9 Highlights Of The London Design Biennale 2025
The London Design Biennial, one of the world's most prestigious design events.
Anadolu via Getty Images
The fifth edition of the London Design Biennale kicked off today at Somerset House, featuring over 30 international pavilions exploring this year's theme, "Surface Reflections." Of the theme, the Director of the biennale, Victoria Broackes, says that it 'invites the world to pause, reflect and look beneath the surface. At a time of global uncertainty, our designers and artists are not only responding to the challenges we face, they are imagining bold, hopeful alternatives.'
Malta pavilion, London Design Biennale 2025
London Design Biennale
As always, visitors can expect to see the best in new design through immersive installations, musical performances, soundscapes and sculptural works. Here are nine highlights ranging from a paper dress and speakers made from fossils to the world's first known organisational chart made for the New York Railways in 1855.
Japan, London Design Biennale 2025
Taran Wilkhu
Taking over the glorious Nelson Stairs in Somerset House is the best pavilion at this year's London Design Biennale. Paper Clouds: Materiality in Empty Space presents an ethereal delight, featuring suspended clouds and a dress made of Japanese washi paper with stone speakers constructed from 350 million year old fossils that play new music by violinist-composer Midori Komachi. The delicate washi paper clouds and washi dress (inspired by traditional Japanese armor) were created by Tokyo-based Sekisui House – Kuma Lab while the stone speakers were by British company Mineral Sound. Overseen by Clare Farrow Studio, the project is a brilliant Tokyo meets London experiment in design, materiality, music and fashion. There will be a live performance byMidori Komachi on June 27th.
Rachel Botsman, Roots of Trust (detail) at London Design Biennale 2025
Mark Cocksedge
Who would have thought an organisational chart could be so beautiful? On display on the lower floor at Somerset House is artist Rachel Botsman's Roots of Trust, a reinterpretation of the first known organisational chart, created in 1855 for the New York and Erie Railroad Company. The chart, based on a document rediscovered and carefully restored from the archives of the U.S. Library of Congress. is etched onto a large-scale floating transparent panel. Unlike the structured pyramid hierarchy that we are familiar with today, this early chart takes a distinctly different form and challenges traditional ideas of hierarchy, power and trust in systems and society.
Uzbek Design - The Once and Future Garden, London Design Biennale
London Design Biennale
The Uzbek Design pavilion presents The Once and Future Garden, inspired by the historic gardens of Samarkand. As spaces for imperial leisure, ritual, and celebration, the gardens and pavilions within them were filled with ceramics, textiles, furniture, and fashion—produced by highly-skilled artists and artisans from across the empire. Four design studios (Madina Kasimbaeva, Nigora Hashimova, Tigran Erdman and Timur Parmanov and Ruth Shelley) showcase objects that reflect those past centuries of skill and tradition, while also pointing to a future. A fashion designer's colorful waistcoat and jacket with a nod to historical garments and a footstool covered with bold vertical stripes are standout pieces.
Oman pavilion at London Design Biennale 2025
Anadolu via Getty Images
Oman's Memory Grid is an immersive installation that channels traditional pottery as a metaphor for what we value most. It connects ancient craft with digital ideas, prompting visitors to consider themes of survival, value and legacy. Plastic replicas of Omani pottery - vessels that preserved valuable resources like water across centuries are on show in a striking, colorful installation.
Founded by Charos and Timur Kamalov in 2018, Teplo Store is a Tashkent-based concept store supporting over 300 independent brands of which 95% are women-led. Bringing a selection of jewlery, clothes and other accessories to the London Design Biennale, Silk Road Teplo Store shows some of the best young fashion designers from Uzbekistan.
Taking a neuroscientific approach to the understanding and cognition of urban space, Human-Centred Design: Visuospace is an immersive digital exhibition. It highlights the complex relationships between emotions and the environment, spatial design and psychology to better understand how to 'live and build well.'
Melek Zeynep Studio installation at London Design Biennial 2025
Anadolu via Getty Images
The Recursion Project approaches the concept of repetition as an instrument that shapes the relationship between collective memory, matter and form. The installation includes hundreds of small cubes, handcrafted from Turkish terracotta clay and mirrored on two sides which create a single large cube. Central to the installation is the artist's playful reference to the Tesseract Cube: a calculation used in physics to go beyond matter into the fourth dimension.
A view of "Emotional Reflections: The Soul of Seven Horizons" by Turkish artist Halise Karakaya, London Design Biennial at Somerset House in London, United Kingdom on 05, 2025.
Anadolu via Getty Images
The Turkey Pavilion presents Emotional Reflections: The Soul of Seven Horizons, a multisensory installation that merges contemporary art with ancient memory, inviting the audience into an emotional dialogue with the city of Istanbul. Inspired by the city's iconic seven hills, the installation features kinetic sculptures, LED responsive lighting, thermal and motion sensors, ambient soundscapes and the scent of traditional Turkish coffee.
