Reflecting on London Design Biennale 2025 at Somerset House
By Virginia Carlier
A view of Somerset House during the London Design Biennale 2025 – Image courtesy of Virginia Carlier
In this digital age, which continuously demands ever more of our attention, resources and energy, it can feel overwhelming to reclaim our own humanity. The fifth edition of the London Design Biennale, held at Somerset House in June 2025, presented the public with a powerful reminder of how storytelling can liberate and empower our human creativity, innovation and legacy.
Held under the theme ‘Surface Reflections’, this year’s London Design Biennale, led by Artistic Director Dr Samuel Ross MBE, addressed the purpose of design through narratives from diverse geographical angles and on multi-generational levels. This Biennale’s theme sought to reflect “how our ideas are fuelled by both our internal experiences and external influences.” In essence, this signifies the pursuit in physical form of a globally unifying human experience: the transformation of space and time through self.
London Design Biennale 2025 Panel event with Artistic Director Dr Samuel Ross MBE (right) and Director Victoria Broackes (middle) chaired by Charlene Prempeh (left) – Image courtesy of Virginia Carlier
The historic neoclassical building of Somerset House, overlooking the Thames in Central London, saw a wave of 35 distinctive national and organisation-led Pavilions sweep through its walls. During three busy weeks of June, the London Design Biennale showcased an impressively wide array of multi-sensory installations, under the leadership of Director Victoria Broackes. Many research projects, events, performances and workshops kept the Biennale’s programme in dynamic motion and quiet reflection, as seen through the effervescence of the building’s central courtyard.
Serving as gallery steward, during my internship at World Monuments Fund Britain this summer, allowed me to gain an insider’s view into the world of curation and creation. I had the opportunity to witness the ebbs and flows of hundreds of visitors, from six months old to 100+ years old, with diverse interests, backgrounds and stories of their own.
The highlights of these three weeks are nearly impossible for me to pinpoint amongst the 35 Pavilions featured in this international exhibition. Instead, I will describe my three key takeaways relating to creativity, innovation and legacy as observed through the lens of ‘Surface Reflections’. Nonetheless, it would be fair to mention that the three prestigious jury-awarded medals were attributed to the national Pavilions of Malta, Oman and Poland.
The three jury-awarded London Design Biennale 2025 medals – Image courtesy of Virginia Carlier
View of the Japan Pavillion at the London Design Biennale 2025 – Image courtesy of Virginia Carlier
Creativity: Japan – ‘Paper Clouds: Materiality in Empty Space’
It is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, is this the case when visiting such a global exhibition? In my experience, the best kind of exhibit reveals a deeply personal story while also upholding a universal truth. This statement holds true for Japan’s Pavillion designed by SEKISUI HOUSE - KUMA LAB (University of Tokyo).
Positioned within Somerset House’s iconic Nelson Stairs, visitors moved around the space to absorb the nuanced evolution of material craftsmanship in our era of digital technology. This installation beautifully pays tribute to the traditional Japanese techniques of design, music and fashion in a multisensory experience, by using Washi paper in each of the project’s components. In essence, these suspended cloud-structures demonstrate the strength and fragility of human creativity and natural resources in times past and present.
View of the Oman Pavillion at the London Design Biennale 2025 – Image courtesy of Virginia Carlier
Innovation: The Sultanate of Oman – ‘Memory Grid’
As mentioned above, the Pavillion of Oman won one the three jury-awarded medals of the London Design Biennale 2025. This honour was rightfully deserved in my opinion as this project brought forward a fundamental component of our shared humanity: memories. By presenting traditional Omani pottery structures made of translucent material, an analogy is made between these ancient storage systems and their modern-day equivalent, data centres.
The symbolic and aesthetic nature of this project invites visitors to reflect on their deep personal memories, while also questioning how knowledge, resources and emotions are being preserved by digital technology. This enquiry on the value and vulnerability of our interconnected world opens the door for further debate around the direction of human innovation.
View of the World Monuments Fund x English Heritage Pavillion with curator Vanessa Norwood at the London Design Biennale 2025 – Image courtesy of Virginia Carlier
Legacy: World Monuments Fund x English Heritage – ‘Coastal Connections: Sharing Solutions, Building Resilience’
This Pavillion’s purpose revolves around a worldwide cultural heritage project that has sought since 2023 to raise public awareness about vital conservation efforts of endangered coastal sites. It also importantly spotlights both traditional tools and new technologies that facilitate solutions to common challenges faced by local communities situated around our oceans’ coastlines.
This project’s legacy is its mission: “As part of a global community, network members no longer have to face these complex challenges alone.” In these uncertain times, our collective humanity holds the power to bring about positive change. As this Pavillion reminds us, the survival of our cultural heritage depends on our actions to safeguard it together.
Overall, what struck me most in my stint as gallery steward for World Monuments Fund Britain was not just the creativity or innovation of this international exhibition, but it was people and their stories. Whether it be visitors, curators, researchers, artists or others, they all inspired me by their shared belief in the power of art to create human connections. As I interacted with exhibits in Somerset House, pondering my three-week London Design Biennale experience, I understood that humanity is expressed through the multi-faceted prism of design, yet is also deeply reflected within ourselves.
A view of the Edmond J. Safra Courtyard during the London Design Biennale 2025 Friday Late event – Image courtesy of Dr Alexander Kent