GRUPPE creates pastel-coloured totems to signpost Clerkenwell Design Week
Clerkenwell Design Week 2015: Swiss design studio GRUPPE has installed totems of colourful building blocks on the streets of Clerkenwell during the London district's annual design festival (+ slideshow).
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Peter-Long_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Conceived by GRUPPE as a "little city", the installation comprises pastel-coloured street furniture based on the forms of two Roman architectural elements – columns and forums.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Peter-Long_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
Named Vita Contemplativa, the installation was designed to signpost exhibition venue for Clerkenwell Design Week, which runs until 21 May in a patch of central London where many design showrooms and studios are based.
The structures also create a place for exhibition-goers to loiter or shelter from the rain.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Peter-Long_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
Each of the towers is covered with pastel-coloured panels produced by facade manufacturer Equitone. GRUPPE used five different shades, all chosen to match the tones of the existing streetscape.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Peter-Long_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
These panels make the structures look like they have been constructed from oversized children's building blocks.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Joanne-Underhill_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Columns have been installed at the north and south ends of St John's Road and at the west and east ends of Clerkenwell Road, marking the boundaries of the festival.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Joanne-Underhill_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
One kiosk-shaped forum, featuring a stepped platform, stands at the entrance to Farringdon Station, while another can be found on Exmouth Market.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Peter-Long_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
GRUPPE worked with engineers and fabricators Blue Engineering and Nicholas Alexander to realise the project and it will remain in place for the duration of the festival.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Joanne-Underhill_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
The studio previously teamed up with British artist Richard Wentworth to create another installation in London, a pop-up wooden auditorium hosted in the Central Saint Martin's Granary Building.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015-photo-by-Joanne-Underhill_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
Photography is by Joanne Underhill unless specified otherwise.
![Vita Contemplativa by Gruppe at Clerkenwell 2015](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/05/Vita-Contemplativa-by-Gruppe-at-Clerkenwell-2015_dezeen_drw.jpg)