Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary

This exhibition will be the first ever major retrospective on the work of Thomas Heatherwick, one of the most exciting creative practitioners working in the UK today. Heatherwick has been the recipient of the Prince Philip Designers Prize and the London Design Medal, and in 2004 became the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry.

At the heart of his Studio's practice is a profound commitment to elegant, integrated design solutions and the absolute dedication to materials, research, prototyping, industrial collaboration, tactility, texture - and above all, extraordinary form-making.

After completing his MA at the Royal College of Art, Heatherwick established the Studio in 1994, as a space in which to produce extraordinary projects. Rejecting conventional classifications, Heatherwick and his team explore the thresholds between standard design categories. Celebrating the pure joy of creating 3-dimensional forms, the Heatherwick studio has earned an international reputation for creating stunning and ingenious works that span a breathtaking array of disciplines: from architecture, furniture, product design and fashion, to engineering, sculpture, transport and urban planning.

The team's work to date includes a spinning chair, a rolling bridge, an expandable zip bag, a power station, an 'endless' bench, an Olympic cauldron and a brand new bus for London.

This exhibition will show the enormous variety of projects that Heatherwick Studio have worked on over the last two decades. Bringing together prototypes, objects of inspiration, models and finished pieces, the exhibition will reveal the Studio's creative process and spirit of curiosity. Visitors to the V&A at this time can also enjoy free entry to a spectacular specially-commissioned installation in the Museum's John Madejski Garden.

Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary
Thomas Heatherwick