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The pavilion will house students' work

The customised pavilion, sited next to the Albert Memorial, includes designs, models and concepts by over 200 graduating students.

Inside the 120 x 25 metre space a life-size futuristic helicopter jostles for attention alongside an armchair so comfy it 'hugs' the sitter and a pair of vibrating disco shoes.

Elsewhere, a summer ice rink, a folding violin and a jacket that reduces jet lag are among the array of unusual innovations on display.

"You place the first acupressure device here and then there," explained student Monica Chung, talking about her jacket.

Demonstrating the jet lag jacket

"If you're going to New York and it's six o'clock in the morning, what it does is stimulate your body points and helps you reset your body clock."

Around 50,000 thousand people are expected to pass through the doors of this year's exhibition to catch a glimpse into the future of art and design.

It's often the case that the more simple the idea, the more successful it is.

"small tweaks"

Graduate Joe Wentworth for instance has designed a pair of folding, space-saving bicycle handle-bars.

"With these, you simply take the quick release off, fold them back and then lock the key, which permanently locks the handle-bars into position," he said.

Folding handle-bars: a bike-owning boon?

"We don't need tons of new stuff in our lives," he continued. "We simply need small tweaks to our existing, everyday world."

A selection of sculptures will also be exhibited in Kensington Gardens, in tandem with a display of work by Fine Art students in the College galleries. Most of the items will be available for sale or commission to the public.

The verdant setting is part of The Great Exhibition 2007 and marks the 150th anniversary of the College's move to south Kensington.

Surveying the work on display, one is tempted to ask what will students of the world's only wholly postgraduate university of art and design come up with in the next 150 years?

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