The Designers' Dreamscape

Squire & Partners launched The Designers’ Dreamscape as a headline installation at designjunction, a highly stimulating multi-sensory environment where everyone regardless of age, skill or background could design, discover and create beautiful things together. Designed by the practice in partnership with designjunction and RIBA London, the installation supported the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, whose aim is to inspire and enable young people to study and qualify as architects.

The Designers’ Dreamscape related to Stephen’s unrealised dream to become an architect, and provided an inspiring space in which design tools were unlimited and creativity could flourish. The installation included a soundscape curated by DJ and sound architect Tom Middleton, responsive lighting and a bespoke blended fragrance created by the Experimental Perfume Club to elevate the experience.

Designed using acoustic components from Icon - We Design Silence, the installation provided an unexpectedly calm and comfortable enclosed space, with a focus on light, sound and scent to create an atmosphere conducive to creative thought. The ceiling was expressed as a series of shallow acoustic cloud domes, below which full height coffered walls displayed tools for drawing.

At the centre of the space, stools surrounded a 6m long table with inlaid scale bars - a collaboration with Uncommon Projects - which offered a social space for experimentation and discussion, while two circular booths offered more private spaces for meetings and mentoring sessions.

The space hosted a series of workshops and talks throughout designjunction, as well as an afternoon of mentoring for architecture students via the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, hosted by Squire & Partners with guest mentor Mark Eley - founder of print studio Eley Kishimoto and Head of Programmes for Fashion and Design at Regent’s University.