Missing things is an unavoidable part of the London Design Festival (LDF) experience, no matter where your allegiance lies, writes Peter Maxwell.
The festival takes place across several locations, appearing and disappearing in sporadic pockets of the city. For the millions of Londoners that haven’t received the memo, LDF can easily pass them by (a fact unthinkable, say, during Milan Design Week, where the city is subsumed by the fair and every taxi, hotel and dining table is thronged by its fly-by-night audience). This has its advantages but it also means that visitors have to be judicious in choosing which borough to make their festival base.
One thing that LDF sorely lacks is a core to anchor all its satellite spaces. It’s a flaw that can leave you feeling like you haven’t really visited the festival, despite having attended dozens of openings.