This exhibition will be the first ever major retrospective on the work of Thomas Heatherwick, one of the most exciting creative practitioners working in the UK today. Heatherwick has been the recipient of the Prince Philip Designers Prize and the London Design Medal, and in 2004 became the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry.
At the heart of his Studio's practice is a profound commitment to elegant, integrated design solutions and the absolute dedication to materials, research, prototyping, industrial collaboration, tactility, texture - and above all, extraordinary form-making.
After completing his MA at the Royal College of Art, Heatherwick established the Studio in 1994, as a space in which to produce extraordinary projects. Rejecting conventional classifications, Heatherwick and his team explore the thresholds between standard design categories. Celebrating the pure joy of creating 3-dimensional forms, the Heatherwick studio has earned an international reputation for creating stunning and ingenious works that span a breathtaking array of disciplines: from architecture, furniture, product design and fashion, to engineering, sculpture, transport and urban planning.
The team's work to date includes a spinning chair, a rolling bridge, an expandable zip bag, a power station, an 'endless' bench, an Olympic cauldron and a brand new bus for London.
Venue: The Porter Gallery, Room 48. Victoria & Albert Museum. London. U.K.
Dates: from May 31 at September 30, 2012.
Catalog: Thomas Heatherwick: Making (Available to pre-order, due May 2012). By Thomas Heatherwick, Maisie Rowe.
This book is the first to present an exhaustive survey of his studio's output to date: over 140 projects. Long in development, it offers a highly personal, in-depth and behind-the-scenes look at all aspects of Heatherwick's creative, design and manufacturing processes. Projects are organized chronologically and bookended by an introduction setting out the studio's philosophy and a project credits section. Each project is fully illustrated and accompanied by a text explaining, in Heatherwick's own words, the particular design challenge it posed and the creative and practical processes used to address it.
"Heatherwick is the Leonardo da Vinci of our times" - Sir Terence Conran.
Format: Paperback.
Páginas: 600 páginas.
Date published: May 2012.
