Trafalgar Square 2009 | Jaime Hayón

2009 | Each of these 22 chess pieces was handcrafted by Hayón, working with Bosa, the Italian ceramics experts in Veneto, Italy. Each piece was created to represent a part of London or an iconic building.

The chess pieces were supported on castors so that they could be moved around easily on the chess board. Chess players descended on the Square for a chance to play a real game with these two metre high pieces.

Festival Chair, Sir John Sorrell remembers the installation: "The Trafalgar Square chess set by Jaime Hayón was just unbelievable. I think people found that very surprising. The fact that it was going on at the same time as Antony Gormley's Fouth Plinth installation was very interesting, and for a moment it seemed like the whole world of creativity was taking place in Trafalgar Square."

Find out more about other London Design Festival commissions

Photo by Susan Smart