Mirrorball tops colourful wayfinding post for London Festival of Architecture

Charles Holland Architects has designed a pyramidal wayfinding post called The Tooley Street Triangle as a "symbol of celebration" for the London Festival of Architecture.

The Tooley Street Triangle was designed as part of a competition organised by the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) and Team London Bridge in 2018 to help people find their way around the city's London Bridge area.

The competition won by Charles Holland Architects aimed to transform "a busy but dull traffic island" positioned opposite the main entrance to London Bridge station.

The signpost has a pyramidal structure coloured with pastel shades of pink, yellow and mint, and is topped with a reflective mirrorball.

The Tooley Street Triangle also features a life-size map of the London Bridge area, painted onto the pavement in the form of brightly coloured lines that point in the direction of the location the follower intends to reach.

While these lines are printed with street names and famous landmarks – such as the river, Tower Bridge and Borough Market – the signpost itself is also printed with local directions and useful information.

A bench also surrounds the bottom perimeter of the pyramidal post, which passers-by can sit on to take a break from walking.

"The beacon and the map are intended as playful and enjoyable additions to the streetscape that will improve legibility and give identity to this small but important part of the public realm," said Charles Holland Architects founder Charles Holland.

This structure also works to draw people away from the busier main roads by signposting quieter routes away from noise and pollution.

An alternative route to Guy's Hospital, for instance, reduces pollution exposure by around 50 per cent, according to the organisers.

The Tooley Street Triangle was scheduled to be installed earlier this year in April, but was postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

"The unveiling of The Tooley Street Triangle could not have come at a better time," said Tamsie Thomson, director of the LFA. "While so many of us are looking forward to getting to know London again, we won't be getting lost outside London Bridge station any more."

"I'm delighted that people are beginning to enjoy London's buildings, streets and spaces once again, and Charles Holland Architects' joyful and quirky installation captures London's spirit of welcome and creativity," she added.

The wayfinding structure is the latest in a series of public realm improvements curated by the LFA that are released all-year-round, and are created as responses to open-call design competitions that aim to showcase creative talent.

Upcoming installations include a large public art piece located near St Paul's Cathedral, produced by the LFA in partnership with the Cheapside Business Alliance and the City of London Corporation.

An installation from last year's LFA called Happy Street saw Yinka Ilori envelop a south London railway bridge located on Thessaly Road with brightly patterned panels.

For the London Festival of Architecture's series titled Manifestos: Architecture for a New Generation, Siufan Adey and Thomas Aquilina from architecture collective Afterparti explained the work they are doing to make the future of architecture more inclusive and transdisciplinary.

Afterparti, which was born out of the New Architecture Writers (NAW) programme for emerging BAME writers, creates zines – non-commercial magazines – and events that promote underrepresented voices in architecture and design.

A selection of the Manifestos: Architecture for a New Generation series was broadcasted on Dezeen as part of Virtual Design Festival.

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Project credits:

Architect: Charles Holland Architects
Client: Team London Bridge
Competition/project enabler: London Festival of Architecture
Beacon: Links Signs
Pavement map: Total Line Markings
Mirror ball: RASKL
Installation: T Loughman and Co Ltd
Structural engineer: Jenkins and Potter
Typography: THISWAY
Text: Rebekah Lattin-Rawsthorne
Photography: Jim Stephenson & Luke Hayes

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Wuchazi Bridge creates "infinite meandering path" over river in Chengdu

Berlin-based architects Tom Wünschmann, Achim Kaufer, Wei Cai and Philipp Buschmeyer and Chinese design institutes SADI and JDTM have created a bridge that offers a variety of routes across a river in Chengdu, China.

The design team created a continual walkable path within the Wuchazi Bridge as part of its aim to make the structure a recreational destination rather than a purely functional piece of engineering.

"Our aim was to develop a bridge that is more than a monofunctional infrastructural element," Wünschmann told Dezeen.

"Together with the connecting shortcuts, an infinite meandering path can be walked without leaving the bridge, to experience all possible scenarios between nature and urban cityscape," he continued. "In this way, the bridge becomes a recreational destination by itself."

Wünschmann and Kaufer, who work together at Wünschmann Kaufer Architects and Cai and Buschmeyer, who run German studio Buschmeyer + Cai collaborated with Chinese design institutes The Fifth Design Institute of Sichuan Architectural Design and Research Institute Co (SADI) and Sichuan Southwest Jiaoda Civil Engineering Design Co (JDTM) to create Wuchazi Bridge.

It connects the Century City New International Conference & Exhibition Center and riverside park with neighbouring residential areas and forms a figure of eight across the Fu Hé river.

Wuchazi Bridge contains a variety of routes for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the river.

A direct, 240-metre long route for cyclists and pedestrians gently rises from the banks to a peak with near the centre of the river, while several curved ramps and a staircase create an interconnected route that dips below it.

