Walala Lounge

Camille Walala returns to London Design Festival in a characteristically colourful manner. The French-born designer has been commissioned by Grosvenor Britain & Ireland to energise and enliven South Molton Street, in the heart of London’s West End, with a bold and beautiful family of street furniture.

Combining head-turning colour and geometric shapes in monumental proportions, the result is Walala Lounge, a set of 10 sculptural benches, accompanied by planters – some freestanding and some integrated into the structure of the benches – and a series of oversized flags that will be strung, bunting-style, from shopfront to shopfront, converting the area into an immersive corridor of colour. 

Fully pedestrianised and lined with British and international boutiques and cafes, South Molton Street will be transformed into a place to pause. 

Walala’s vision is to create an open-air urban living room – a place for people to come together to chat and relax in central London – with a burst of colour and irrepressible joy. The Walala Lounge will comprise an unpredictable array of cuboids, cylinders and arches made from brushed steel and Tricoya® MDF, while a number of the designs incorporate planters and rug-like bases to enhance their engaging, home-like appeal.

As 3D sculptural objects, the benches and flags mark Walala’s continuing evolution from two to three dimensions – a process which began in 2017 when she created Villa Walala in Exchange Square, Broadgate as a Landmark Project for the Festival, that took the form of a playful castle installation constructed from soft vinyl building blocks.

Supported by Grosvenor Britain & Ireland and City of London.