British Design
NOW OPEN - Changing Spaces:
60 Years of Design with Habitat installation at the Design Museum
10 July to 11 August 2024
Habitat’s 60th anniversary installation, “Changing Spaces: 60 Years of Design With Habitat”, is now open at the
Design Museum in London and runs until 11 August 2024.
This free, interactive installation displays iconic objects from the brand’s 60 years of Design collection featuring colourful and textured statement pieces alongside considered lighting; the display explores our evolving relationships with our homes, and the role design can play in enabling us to create spaces that truly reflect who we are and where we come from.
The installation, which is in the atrium and the plaza of the Design Museum, explores the way colour, lighting and statement pieces stamp a person’s individuality on a space. It also considers how the way we socialise at home has changed, the need for flexible spaces where we can work, rest and play, and the rise in homes designed with wellbeing at their core.
Habitat’s commitment to affordable and accessible design has always been at the heart of the brand; good design is the key to easy and joyful living. Over the past 60 years, Habitat has become synonymous with the creation of standout pieces that marry thoughtful design with individual character forging many fans of the brand, old and new.
The installation invites visitors to step over the threshold, and experience the impact great design can have on the spaces we live in.
“Habitat is renowned for flying the flag of British design and has become synonymous with making outstanding design accessible for all. Our 60th Anniversary Collection champions the past, present and future and we’re proud to see it being celebrated at the Design Museum, a hub of creativity that we feel incredibly connected to, both sharing a passion for the power of transformative design within the home,” Andrew Tanner, Habitat Head of Design.
The display is comprised of five zones and showcases a selection of iconic designs for the home from Habitat's current collection, including the special 60th Anniversary pieces launched earlier this year.
CREATE: The Art of Imperfection - Celebrates the joy of individualism and self-expression
This interactive display leans into the anti-perfection movement and the desire to create unique homes and spaces that reflect our personalities. Visitors are invited to express their creativity through mark-making that’s influenced by the hand-crafted Radica ceramic pieces designed by Silvia Kamodyová for Habitat's 60thAnniversary Collection.
CONNECT: Designing the Decades - Explores how great design has impacted our lives over the past 60 years
A walk-through Habitat’s past, present and future, presented in digital animations inspired by cultural, societal and style influences from the past six decades. It showcases some of the brand’s iconic products and brings their heritage stories to life alongside a display of beloved items from Habitat fans.
TRANSFORM: Luminous Living – Discover how lighting choices and design help us illuminate our homes
We now spend an average of 18 hours in our homes, using our spaces for work, rest and play. This zone explores the role lighting has in illuminating these different tasks and invites visitors to immerse themselves in a visually stunning display featuring lighting from the 60th Anniversary Collection, curated to reflect the hours in the day and the passage of time.
REST: Rise of the Retreat - An ode to slow living
In an ever-demanding world, the need for our homes to provide spaces of sanctuary where we can retreat to, is more important than ever. This zone invites visitors to take a moment to switch off and immerse themselves in a soft, calm and textural cocoon created from Habitat soft furnishings and textiles.
PLAY: Haven of Happiness - Manifesting joy through playful design
Our homes aren’t just functional spaces. They are also places where we can escape the everyday, let our guard down and be ourselves. This interactive zone celebrates the notion of play at home and how the use of colour, pattern and playful design can bring joy into our homes. Havens of Happiness is inspired by, and features furniture and design motifs from across Habitat’s 60th collection, including the Scottie Bench and Lucinda Garden Furniture by Kate McCormack and the Levi Rug by Margo Selby.
Johanna Agerman Ross, Conran Foundation Chief Curator at the Design Museum, says: “We are delighted that Habitat chose to celebrate its 60th anniversary with the Design Museum. Since its foundation, Habitat has been focused on bringing the subject of design to a broad audience and this is, of course, something that we are enormously passionate about at the Design Museum.”
The Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High St, London W8 6AG