"The routes are designed as a three-dimensional landscape with a barrier-free and fast cycle path – or a direct crossing  – with a panoramic view from a greater height above ground and a slow path for pedestrians, which is more intimate below ground and near the water, but both paths can be used freely by all users," said Wünschmann.

The bridge's form draws upon both traditional zigzag bridges found in China and the continuous loop of a Möebius strip.

"The form was developed out of paper models inspired on the one hand from the research into traditional Chinese zigzag bridges and their cultural significance and on the other hand by the interpretation of the Moebius strip as a continuous flow and structural system of short and long-spanning arcs that themselves form a landscape," explained Wünschmann.

Photo is by Xia Zhan

Within the lower route, the designers have incorporated several spaces to stop including a large south-facing seating area that stretches from the bridge's lowest point up its main level.

The studio hopes that this, combined with the multiple routes, will mean that people spend more time on Wuchazi Bridge rather than solely using it as a crossing.

"The idea is to not just to cross the river as quickly as possible, but also to provide an opportunity to escape, stroll and relax for a moment or to meet and spend time with friends in a dense urban environment," said Wünschmann.

"To this end, we have created an efficient hybrid, a place where people can come together, and a bridge that invites the usual fast user to take a break or a slightly slower detour, for which we have designed the space."

Other recently completed bridges in China include a pedestrian crossing that is also an art gallery in the city of Jishou designed by Atelier FCJZ and the world's longest 3D-printed concrete bridge in Shanghai.

Photography is by Arch-Exist unless stated.

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Project credits:

Architects: Tom Wünschmann, Achim Kaufer, Wei Cai, Philipp Buschmeyer, The Fifth Design Institute of Sichuan Architectural Design and Research Institute Co (SADI), Sichuan Southwest Jiaoda Civil Engineering Design Co (JDTM)
Client: Chengdu GTJS Investment Group Construction Development Co

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Matt Byrd sculpts Howard collection using salvaged granite

American sculptor Matt Byrd has used granite stones found in his hometown in Raleigh, North Carolina to create small abstract sculptures that fit together like puzzle pieces.

Byrd drew on the patterns and laying techniques used in traditional masonry to create the collection of sculptures, titled Howard.

Matt Byrd gathers granite from North Carolina to sculpt the series of abstract works

"All the materials are sourced from my surroundings," he explained. "I've spent a lot of time salvaging raw granite from around my hometown and taking them back to my studio."

To form the works the artist chisels the salvaged stone by hand and uses no adhesion

Each of the pieces is hand-sculpted and composed of two to four uniquely shaped pieces designed to fit together, including wavy cutouts, rounded edges and compartments and ledges formed to fit smaller parts.

The individual names of the sculptures are informed by their shapes and forms, including Headache, evocative of a human face

The stones are designed to rest on top of one another and fit together using no adhesion. This construction method is influenced by the artist's love for "old school dry stonewalling", a practice for constructing stone walls that uses no mortar.

"It is very important to me that each stone sits on top of each one without any adhesion," he added. "Trusting nothing more than friction, bond, and joinery."

Byrd has individually named each of the sculptures in the collection based on the shapes and objects the piece reminds him of.

Factory comprises two separate rectangular bases with cylindrical volumes that protrude from the top and sides. Small pink spheres lay on top of each circular stack as an added decorative element.

A circular handlebar can be pulled out of a crevice on the sculpture named Cradle

A rounded handlebar connects to a thin stick that pulls in and out of the gaping opening on the sculpture titled Cradle.

Also in the series is Cuddles, which comprises two interlocking L-shaped stones and Headache and Hips, designs evocative of human body parts.

For Cuddles Byrd has stacked two interlocking L-shaped stones on top of one another

Other designers working with granite include Stine Mikkelsen, who used the material and melted metal to design furniture and design studio AMOO, which created a series of side tables using interlocking slabs of the stone.

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Six sculptural concrete seats including liquid-like chairs and squashed benches

Often associated with toughness, concrete is an unusual material choice for furniture. But these six designs show how the material can be used for seating in a variety of forms including curved stools, puffy chairs and squashed benches.

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QTZ Concrete by Alexander Lotersztain

Designed to explore the architectural qualities of concrete, these seats by Australian designer Alexander Lotersztain have faceted shapes that are based on the naturally occurring forms and crystallisation process of quartz.

Lotersztain's series, which was created for concrete brand Ivanka, includes two lounge chairs with pointed headrests accompanied by a table and a footrest. The concrete is pigmented in five colours – off-white, mouse grey, rock grey, green and tobacco.

Find out more about QTZ Concrete›

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Rockito by Thomas Musca and Duyi Han

California designers Thomas Musca and Duyi Han cast glass-fibre reinforced concrete in a wooden mould to create this rocking chair called Rockito.

