Design cornucopia

Organizers say that more than 400,000 people have visited the Taipei World Design Expo at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區) since it opened on Sept. 30. Design fans will have a chance to see yet more items when additional exhibits open tomorrow at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall (台北世界貿易中心南港展覽館) and the Taipei World Trade Center (台北世界貿易中心), where they will run until Oct. 30.

Exhibits at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park focus on Taiwanese design, with subject matter ranging from artwork inspired by the calligraphy of Tong Yang-tze (董陽孜) to concepts for environmentally sustainable architecture. The events at the Taipei World Trade Center and Nangang Exhibition Hall will explore design across different industries created by international companies.

Organizers of the Taipei World Design Expo, including the Taipei City Government and the Taiwan Design Center (台灣創意設計中心), have invested more than NT$10 million to prepare the Nangang Exhibition Hall. Highlights brought in from overseas include a BMW M3 GT2 racecar customized by American artist Jeff Koons.

The Nangang Exhibition Hall will also feature industrial and product design by international corporations that blend Eastern and Western aesthetics to create items that are appealing to a worldwide audience. These companies range from Japan’s Toyota and Muji to Taiwanese fine porcelain maker Franz Collection (法藍瓷). Franz’s display will include the porcelain series Rainforest Little Dwellers, a recipient of the UNESCO Award of Excellence for Handicrafts that features delicately sculpted and painted renditions of rainforest creatures such as butterflies, dragonflies, frogs and lizards.

Part of the Taipei World Design Expo’s goal is to help establish Taiwan’s prowess for original design as manufacturing jobs are lost to China and Southeast Asia. One area at Nangang Exhibition Hall will shine a spotlight on products that are “MIT” (made in Taiwan) or “DIT” (designed in Taiwan), with more than 200 items by Taiwanese companies showcased, along with explanations of their design process. The IF Mode bicycle, for example, was created to attract commuters who might not have considered biking as a feasible alternative to driving or public transportation. The lightweight IF Mode, which has won Eurobike, iF Product Design and Golden Pin awards, features hidden dirt traps and folds up into a sleek, unobtrusive and easy-to-carry bundle.

The Taipei World Trade Center event, where five small studio apartments will be built to give visitors ideas about how they can use design to enhance their daily lives, showcases the work of more than 100 Taiwanese designers.source