The British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) has chosen designer Thomas Heatherwick and engineer James Dyson as Honorary Fellows, to be presented in June at the BIID Annual Conference, “Design Invention: Where Art and Science Collide.”
“Our Honorary Fellowships are incredibly important to the Institute,” said Sue Timney, BIID President. “They provide an opportunity to recognize those who have inspired and influenced designers today. As an Institute we genuinely value the amazing originality, flair and creativity that make Thomas and James such eminent and respected figures in the design world. We are delighted to confer these Honorary Fellowships in recognition of their immense achievements. It’s also a mark of our own stature and progress in recent times that, in return, such great designers can accept our invitation and be a part of the Institute in the years ahead.”
Heatherwick owns Heatherwick Studio which he founded in 1994. Described by Sir Terence Conran as a “Leonardo da Vinci of our times," he is one of the country’s most original, creative talents. He has produced everything from sculptural chairs forged from the world's largest aluminium extruder and the stunning Olympic cauldron to a bridge that rolls open and closed and an exuberant seed bank, 'hairy' with fibre-optic lights (the award-winning UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo).
Dyson attended the Royal College of Art and studied architecture. But instead of colonnades and cladding, robust marine engineering was the order of the day as he developed the Sea Truck, a flat-hulled, high-speed landing craft and, with it, his passion for engineering. During the five years it took to develop his first vacuum, the DC01, James was also battling to convince other manufacturers to embrace his new technology, then protect his invention when they copied it. He has a reputation for taking risks, making mistakes and using frustration as a fuel for creativity and solving problems.
The annual conference takes place at RIBA HQ, Portland Place, London on Thursday, June 27. The daylong event will explore the dynamics and changing creative landscape in design, through the experiences of global experts and practitioners.
Established in 1966, the BIID is the professional Institute for interior designers in the UK.
