Iconic building to spring back to life

DESIGN: Former home of DC Thomson annuals will reopen to host inaugural Dundee Design Festival

A historic Dundee building is set to be re-opened for the first time in six years to host the inaugural Dundee Design Festival this year.

West Ward Works, the former home of DC Thomson’s annuals in Dundee, is set to play host to a range of designers, businesses and design collectives in May.

The festival is a four-day celebration, marking the city’s first full year as the UK’s Unesco City of Design, and will showcase designers from Dundee, Scotland and internationally.

DC Thomson director and chief operating officer David Thomson said: “We’re delighted to be able to work in partnership with the Unesco City of Design Dundee team to host the first international design festival.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate the heritage of the building whilst also looking forward to the exciting redevelopment of the city.

“Our company is fully supportive of Dundee’s cultural development, including the V&A Dundee project, and we’re keen to contribute to the development of further arts facilities for the city.

“We’ve been exploring ideas for the potential revitalisation of our West Ward building as a cultural space and this seemed like an ideal opportunity.

“Other former jute mills and industrial spaces have been successfully redeveloped and so we hope that this temporary upgrade for West Ward will help us to understand whether there is an appetite for an arts space at our building in Guthrie Street.”

The festival, due to be held from May 25 to 28, will feature a large exhibition, talks, demonstrations and workshops led by designers. Ana Day, manager of Unesco City of Design, said: “We are delighted to be working with DC Thomson to bring this building back to life.

“It’s a hugely important part of the city’s heritage and it will be exciting to welcome people in to see the exhibition which will highlight the best design of the future from Dundee and across Scotland.

“It’s a huge step, to open this fantastic building as a celebration of the city’s heritage while also looking forward to the future.

“The design festival is a big deal for the city. In 2015 we did some consultations and worked hard to get funding, so this year we will focus on innovation, architecture and design.

“The re-opening of the building and the festival will combine all these elements.

“The festival will be a trial to see if the building is suitable to be used as a permanent artistic space.”

The open call for designers keen to get involved closes at 5pm tomorrow.

Pictures: Steve MacDougall. Clockwise, from top left: the West Ward building; Annie Harris (project coordinator Dundee Unesco City of Design), left, and Anna Day (manager of Dundee Unesco City of Design); the cavernous ground floor; the first floor interior and some of the...