Reconstructing Value

In a striking collaboration, the Bank of England Museum, Plasticiet and Surface Matter unveil a new exhibition for London Design Festival: a sculptural installation made from £2.5 million reclaimed, recycled and reconstructed British bank notes. Cast into bespoke curved forms and arranged to create the iconic pound symbol (£), the pieces debut in the Stock Office of the Bank of England Museum — the historic home of Britain’s currency. Redefining the Meaning of Money: Once a symbol of economic permanence, as bank notes are removed from circulation, they are shredded, reconstituted and reinvented into architectural, functional and symbolic forms. Inspired by nature and aspiring to co-create a post-waste world, the installation examines how value can be transformed through design. Drawing loosely from the gravitas of the neoclassical and baroque architecture that forms the heritage of the Bank of England — the forms are playful, sculptural and monumental. They embrace the aesthetics of raw material, creating a visual dialogue between past and present, order and improvisation. The result is a new language of reuse — one that redefines legacy through material transformation. Materials and the Building of the Bank: The exhibition complements the Building of the Bank exhibition, which explores the evolution of the Bank of England’s design — from Sir John Soane’s original architecture to its present-day structure and materials. To accompany the furniture installation, Surface Matter presents a curated series of material palettes. These recycled surfaces reinterpret the colour, texture and materiality of the bank’s historic interiors — from roman mosaic tiles and Portland stone, to timber joinery, patinated brass and bronze detailing — alongside palettes referencing the colours of British Bank notes.