The Global South, London Design Biennale 2025
Taran Wilkhu
Wura, meaning 'precious' in Yoruba, is a sculptural tribute to the wealth, resilience, and complexity of the Global South. Created from gold chain and cowrie shells, this installation weaves together narratives of trade, colonization and cultural rebirth. The cowries, once used as currency across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, are honored here as symbols of an indigenous economy - one rooted in exchange, meaning, and connection
Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Black British Artist Grants programme by SR_A, Chile, China, European Union, Design Council, Eco-Vision Plan, Hong Kong, India, Institute for Global Prosperity at UCL, Japan, King's College London, Life Calling, Malta, Melek Zeynep Bulut, Netherlands, Nigeria, Northumbria University and University College London, Oman, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Rachel Botsman, Romania, Saudi Arabia, The Global South, The Silk Road Pop-Up by Teplo Store, Tijuana-San Diego, Turkey, UK Civil Service, Uzbek Design, VCUarts Qatar and World Monuments Fund and English Heritage.
The London Design Biennale is at Somerset House, London until 29 June 2025. Tickets are from £22 for adults. £10 Youth tickets for visitors aged 16-25.
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I come from a family business background in Sri Lanka, and I originally came to the UK to pursue higher education with the goal of returning home to help grow the family business. I went on to do a master's in management, specializing in entrepreneurship, at Bayes Business School, City University London. At that point, I had shipped all my things home and was set to go back to Sri Lanka, but then, I was to apply for fully funded PhD scholarship by the Dean of the Business School at Brunel. That PhD was a turning point. My supervisors were heavily involved in European Commission-funded research projects, and that opened up a whole new world to me. My research was focused on technology evaluation and smart cities. I had always assumed I'd either go into business or maybe do consulting, but these R&D projects offered a unique opportunity: you weren't handed a fixed brief; You could create and pitch your own ideas. That freedom was new to me, and I really valued it. Around 2017, I joined the University of Bradford and asked to set up a new, forward-looking department focused on business analytics. At the time, the UK was still playing catch-up in this area, but it gave me my first experience running a department. I developed new programs, built a team, and helped shape the culture. By 2019, I was asked to step up as dean. I spent five years there, commuting from London, and was really proud of the transformation we led. We focused on rebuilding the school's identity and launched the UK's first MSc in AI in a business school setting. Most AI programs were housed in computer science departments, but we believed that AI and analytics were just as critical for future managers and business leaders. By 2025, I was still tenured at Bradford and they wanted me to extend my stay. But I knew I wanted to take on a new challenge. That's when Kingston came knocking. I didn't know much about it initially, but it had a similar story: strong in the '80s, but momentum had faded. I did some research and saw real potential. Their distinctive institutional strategy, entrepreneurship focus and values resonated with me. I felt like I could genuinely add value and help shape an identity that was authentic to Kingston but also forward-thinking. Some parts of the curriculum needed modernization, but the foundation was there. I officially started in September 2024, so it's been about eight months. Now, I'm working closely with the senior leadership on defining a new identity for the business school. They've given me the freedom to redefine and restructure, which is exciting. Of course, in the UK, you have to align with the parent university. We don't have the same autonomy as independent business schools, but I see that as part of the challenge. The big thing is something they call the . For context, Kingston is located in southwest London. It was previously a polytechnic, so very skills based. Like many post-1992 universities, it retained that emphasis on practical, career-focused learning. That's been its DNA for over 150 years. The Town House Strategy, launched by the current Vice Chancellor, is built on several key pillars. One of the boldest and most unique is what they call the 'Future Skills' approach. Everyone talks about future skills, but Kingston actually developed a methodology behind it. In 2021, the university launched its own large-scale research project in partnership with YouGov. They surveyed 2,000 businesses, 2,000 members of the public, and 1,000 current students – 5,000 stakeholders in total – to identify which skills are most valued by society and industry. The outcome was a framework of nine core life skills, ranging from curiosity to critical thinking and adaptability. What's impressive is how they've embedded these skills across every single undergraduate program as part of the curriculum. Kingston Business School is located about 30 minutes from central London and enrolls about 2,500 business students a year. Courtesy photo Some of the skills that I think really resonate right now are things like creative problem-solving, digital competencies, a questioning mindset, and things like resilience and self-awareness. Those are all part of the nine core skills we identified through our research. Kingston's approach is a structured, three phase model for each year of the undergrad experience. In the first year, called the Navigate phase, students reflect on those nine skills and where their strengths and gaps are. It might turn out a student is already strong in critical thinking, but needs to build more confidence in collaboration. That becomes a foundation for their development throughout the rest of the program. The second year is Explore, where they work on projects beyond their own discipline. For example, this year, over 800 students from business, arts, engineering all worked together on interdisciplinary teams to respond to a real business brief. It's a bit like a hackathon, but assessed as part of the curriculum. It's not optional; it's built in. The third year is Apply, where students