. Another interesting concept hitting the London scene which is sure to appeal to our stomachs as well as our eyes, is a run of Saturday morning art tours at several Caprice Holdings Ltd. restaurants including Scott’s, 34 and Le Caprice. Organized by James Cahill from the Sadie Coles gallery, the tours aim to fuse the link between art and food. Sounds great to us!

Did you manage to catch any of the London Design Week showcases this year? And which past exhibitions have captured your imagination? We’d love for you to share your experiences, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and follow us on Facebook.

-Featured image design: ‘Designers Block’ logo edited by The Practice