The London Design Biennale is set to return to the Somerset House for its fifth edition from June 5 – 29, 2025, inviting designers, thinkers and audiences from across the world to a month-long exploration of the global design culture. Under the artistic direction of Dr Samuel Ross MBE, founder of British sportswear brand A-COLD-WALL* and industrial design studio SR_A SR_A, the 2025 edition of the Biennale of which STIR is a media partner, centres on the theme Surface Reflections, a call to explore how personal histories and external influences shape creative thought and cultural identity. “Revelations in life are prompted by personal histories that inform who we are – our ideas are fuelled by both our internal experiences and external influences. Together, these form the multifaceted hues of human experience,” Ross reflects in an official statement.

With over 30 pavilions representing nations, cities and institutions, the design event will offer a platform for design-led inquiries, dwelling into some of the most pressing social, environmental and technological issues we are facing today. Visitors will encounter works that range from deeply introspective to globally connective, forming a cohesive conversation around design’s role in shaping how we see and navigate the world. Speaking of the design landscape's evolution since the last edition, Biennale director Victoria Broackes is of the opinion that the "global context has drastically changed and the need for collaboration and exchange in a peaceful context feels more important than ever. International design teams continue to demonstrate the possibilities of and their faith in what can be achieved through design and design thinking."

Established in 2016 by Sir John Sorrell CBE and Ben Evans CBE, the London Design Biennale was conceived as a platform to promote international collaboration and recognise the essential role design plays in global dialogue. In the years since, it has evolved into a major cultural event, known for staging ambitious and impactful creatives, innovators and institutions from around the world. The 2025 edition builds directly on this ethos, taking over the entirety of its venue, from the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Courtyard to the Embankment Galleries, while Ross’s curatorial lens offers a more introspective turn within the broader global frame.

Central to several pavilions are craft and cultural memory—exploring how tradition informs contemporary identity. Abu Dhabi’s Tides and Traditions: The Journey of Maritime Crafts and Heritage by the House of Artisans will present the heritage of maritime craftsmanship, offering a sensory reflection on Emirati seafaring culture. Argentina’s SUR ANDINA will take visitors across the Andes through textiles and light, blending ancestral practices with present-day design, while Nigeria’s Hopes and Impediments, drawing from the collection of essays by the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, will reimagine the Lejja community as a lens for cultural evolution, drawing on material intelligence and speculative storytelling to unpack identity, loss and reinvention.

Environmental and material innovation will be at the forefront of pavilion designs such as Portugal’s Metabolisms of Repair, a project that hopes to shift the narrative from crisis to care, positioning ecological repair as a design methodology. While Rainforest Succession – Lamiam by Eco-Vision Plan will explore how drinking tea supports biodiversity conservation in China’s Old Tea Forests, Northumbria University and UCL’s Living Assembly: Building With Biology will present experiments with bio-based building materials, including mycelium and bacterial leather, to propose a more integrated relationship between architecture and biology. Meanwhile, building on similar themes of innovation, the UK Civil Service’s A Serious Gaming to Save the Planet uses gaming mechanisms to demonstrate how participatory design can shape more inclusive climate policies.

Emotion, introspection and sensory engagement are anticipated to surface in projects such as Japan’s Paper Clouds: Materiality in Empty Space, which merges Washi paper, sound and suspended forms to explore fragility and strength. Romania’s Inner Reflections, Outer Worlds, will transform recycled materials into a meditation on identity and environment. USA's Notes to Humanity, presented by Life Calling, will invite personal reflection through handwritten messages, considering how we sustain empathy in a digital world. These thematic tapestries are further expanded by a wide range of international voices. From Chile’s exploration of mineral heritage in Minerasophia to the EU’s focus on global partnerships in Global Gateway, each contribution fortifies the design festival’s interdisciplinary scope. Other participants include China, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Netherlands and San Diego–Tijuana, alongside institutions such as VCUarts Qatar, the Institute for Global Prosperity at UCL and King’s College London.

Running alongside the main exhibition is the Global Design Forum, taking place from June 10 –12, 2025, at King’s College London. This three-day programme of free talks and panel discussions will feature a powerful lineup of designers, architects, economists, technologists and activists under the headline Design & the Invisible. Speakers such as Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, economist Mariana Mazzucato and Biennale artistic director Ross will explore the unseen systems—social, political and environmental—that shape how the world lives and designs. The forum aims to foster dialogue around the structures that often go unexamined, yet have a profound impact on creativity and society.

Beyond the Forum, an extensive programme of workshops, performances and film screenings will unfold across Somerset House throughout June, offering deeper engagement with the themes of each pavilion. Highlights include a screening and Q&A of Ajuju, a documentary from the Nigerian pavilion exploring questions of heritage and identity, and Some Hairs Never Fall, which accompanies Peruvian pavilion Hæirloom - Ollantaytambo's (post)modern weavers, chronicling the powerful stories of Andean women reclaiming agency through hair and craft. VCUarts Qatar will present a dynamic Pecha Kucha, a Japanese presentation style, unpacking their project Matter Diplopia, while Coastal Connections, a conversation hosted by the World Monuments Fund and English Heritage, will examine the urgent issue of coastal heritage under threat.

Adding to the vibrancy of the programme, the Biennale will partner with THE HERDS—a large-scale public art initiative featuring life-size animal puppets, arriving at the Somerset House on June 27. Their journey will mark the start of a special late-night opening, complete with performances in the Edmond J. Safra Courtyard and the awarding of the Public Medal to the most voted pavilion. Visitors can also encounter the Silk Road Teplo Store pop-up, discover live music and art installations at Setlist bar, and engage with interactive moments woven throughout the month-long event.

With its expansive roster of pavilions, talks and immersive experiences, the 2025 iteration of the London Design Biennale promises to be a reflection on how design connects the personal and the political, the visible and the invisible. As Surface Reflections will set up camp across Somerset House, visitors will be ushered to look deeper—at objects, systems and themselves—and to consider how design continues to shape the shared human experience in complex ways.