The London Design Festival is a citywide celebration of global design and creative heritage that transforms London into a design capital of the world. The festival returns with its 24th edition, running from 12-20 September 2026.
The programs feature iconic landmark installations, stunning night visuals, public art displays, and special projects that showcase the inspiring creativity of established artists and emerging talents alike. From these stunning projects, we have rounded up some of the best sensory and immersive 2026 London Design Festival installations that will expand your mind like no other.
Art of Sound at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
The Art of Sound is an immersive spatial sound installation presented by pioneering French audio brand L-Acoustics. The installation features multi-disciplinary artist Max Cooper’s Feeling Is Structure, and award-winning sound artist Chris Watson’s Trent Falls. Both sound installations are created through advanced audio engineering, which transforms the historic Wapping Power Station, reopened after 13 years, into a three-dimensional soundscape.
11-15 September, Wapping Hall, London E1W 3SF.
Pangolin Shield by Studio Saar and Atelier One
The Pangolin Shield by Studio Saar and Atelier One stands as a massive organic sanctuary with vibrant scales all over its surface. Inspired by the pangolin, the shield flaunts the same overlapping scales that are on the world’s most trafficked mammal. The scales on the shield were built using the traditional Indian police shields made from bamboo, and woven rain capes worn by Eastern Indian farmers known as the knups. Located on Strand Aldwych, behind the Indian High Commission, it serves as a shelter that encourages visitors to reflect on wildlife protection, ecological exploitation, and the UK’s colonial legacy.
12-20 September, Strand Aldwych, London, WC2R 1EC.
Sketch
The Sketch installation by Camille Walala transforms the entrance into an abstract cityscape with bold geometric shapes and whimsical patterns, taken from her own collection of everyday urban scenes and fascination with architecture. The vivid colors of the maximalist mural instantly capture attention with 1970s airbrush-style gradients and add playful vibes to a plain transit corridor. Camille Walala says, “My work is always inspired by architecture and the shapes I find in the everyday and with this piece, I wanted something warm, but bold: I want people to smile the moment they walk in.”
12-20 September, 9 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2XG.
Server by Playfool
Server is a physical art installation designed by art-design unit Playfool. Co-founded by Daniel Coppen and Saki Maruyama, this interactive installation invites people to physically clean and maintain the server. Through this fun game, Playfool teaches participants that no matter how many data centers are built due to increasing usage of AI, the high-tech industry will not be able to replace the human need for labor symbolized by the act of physical cleaning.
12-20 September, V&A Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
Once Upon A Garden by Linda Dounia Rebei
Artist Linda Dounia Rebeiz goes back in time using AI as a time machine to bring the digital archive of extinct and critically endangered flowers back to life. The talented artist used bits and pieces of fragmented records and created visual data about flora we did not bother to document. Through the Once Upon A Garden installation, Dounia presents 50 species of emergent flora divided into five chronological chapters.
12-20 September, V&A Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
Labyrinth Dreams – Bethan Laura Wood × Bocci
Vancouver-based multidisciplinary design studio Bocci collaborated with British designer Bethan Laura Wood to mark the debut of purple 14p, a lighting fixture made from neodymium glass. The material changes hue from pale lilac to pink, blue, and smoky tones in ambient light. This constant color-changing attribute of the neodymium glass instantly reminded Bethan of David Bowie’s 1986 movie The Labyrinth. She even nicknamed the light fixture Bowie Ball and built softly finished structures with playful hues to frame the glossy purple 14p.
12-20 September, 15 Bateman Street, London W1D 4AQ.
Point of Unity and Soul
This unique, ongoing multidisciplinary design landmark installation connects two artwork projects designed by Ukrainian artist and lighting designer Mykola Kabluka. Soul is an audiovisual installation, while the Point of Unity is an immersive light sculpture. Together, these two artworks create a unified multi-sensory journey that connects inner minds with the physical world. At night, Soul projects a vivid light show onto St. Paul’s Cathedral’s front facade, and the Point of Unity transforms from a reflective mirror structure into a glowing pavilion. The installation reminds people that light and human connection bring people together during tough times.
14-27 September, St Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD.
MADE x Barbican
Made x Barbican is an immersive installation featuring a 23-piece collection inspired by the brutalist architecture of Barbican Estate, a post-war housing complex. After examining the estate interiors, materials, and floor plan, the designers transformed these architectural references into a collection of furniture, lighting, textiles, and accessories. The collection flaunts a blend of sharp geometrical lines, soft curves, and a mid-century color palette in its unique design.
12-20 September, Barbican, Level G Hub Space, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS.
Image Syncers by Nina Davies
Image Syncers is a fascinating yet eerie installation created by Canadian-British artist Nina Davies. She took inspiration from a viral TikTok trend where people copy the glitches, weird dance moves, and unnatural movements from AI-generated videos. The installation features a 12-minute video that shows a mysterious collective attempting to transform into AI-generated figures. Holographic forms also appear as spectral stand-ins for the film’s characters, which display their personal belongings such as costumes and props used during the transformative process.
12-20 September, V&A Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
Your Golf Course Made My GPU by Sam Ghantous
Sam Ghantous explores how our digital lives are still deeply rooted in physical earth through this installation. Modern technology is completely dependent on large-scale geological extraction of silica or sand, one of the most valuable materials used to manufacture microchips needed by high-tech industries. Through this installation, the artist shows how sand remains a primary source for the digital world to thrive and advance. Without tearing up the earth and extracting valuable minerals, modern technology cannot exist.
12-20 September, V&A Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
