A centrepiece of the 2009 London Design Festival will be located in the heart of London, in Trafalgar Square. The Tournament, an installation created by Spanish designer, Jaime Hayon will consist of a gigantic chess set, with 2m high ceramic chess pieces designed by Hayon on a specially created mosaic glass chess board.
Each of the 32 unique chess pieces was handcrafted by Hayon, working with Bosa, the Italian ceramics experts in Veneto, Italy. Many of the chess pieces will reference specific iconic buildings in London and their domes, towers and spires. Elements of the city London and its history will be encoded on the pieces using Hayon’s very personal style.
The pieces are supported by a wooden base on castors so that they can be moved around during chess games, with a metal frame within the ceramic form to provide stability. The chess board will be made of mosaic glass tiles created by Italian tiling specialists, Bisazza.
The idea behind The Tournament was to create a design spectacle and a performance which actively involves the public and that shows people how dynamic and fun design can be.
