Heatherwick Studio's "Provocations" to make West Coast debut at the Hammer Museum

The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles will be the spot for the West Coast premiere of the Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio exhibition starting on February 20, 2015. From large-scale models of structures, product design concepts, prototypes, and films, the traveling exhibition will showcase a variety of works by British designer Thomas Heatherwick and his studio.

Get a glimpse of the exhibition below.

"Born in 1970, Thomas Heatherwick has received international acclaim in the design and architecture community resulting in numerous accolades for his innovative work. Named an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, RIBA, Heatherwick has been awarded the Prince Philip Designers Prize, was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry and received the RIBA’s Lubetkin Prize, the London Design Medal, and a CBE for his contribution to the design industry."

"This exhibition examines the range of Heatherwick Studio’s practice by focusing on the design concepts behind early creations such as the rotation-molded 'Spun' chairs as well as current large public and private architectural work in the U.K., South Africa, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and China." 

"Included in the exhibition are projects like the U.K. Pavilion—known as the Seed Cathedral—at the 2010 World Expo; a Learning Hub for Nanyang Technological University; and a contemporary art museum created within a grain silo."

"Heatherwick Studio, established in 1994, is recognized for its highly inventive approach to everyday design challenges, frequently combining novel engineering with new materials and innovative technology to create unusual, often sculptural, building forms."

"The project that first garnered Heatherwick international recognition was the Rolling Bridge [winner of the 2005 British Structural Steel Award] which crosses London’s Grand Union Canal near Paddington Station.

Asked to design a bridge to span the small channel through which boats pass, Heatherwick' solution was to create an eight-part section of the bridge using hydraulic pistons that eliminated the need for visible cables and piers. The bridge’s unique motion, which rolls up into a circular snail-like form, continues to attract crowds."

"Among Heatherwick Studio’s latest high-visibility designs that will be on view at the Hammer are the 2012 redesign of London’s double decker buses, known as the New Routemaster, and the cauldron for the internationally televised ceremonial lighting of the London 2012 Olympic Games torch."

Following the Nasher Sculpture Center until January 4,  "Provocations" will be on view at the Hammer Museum until May 24. Afterward, the exhibition will head back to the East Coast at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York from June 21 to October 25.

For further exhibition details, click here.