Up in the air: Dezeen spruces up Seven Dials

London – Dezeen has installed a series of aerial conceptual installations, Seven Designers for Seven Dials, that draw attention to the West End’s colourful history while raising the magazine’s profile at the London Design Festival.

LS:N Global caught up with participating designers Gitta Gschwendtner and Dominic Wilcox to learn more about their installations. Gschwendtner installed seven ‘escape ladders’ connecting houses across Earlham Street, a reference to when the area was home to seven pubs connected via underground escape routes. Wilcox took inspiration from Charles Dickens’ description of the district’s bird shops, setting up an arch of empty birdcages over Neal Street.

The whole installation is anchored by the Dezeen Super Store, which opened in late June in Monmouth Street to host product launches and retail concepts created by the magazine.

For more coverage of the London Design Festival, visit our Seed and Shows sections.