Mineral
‘Mineral’, was a free display at the Design Museum examining the UK’s mineral landscapes and ways to design for a greener future.
Commissioned by Future Observatory, the Design Museum's national research programme, in partnership with the UKRI Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the display showcases research projects centred on four different mineral-based materials native to the British Isles.
Responding to the research projects on display and the theme of ‘Mineral’, we utilised stone as a predominant material in the exhibition design. Stone plinths, object displays and seating are used throughout the space, alongside partitions made from scaffolding and utilitarian workshop trolleys which support the display cases. The full lifecycle of each element of the display – from bungees securing scaffold walls, to timber bearers between stone pieces – has been planned from inception to ensure that the materials used can be easily dismantled and reused beyond the exhibition display.
- Client
- the Design Museum, Future Observatory
- Category
- Cultural, Research
- System
- Circular
- Photographer
- Henry Woide
- Collaborators
- An Endless Suply
- Year
- 2026
Instead of starting with a fully formed idea and shaping material to fit it, we began with what was already available, meticulously documenting each piece of stone and assembling them, temporarily, into something new. Continuing our research into the practice of spolia – using stones taken from an old structure and repurposing them for new construction – we worked with off-cuts from the Stonemasonry Company’s yard in Ketton, Lincolnshire, which became the building blocks for the exhibition structures. For bespoke object mounts, we worked with off-cuts from other Design Museum displays.
The 2026 year’s cohort of Design Researchers in Residence comprised Alfred Yatlong Yeung, Elise Limon, Rafael El Baz and Rosa Whiteley. Each resident connected with local communities across the UK, recasting minerals not as passive resources but as materials whose extraction has deep social, economic and environmental impacts on local landscapes.
Birmingham-based graphic design practice An Endless Supply created the 2D identity for ‘Mineral’. The identity draws on the raw textural qualities of the geologies explored through the Design Researchers in Residence 2025/26 programme. Mitre & Mondays and An Endless Supply worked closely together across the 2D and 3D design of the display to complement the work of the researchers on display.
“‘Mineral’ delves into the politics of mineral extraction so we wanted to make sure the display itself extracts as little as possible. We chose materials that are re-usable, reconfigurable or borrowed from their supply-chain journeys. In doing so, the design demonstrates the industrial landscape associated with different sites of extraction.”