complete real-world experiences like micro-placements, live projects, or case challenges. We also work with a group called Gradcore to run simulated assessment centers, just like what students would go through in real job application processes here in the UK. It's structured to get them ready for employability, but also ties back to the future skills framework they've been building on since year one. This model has gained traction at the policy level: Our local MP recently brought a motion to Parliament advocating for the Future Skills model to be adopted more broadly across the UK higher education sector. So yes, many universities talk about skills and employability, but I haven't seen this level of strategic implementation before. Structuring the student experience around Navigate, Explore, Apply, that's something tangible. It gives students a clear developmental journey and gives us a language to talk about how our programs are different. In terms of purpose, we want to be a human-centered business school that delivers future skills and truly walks the talk for a progressive society. We aim to shape businesses through people and knowledge. This human-centered approach runs through everything. Our curriculum already integrates future skills, and now we want to align our research around that same ethos. For example, in our future-of-work research cluster, we're looking at behavioral insights and how employers and employees interact. Even in traditionally technical areas like economics, we're asking: can we explore the behavioral side? In marketing, how do consumer behaviors reflect deeper societal trends? The question we keep asking is: where does the human add value? That's the identity I'd like us to build: A business school that doesn't just equip students with technical knowledge but also prepares them to think critically and act responsibly. One that I think has huge potential is our , Behavioural Research Analytics in Neurotechnological Systems. While many universities have similar labs, they're often used primarily from a psychology perspective. What's great here is that we're integrating it into business-focused research and teaching. The lab is equipped with tools like eye-tracking and monitoring equipment to study human decision-making. For instance, you can run simulations like a financial market crash scenario and study how people make decisions under stress. You can analyze sentiment, track attention, and evaluate reactions in real time. There's also a team collaboration room that allows you to observe and study how people interact and work together in group settings. So whether it's for marketing research, financial behavior, or workplace team dynamics, it offers a wide range of business-relevant use cases. I really see this as one of Kingston's best-kept secrets, a resource we need to spotlight and scale up. Our current MBA program is undergoing a complete overhaul, and that's one of the key places where the human-centric philosophy is really taking shape. The MBA is an important offering for us both for talent development and for those already in business who want to upskill. Kingston had strong recognition for its MBA in the past, but it's a very crowded market now. So we asked ourselves: how can Kingston's MBA stand out? Sankar Sivarajah: 'We want graduates to be future-focused and open-minded, people who can navigate complexity and misinformation and still move society forward' We've centered the redesign around three key themes: digital intelligence, human value, and sustainability. One of the new features we're excited about is a leadership component called the 'MBA X.' It's designed to help students build confidence and presence. We leverage Kingston's strength in the arts and use creative spaces like a media studio where students can record podcasts, deliver presentations, and really learn to project themselves with authenticity. It's about helping them bring their unique 'X factor' into leadership. We're also embedding leadership development and coaching throughout the program in our 'The Kingston Impact: Leadership and Personal Growth' module. Currently, the MBA is offered full-time on campus, but we've just had the business case approved for launching an online version potentially in September 2026. Through my experience running an FT-ranked online MBA at Bradford, I know how saturated that space is. But I think there's a real opportunity for Kingston to stand out by leaning into our human-centric approach. Our MSc in International Business remains a flagship, as it does in many institutions. But we're also launching new programs in areas like Digital Marketing and Business Analytics. We are working on developing a new program in AI for Business with a clear emphasis on the human good and responsible application, which will set it apart. One final standout is our MSc in Occupational and Business Psychology. It's accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), and it bridges social science and business in a meaningful way. That's quite rare in UK business schools, and it naturally supports the human-centered identity we're building. Our current mix is about 70% regional, 30% international. In the current climate where UK higher education is facing challenges with international student numbers, we're in a stronger position than many other institutions. That said, our postgraduate programs are where we see most of our international enrollment. We have a strong contingent from South Asia, and we also receive European students through our partnership with BI Norwegian Business School. Our MBA in particular has seen a big uptick in international interest. In the current MBA cohort, out of 35 students, 70% were from South Asia. But here's the surprising part: the second-largest group was from the United States. When I asked them why they chose Kingston, many mentioned wanting the UK and London experience. But they also did their research. A lot of the decision came down to word-of-mouth recommendations, which was encouraging to hear. So while we continue to serve a strong regional student base, especially at the undergraduate level, we're definitely building momentum internationally, particularly in our postgraduate and MBA offerings. At the institutional level, Kingston has a broader strategy for embedding AI across teaching and assessment. But within the business school specifically, we've