London Design Biennale 2025: sustainable design and global awareness at Somerset House

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From 5 to 29 June 2025, Somerset House becomes the global epicentre of conscious design and sustainable art, hosting a new edition of the London Design Biennale. Under the artistic direction of designer, researcher and artist Dr Samuel Ross MBE, this edition embraces the theme “Surface Reflections”, a poetic and provocative proposal inviting visitors to explore how the material, social and ecological layers of contemporary design — including expressions of sustainable art — can and must respond to today’s planetary challenges.

More than 40 countries, territories and collectives have answered the call, presenting installations, interventions and prototypes that connect sustainability, creativity and ethical commitment to the environment. Through a curatorial narrative deeply focused on environmental justice and material innovation, the Biennale establishes itself as a key platform for rethinking the future of design from a regenerative and ecological perspective.

A global forum for design awareness

Since its creation, the London Design Biennale has aimed to spark interdisciplinary dialogue around the role of design in society. However, the 2025 edition stands out for its clearly activist and environmental focus. “Surface Reflections” is understood not only as a visual metaphor, but as a critique of decorative superficiality, encouraging audiences to look beneath the surface: at material origins, labour conditions, life cycles and the ecological footprint of each creation.

This year, the exhibition explores a range of urgent themes: urban biodiversity, participatory design, community care, experimental recycling and responsible use of resources. Each pavilion becomes a tangible manifesto, proposing new ways of inhabiting, thinking and building in a world in crisis.

Projects and installations redefining sustainable design

“Paper Clouds” – Japan Pavilion

Developed by Kuma Lab, this project presents an ethereal installation of suspended clouds made from washi paper treated with a mineral coating that makes it weather-resistant. This innovative combination of traditional craftsmanship and technology overcomes the fragility of traditional Japanese paper, evoking lightness, permanence and sustainability.

“Borrowed Matter” – Chile

A sensory and critical installation exploring the forestry industry and biodegradable materials. Using fabrics made from wood cellulose, the pieces gradually degrade during the exhibition, revealing hidden layers. This physical and symbolic decomposition reflects on what we borrow from nature and what we must return.

“Wura” – Nigeria

Located at the intersection of ancestral culture and digital design, this interactive installation explores knowledge transmission through African craft techniques. “Wura” highlights the role of women, cultural memory and sustainability from a local and decolonial perspective, positioning design as a tool for resistance and cultural affirmation.

“Vert” – Diez Office / OMC°C

A triangular structure made of laminated red oak wood, wrapped in a biodegradable net supporting living vegetation. This modular “urban oasis” provides shade, reduces ambient temperature and functions as an ecological infrastructure that promotes biodiversity in densely built environments.

InnovationRCA – Design through sustainable entrepreneurship

The area dedicated to sustainable startups from the Royal College of Art stands out for its real-world applicability. Featured innovations include:

• Piñatex: a vegan leather alternative made from pineapple leaf fibres.

• FreshTag: a biodegradable pH-sensitive label indicating food freshness, helping to reduce waste.

• Tyre Collective: technology that measures pollution generated by tyre wear, offering solutions for sustainable mobility.

• BuffaloGrid: portable solar charging stations for off-grid communities.

“Care Pavilion”

An installation exploring the concept of care from ethical, emotional and political perspectives. Designed collaboratively by communities from the Global North and South, it brings together diverse voices to reflect on human and ecological interdependence.

Poland Pavilion – Memory and matter

Through carved wooden panels, Poland presents an installation representing social inequalities and the passage of time, earning recognition for best interpretation of the curatorial theme.

Regenerative materials and circular design

One of the major achievements of this edition is the wide range of innovative material solutions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of design:

• Recycled paper with mineral coating, durable and biodegradable.

• Plant-based fibres such as cellulose, pineapple or mycelium as alternatives to synthetic polymers.

• Modular timber systems enabling reuse and reconfiguration.

• Circular technologies that extend product life or transform waste into valuable resources.

This approach turns the Biennale into a laboratory of possible futures, where design does not merely decorate, but heals, repairs and transforms.