The Way We Live Now

The British designer Sir Terence Conran recently celebrated his 80th birthday, though he’s as industrious as ever. To mark the occasion, the museum he helped found will host a retrospective show examining his indelible impact on contemporary design. 

Conran's vision, according to the museum's curators Stafford Cliff and Deyan Sudjic, was to "democratize design," and hardly anyone will argue that he came up short. In his life, Conran has perfected armchairs and salad bowls, opened nearly 50 restaurants and, most recently, had a hand in reinvigorating East London's Shoreditch neighborhood with the Boundary, a buzzing, epicurean hotel (his first). After fifty years in the business, his name has become synonymous with good taste and thoughtful design.

In 1989, Terence Conran spearheaded the founding of the Design Museum, the first of its kind in London, if not the world. And while it may seem a bit indulgent for an institution to toast its own creator, it’s a tribute well deserved.

“Terence Conran: The Way We Live Now” will run from November 16  to March 4 at London’s Design Museum.