developed a structured approach to how AI is integrated both in terms of policy and practice. We're using a three-level framework to guide how AI can be used in assessments: Level 1, AI not allowed. For example, live presentations where students must demonstrate their own thinking. Level 2, AI-assisted work is allowed. Students might use ChatGPT or Grammarly but must disclose it. Level 3, AI use is required. Students may have to build models or chatbots as part of the brief. This tiered model helps us stay consistent and intentional. It gives faculty the tools to design assignments that either exclude, allow, or mandate AI use, depending on the learning objectives. And because it's embedded into modules across subjects, we're able to build students' digital fluency in a clear and structured way. So it's not just about offering one AI course or launching a degree; We're taking a much broader, integrated approach that aligns with our human-centered philosophy. We're asking: how can AI augment learning while still developing the critical thinking, creativity, and ethical awareness that make human contributions valuable? On top of that, we're also developing a new program specifically designed to build AI skills for non-technical learners, particularly for future business leaders. It's still in the design phase, but the idea is to help students and professionals who don't have a technical background understand how to engage with AI in a responsible, ethical, and strategic way. I think one of the biggest is staying relevant in such an uncertain and fast-changing environment. The more I reflect on it, and the more I attend conferences and conversations across the business school space, the more it becomes clear that we need to constantly redefine what our value add is. Today's learners, especially Gen Z and the upcoming Gen Alpha, are different. They've been exposed to vast amounts of information, screen time, and digital tools from an early age. So, when they come into the classroom, it's not enough to just deliver knowledge. They've already encountered much of it, or at least the surface of it, online. So we have to ask ourselves: What is the real value of coming to a business school? For me, it's about depth. It's about knowledge creation, critical thinking, intellectual debate, and the human touch – the philosophical and behavioral side of business. That's where our strength lies: in helping students question, evaluate, and apply knowledge with purpose. Especially with the rise of AI, we need to ensure that students still understand the fundamentals. You need the depth to be able to assess whether AI is giving you the right answer. You can't do that without understanding the foundation behind it. But we also have to keep pace with how businesses are operating right now. That's the real tension: staying academically rigorous while also remaining industry-relevant. Businesses are using tools and technologies at a pace that's hard to match in education, and we have to make sure our teaching and our programs reflect that. For example, in one of our Future Skills surveys, we asked businesses whether they thought graduates were fit for roles involving AI. Fewer than 30% said yes. That's a clear signal. One thing that stands out to me is the increasing role of geopolitics and how that intersects with business education. More and more, we're having to think about how political and cultural shifts affect not only what we teach but how we build partnerships and engage with students. Things like equity, diversity, inclusion, all of those are critically important. But they can also become very personal, very emotive topics. So I think a key challenge for business education, and for Kingston specifically, is how we help students navigate that complexity. How do we equip them to operate in global business environments where diplomacy, relationship-building, and cross-cultural understanding are essential? How do you hold onto your values while still learning how to engage constructively in partnerships, even with people or entities you might disagree with? That's something we need to continue reflecting on as educators: how to keep students ready for the world as it is, not just the world as we wish it would be. One more thing I think is really important is the role of place. Business schools shouldn't operate in a bubble, and one thing I learned from my previous role was how deeply a school can engage with its local community. At Bradford, for example, it's a city with high levels of deprivation, very different from London. We did programs to support social mobility, rehabilitation projects for prisoners, support for Ukrainian refugees, and training initiatives for people who had never had access to higher education. We worked with local government and played a role in the city's cultural and economic development. Now at Kingston, the context is different, but the responsibility is the same. Kingston is known as a safe and prosperous borough in London. We have Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common right next to us. But even here, we have students who come from less privileged backgrounds. Just because it's a wealthy area doesn't mean every student has had the same opportunities. We're already working with large organizations – Unilever's headquarters is here, for example – but the question is, how do we make sure all of our students, regardless of background, have access to those opportunities? We're partnering with the local council, the Kingston Chamber of Commerce, running Future of Work summits, mock assessments, and leadership events—not as optional extras, but as built-in parts of the student experience. We want our students to be the first choice, not the insurance choice. That means developing their skills, yes, but also giving them high-value experiences and networks. And by doing that, we also give back to our community. That's how I think business schools should operate: Not just as institutions of learning, but as civic partners helping shape the places they're in. DON'T MISS: LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN SERGEI GURIEV AND IVEY DEAN JULIAN BIRKINSHAW HAS GLOBAL AMBITIONS FOR ELITE CANADIAN B-SCHOOL The post The P&Q Interview: Kingston's Human-Centered, Future-Skills Approach To Business appeared first on Poets&Quants. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
