A New London Project Examines Value and Connection Through Black Pepper at this Year’s Design Festival

What can the world’s most consumed spice tell us about the world around us?

Once traded at the price of gold, now a common companion in kitchens far and wide, black pepper is the starting point for Black Gold, our immersive event debuting at this year’s London Design Festival. This transformation, from precious to pedestrian, inspires an evening that asks what we consume, what we actually value, and how our behaviours and choices can build our shared future. 

Hosted at Algha’s Plantroom warehouse in Hackney Wick, the evening will unfold over three acts, each in collaboration with an artist enriching the experience with their art. Upon arrival, guests will be greeted with an exclusive black pepper cocktail developed with global mixology creatives, Bar Lotus. Followed by acts that transform a meticulously designed tablescape and soundscape, alongside a menu of small bites created in collaboration with London-based Studio LELOK. Guests are invited to engage with these acts as living artworks, where the table becomes a site of inquiry, intimacy, and collective reflection. 

Masa Mez was born from our shared belief that design has the power to provoke new ways of thinking. We met as architecture students at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles over a decade ago, one from India, and the other from Turkey. Since then, our individual journeys have taken us across Japan, the US, the UK, MENA, China, India, Thailand, and the EU. Our paths crossed again in London when we started to expand our horizons further — Amy pursued a Master of Philosophy in Architecture & Urban Design at the Architectural Association, while Ilayda earned a dual masters degree in Global Innovation Design from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. With combined backgrounds spanning architecture, research, innovation, and strategy, Masa Mez is now our way of weaving these experiences together — creating a rich platform founded on a strong cross-cultural and interdisciplinary foundation. 

Our mission is to shape dialogues through collective designed experiences. We see Black Gold not just as an event or aesthetic food installation, but as an origin for critical conversations about our new consumption behaviours, our individual yet large impact decisions, and the interconnectedness of all systems that shape our daily lives. The evening will not seek to offer answers — instead, it will form an evolving open space inviting for curiosity, speculation, and connection. 

London, with its global networks and vibrant creative community, becomes the ideal location for Masa Mez. Black Gold is our critical contribution to the ongoing dialogue on sustainability and the futures of food and culture. Every moment is crafted to shift perspectives from the plate to the soundscape, inviting reflection on the way we eat, remember, and connect. 

We are delighted to invite you to join us at Black Gold — to gather, to taste, and to imagine together. This is only the beginning of Masa Mez, and we look forward to sharing what comes next.

Too book tickets for the event, click here.

Amy Brar is an Indian architect, designer and researcher based in London.

Formally trained as an architect, Ilayda Kal is an Istanbul-born interdisciplinary designer and strategist.

Header photograph courtesy of Mas Mez.