The third edition of the London Design Biennale took place in June 2021 at the prestigious Somerset House cultural complex and the public voted the Israeli pavilion the winner of the London Design Biennale Public Medal. The vote is based on votes from visitors and participants from around the world.
The Israeli pavilion showcased an exhibit called The Boiler Room. It was created and produced by students and architects who graduated from the David Azrieli School of Architecture at the David and Yolanda Katz Faculty of the Arts at Tel Aviv University: Lior Kantor, Noa Karmi, Lealla Solomon, Osher Lapid, Roi Levin, Oren Elgali and Barak Weizman.
The exhibit featured three thousand switches arranged side by side. The purpose of the show, its creators said, was to highlight an interactive space that warned of an imbalance that could lead to a global boiling point. "We look at the contradictory social processes that are happening in the world, such as globalization versus nationalism, and openness versus closure," said Lior Kantor. "The processes are contradictory but also heartbreaking, and create endless tension. Also on social networks we are seemingly open to everything, but in practice we see mainly the people close to us and our opinions. We translated this into our daily lives in Israel, using a design detail found in every home. "These switches refine everyday life, something you press every day to warm something up, and don't stop to think about it."
The Boiler Room Exhibit is currently on display at the Holon Museum of Design.
Designers, curators and design institutions from about 40 countries, cities and territories designed exhibits in response to the super-theme, "Resonance," chosen by the curator of the Biennale, the British super-designer Es Devlin.
For more information: London Design Biennale