A tour around the world’s design cities

UNESCO City of Design Dundee’s desk officer, Andy Truscott, takes us on an trip to the newest cities to join the City of Design family

W hen Dundee became a UNESCO City of Design in 2014, we joined a network that included Beijing, Berlin and Graz, among other astonishing cities. In 2015, that network extended further bringing Puebla and Detroit to the family.

Last week our network extended further still, to include nine new Design cities. That means Dundee has access to some of the top design ideas and thinkers across the world. That’s 31 cities now in the network, across 25 countries.

Here are some of the new cities to join our gang and their design credentials:

BRASILIA (BRAZIL)

Brasília is the capital of Brazil and is located in the Brazilian highlands in the country’s centre-western region. The Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer helped plan and develop Brasilia with Lúcio Costa and landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. Brasília was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 due to its modernist architecture and artistic urban planning.

CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA)

The South African coastal city is the second-most populous urban area in South Africa after Johannesburg and is also the capital of the Western Cape Province. It has a reputation as a destination for designers since being named World Design Capital in 2014. Cape Town plays host to the 12-day citywide Open Design Festival.

DUBAI (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)

Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the UAE. Design events include Dubai Design Week, which is made up of a programme of more than 200 events; Downtown Design (November 14-17), the region’s only quality-driven design trade fair, is the commercial centrepiece of Dubai Design Week and Design Days Dubai is the leading fair in the Middle East and South Asia dedicated to collectible and limited edition furniture and design objects.

ISTANBUL (TURKEY)

The city is also home to the Istanbul Design Centre, which aims to gather a design community that will preserve multi-cultural traditions while discovering innovative, positive and unique ideas. Other aims include participating in the evolution of design and art, both nationally and internationally, and influencing young designers to create work that inspires through visual communication.

KOLDING (DENMARK)

Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. Kolding’s vision is focused on design and is based on proud traditions in design, art and architecture.

Along the stream passing through Kolding lies this Design City, near the University of Southern Denmark, which will be an entire new part of town dedicated to design. Kolding has numerous small design enterprises and galleries, all of which highlight the city’s wealth of design, art, and architecture.

KORTRIJK (BELGIUM)

Kortrijk is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders.

Design organisations include The Biennale Interior which is a non-profit organisation acting in the field of design, product development and innovation.

Founded in 1967, one of their aims was to put contemporary design for the home and interior innovations on display for a wide public audience.

The vision was to create a space and an atmosphere that did not obey the laws of traditional layout and stage design.

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)

Demonstrating a passion and enthusiasm for design, Mexico City is blending old and new in innovative health, communications and security programmes, a bike sharing programme, urban gardens, parks and playgrounds.

Regeneration will take place in lowincome areas around the city, where they aim to transform lives through design. Their year will also include a rich agenda of activities that provoke thought and action, not only among Mexico City’s creative community but also the general public.

The 9th edition of Design Week Mexico (DWM) was celebrated earlier this year. As Mexico’s premier design and architecture event, the city was filled with installations, gallery openings, lectures, and exhibitions.

This year’s festival was focused on the work of contemporary designers from all over Mexico, along with work from the guest country of Switzerland and the cuest state of Puebla.

Mexico City has also been named the World Design Capital 2018, the first city in the Americas to receive this accolade.

WUHAN (CHINA)

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers.

The 4th Wuhan Design Biennale will take place later this month. This year’s theme is Design Future and the event will feature a design trail, conferences, exhibitions and an opening ceremony.