The BLOND LABORATORY exhibition is a touring exhibition that debuted during Milan Design Week 2024. For the London Design Festival edition, BLOND designed and fabricated a system using custom flat packable aluminium framework to incorporates walls, lighting and displays; efficiently transforming the space without any modifications to the building or walls. After the exhibition, the structure and panels were disassembled and reused within the BLOND studio for further practical uses.
The intention of the design was to draw attention, but also respond to the inherent characteristics of the space. With empathy toward fast-changing environmental challenges, BLOND used the opportunity to create a functional, yet impactful exhibition, whilst reducing waste. As a result, the plinths from the original Milan Design Week exhibition were reused.
Services:
Spatial Design
Exhibition Fabrication
PR & Brand Strategy
Copywriting
Visualisation
Photography by Thomas Adank.
During the 2024 London Design Festival, Disegno hosted a panel discussion hosted in conjunction with BLOND. ‘Muse, Speak!’ explored the topic of inspiration in the design process, from physical artefacts dematerialising into digital form, to flea shop relics resurrecting in new product typologies. The panel discussion featured V&A curator and journalist Anna Bates; designer Ella Bulley; BLOND’s founder and creative director James Melia; and designer John Tree. The event was moderated by Disegno’s editor-in-chief, Oli Stratford.
The framework was based around readily available and replaceable 42mm aluminium scaffold poles and standardised Q-clamp joints. Assembly was considered from the outset, with sections that can be pre-assembled off-site. Identical square wall panels, for example, made install and disassembly efficient and uncomplicated.
The panels were mounted on custom FDM 3D printed brackets, providing tolerance and adjustment in both X and Y axes to accommodate for uneven floors and walls.
The exhibition showed an eclectic selection of artefacts from BLOND’s archive of over 200 objects. Ranging from kitchen equipment, niche tools and consumer electronics—some of these objects date back to the late 1800’s, with others being made as recently as the 2000’s. BLOND’s full collection of artefacts is used to inspire industrial design solutions—grounding the agency’s work in the tangible world, promoting divergent thinking and ensuring outcomes suited to manufacture.