The seat forms part of a larger series of concrete furniture with chunky angles and geometric voids based on the brutalist architecture style, which emerged in the 1950s and used concrete predominantly.

Find out more about Rockito ›

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Efflorescence by Virgil Abloh

American fashion designer Virgil Abloh also drew on brutalism for his graffiti-covered Efflorescence furniture.

The collection includes Bench 2, which has a sloped surface based on the shape of skate ramps, and a blocky chair covered in large letters.

Find out more about Efflorescence ›

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Concrete Stools by J Byron-H

Concrete Stools "present a play of materiality by appearing at once smooth and rough, heavy and buoyant," according to the designer J Byron-H.

He created the set by adding pigments to glass-fibre reinforced concrete and then placing the "slurry" into wooden moulds,  where it was left to set slightly before being curved over woodwork into U shapes.

Find out more about Concrete Stools ›

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Concrete Melt Chair by Bower Studios

Pale concrete is draped over a metallic base and gathers in folds on the floor to form the Concrete Melt Chair by Bower Studios.

The New York studio created the liquidy shape from a wooden base that was then covered in concrete.

Find out more about Concrete Melt Chair ›

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Concrete Chair by Tejo Remy & René Veenhuizen

Although this seat appears to be inflated, it is in fact made of concrete cast inside plastic sheeting and reinforced with steel rods and metal fibres.

Dutch designers Tejo Remy and René Veenhuizen completed it as part of a prototype series in 2010 – making it one of the earlies examples of concrete chairs on the list.

Find out more about Concrete Chair ›

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Burberry and Tencent collaborate on interactive WeChat shop in Shenzhen

Visitors to Shenzhen's Burberry flagship store can use Tencent's WeChat app to interact with the window display and play their own music in fitting rooms.

The British fashion brand and China's largest social media company collaborated to design a shop that suited Shenzhen's growing reputation for technology.

Shoppers use WeChat, a Chinese messaging and social media app, to engage with the shop in Shenzhen's MixC development.

Tencent and Burberry have produced a custom mini program that is unlocked via WeChat. Users create a profile and are given a digital avatar in the form of a cartoon fawn that hatches from an egg.

Through the app, shoppers can book one of the three themed fitting rooms, pre-select the clothes and play their own music while they try them on. They can also use this program to book a table at the in-house cafe and make appointments with stylists and other services.

To encourage engagement, the program has a rewards system to earn "social currency" that unlocks custom content, such as new characters and outfits for the animal avatar and exclusive dishes on the cafe menu.

All the products have QR codes, which can be scanned to display more information and visual hints for styling the project – and give the user more points for unlocking content.

The interactive window display is currently a sculptural recreation of the runway for Burberry's Autumn Winter 2020 show. Mirrors and screens capture the movement of people as they interact with it, which users can capture and share with their phones.

"Social media is an increasingly important part of the customer journey and the interaction between social media and physical surroundings is ever more seamless," said Burberry senior vice president of digital Mark Morris.

"Our social retail store in Shenzhen is our response to this. It is a space where the social and physical worlds merge, taking interactions from social media and bringing them into the physical retail environment," he told Dezeen.

"The tech we use in the store is intended to provide a seamless journey that augments customers' online and instore life. Therefore, this is not a tech store, but a beautiful luxury store augmented by technology."

Burberry chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci turned to the brand's archive to create a visual look for the themed rooms that correspond to the digital platform.

The Italian fashion designer used the Thomas Burberry Monogram and the fashion house's fawn print as a recurring motif – the latter being the inspiration for the WeChat avatar too.

Furnishings, fixtures and plinths throughout the store are made from plywood and mirrors. Tisci used a palette of beige, pistachio, pink and blue throughout the 10 rooms in the shop, each of which has a different theme.

The three bookable fitting rooms are decorated around the concept of Burberry Animal Kingdom, Reflections and the Thomas Burberry Monogram, and visitors can book their favourite via the app.

Thomas' Cafe is decked out in high-gloss beige with chamfered mirrors, animal-patterned wall panels and layers of sandy-coloured curtains.

Even the tabletops are mirrored, creating a unique backdrop for diners to capture their meal for sharing on social media.

In the Trench Experience room, digital displays set in the plywood walls show moving images of nature in reference to the fashion brand's founder, Thomas Burberry, who designed a waterproof trench coat for British troops in the first world war. This room has more opportunities for customers to unlock custom content.

"I am fascinated by the balance between nature and technology, and the energy that connects the two," said Tisci.

"This store explores this relationship, blending the digital and the physical realms in an exciting new concept. I wanted to bring this love of the outdoors to life through all the elements of the store."

Burberry previously brought technology to its London shop, where it installed a robot that appeared to chisel sculptures out of polystyrene blocks.

Tencent recently opened its new headquarters in Shenzhen, a pair of towers designed by NBBJ joined by multiple bridges to encourage staff to meet and interact.

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