The first ever London Design Biennale will open to the public on 7 September, with participants from 37 nations using the event to explore the concept of utopia.

Brand new work by leading architects, designers, scientists, writers and artists will explore how good design can respond to challenges such as pollution, growing and aging populations and mass migration to create perfect societies.

The exhibition will include large-scale kinetic sculptures, immersive digital installations, culinary pop-ups, live performances and VR renderings of future cities, as well as homages to unrealised utopian proposals of the past.

Among the attractions, visitors can visit an authentic recreation of a Beirut city street, a conceptual Taiwanese restaurant in a forest-like setting and a virtual recreation of a Spanish city 100 years in the future.

The biennale is being organised in collaboration with car manufacturer Jaguar and arts centre Somerset House, which is hosting the festival until 27 September.

Dr Christopher Turner, director of the London Design Biennale, said: “When we set our inaugural theme, Utopia by Design, we hoped to engage with some of the most fundamental issues faced by humanity today. How might the critical and optimistic imaginations of designers transform our future world, and how do perspectives differ across the globe?”

International museums and organisations representing their countries by supporting installations include the US’ Smithsonian Design Museum, the German Design Council, the Moscow Design Museum, the India Design Forum and The Japan Foundation.