Thomas Heatherwick

Design London 2012

London’s Olympic games 2012 is in full swing and we have to say, we have been impressed! Who could fail to feel at least little patriotic after Danny Boyle’s wild and, in our opinion, stupendous opening ceremony?

Although we found the official branding a little, uninspiring, we have been truly astounded by other aspects of the Olympics and the designers involved.

From the award winning torch design by east London designers BarberOsgerby to that incredible Olympic cauldron designed by the fantastic Thomas Heatherwick, London 2012 has been a veritable feast for the eyes.

Heatherwick’s designs for the Velodrome are no less astounding, his signature innovation makes his inspirational work second to none.

Monica Bonvicini’s sculpture for the 2012 london olympics ‘art in the park’ programme act as a mirror for visitors and their surroundings, and at night the letters will become transparent
and glow with internal LED lighting.
 
Apparently work is derived from musical references such as ‘running dry’ by neil young and the velvet underground song ‘run run run’,

The games have inspired designers all over the world to come up with their own, concept designs. Here are some of our favourites (via Creative Inspiration)



We love that the games have inspired so many ideas, and so much creativity. An event that is great not only for the world of sport but for the world of design. Fantastic.

Thomas Heatherwick Designs

The business of creativity runs through the blood of designer, Thomas Heatherwick. His grandmother established Marks and Spencer’s first textile studio, his aunt, Claire Tomalin is an esteemed biographer, his mother is a collector and dealer of fine beads and his father studied at the Royal College of Music.

After studying at the Royal college of Art, he caught the eye of design legend, Terrence Conran who describes him as the ‘Leonardo da Vinci of our times’. Conran assisted him in his final degree project by lending him the garden of his Berkshire home, Barton Court. This successful project and the backing of the great design mogul understandably generated a great deal of interest and new business for Heatherwick. The rest, as they say, is history. 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.

Heatherwick studio has some serious design kudos and their visionary projects are breathtaking to say the least. A showcase of these projects will be exhibited at the V&A between 31st May and 30th September. May will be a busy month for the talented Mr Heatherwick who will also be releasing a new book, simply titled, Making.

“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”

We will most definitely be heading down London way to enjoy the exhibition and to be inspired by the wonder of his incredible range of projects, from the spinning chair to the Seed Cathedral.

Take a look here for more information.