London Design Biennale has announced its first 20 design pavilions for 2025
Since its inception in 2016 the London Design Biennale has welcomed the world’s most exciting and ambitious designers, innovators and cultural bodies to England’s capital. The fifth edition of London Design Biennale will take place from 5th to 29th June, artistically directed by Dr. Samuel Ross MBE, British designer and artist known for founding A-COLD-WALL* and SR_A SR_A, alongside the Black British Artists Grants Programme. Dr Ross has set the theme of Surface Reflections, which invites participants – through the medium of design – to explore how expressions of who we are, are shaped.
Taking over the entirety of Somerset House from the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Courtyard to the Embankment Galleries, London Design Biennale 2025 invites designers to explore new forms of international cooperation and participation.
Impressive independent pieces are laced through the lineup. Rachel Botsman, for example, will unveil ‘Roots of Trust’, which reimagines a historical design artefact that forever changed people’s working lives.
Melek Zeynep Bulut will present ‘The Recursion Project’, which examines the concept of repetition as a force that reshapes the relationship between matter and perception.
Another worthy spotlight at London Design Biennale 2025 is from Eco-Vision Plan, who will share a film ‘Rainforest Succession – Lamiam’, a long-term project dedicated to preserving the biodiversity of Old Tea Forests in the Jingmai Mountain – a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Here is a lowdown of some of our must-see exhibitions, presentations, talks and pavilions at London Design Biennale 2025, all categorised by region and style.
Argentina – Sur Andina
In ‘Sur Andina’, designers Cindy Lilen and Iliana Diaz Lopez guide visitors on a sensory, 3,500km journey across the Argentinian Andes. Exploring its vibrant cultural and material legacy, the immersive installation merges ancestral narratives with modern necessities, honouring Andean cosmovision.
Hong Kong – Human-Centred Design: Visuospace
‘Human-Centred Design: Visuospace’, presented by the Hong Kong pavilion, highlights the complex relationships between emotions and the environment, spatial design and psychology to better understand how to ‘live and build well’. It takes a neuroscientific approach to the understanding and cognition of urban space – exploring cognitive patterns associated with a range of emotions and applying visuospatial processes to identify, integrate, and visualize in multiple dimensions.
Nigeria – Hopes and Impediments
‘Hopes and Impediments’ explores the complex layers of Nigeria’s individual and collective identity, by reimagining the South-Eastern Lejja community as a future social capital. Visit the London Design Biennale 2025 to see how it offers a powerful and critical reflection on how identities are shaped, not just by personal experience, but by the collective memories, shifting histories, values and realities that bind a community together.
Oman – Memory Grid
‘Memory Grid’ reimagines ancient vessels as a metaphor for how humanity preserves what it holds most precious. The exhibition highlights the shifting values of society and what we cherish most, through the artform of Omani pottery – vessels that preserved valuable resources throughout time. The installation bridges the tangibility of ancient resources with the fragility of digital artefacts, exploring themes of survival, value and human legacy.
Rachel Botsman – Roots of Trust
‘Roots of Trust’, presented by Rachel Botsman, reimagines a historical design artefact created in 1855, that forever changed people’s working lives – the first known organisational chart. Through an object of surprising beauty, the exhibit invites viewers to contemplate the organisation and flow of information, people, and trust, what has changed in today’s world and what it means for the future.
King’s College London – The Curiosity Cabinet
King’s College London come to London Design Biennale 2025 to present ‘The Curiosity Cabinet’. The prestigious university is renowned for research excellence, innovation and global impact in education and culture. At 171 Strand you will find an exhibition space created by the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and King’s Culture, dedicated to “curious people and curious objects”.
Eco-Vision Plan – Rainforest Succession – Lamiam
How can drinking tea support rainforest biodiversity conservation? Combining and highlighting the traditional farming practices of the Blang ethnic group, the biodiversity of the tea forest ecosystem and the challenges of tribal modernization, the project ‘Rainforest Succession – Lamiam’ from Eco-Vision Plan brings into focus the unique landscape of Old Tea Forests and the traditional culinary heritage of the Blang people. Visiting the London Design Biennale 2025 will show you that the Blang people mainly live in the Menghai county in the southwestern Yunnan Province of China.
World Monuments Fund Britain and English Heritage – Coastal Connections
The World Monuments Fund Britain and English Heritage are set to showcase their global network of coastal heritage sites in ‘Coastal Connections: Conserving Coastal Heritage with Partners Around the Globe’. A spotlight on seven sites in seven countries reveals how sharing knowledge, expertise and solutions can help to address the common challenges of managing treasured places in diverse and dynamic environments.
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