Bringing together the industry’s largest concentration of architectural and design thought leaders to share ideas and exchange global perspectives, Design China Beijing returns this September for a four-day event with iconic international design names and local design talent. Taking place from 24th to 27th September 2021, as part of the Beijing International Design Week, the 4th edition of Design China Beijing will focus on the theme of ‘Nature, Nurture and Sustainable Beauty’ which will be expressed through sustainable design materials and industrial research.
Design China Beijing plays a pivotal role in this year’s global design calendar, as one of the leading international design trade events with a physical presence following the pandemic. As part of the Design Shanghai portfolio, which now covers three key cultural and commercial hubs in China, Design China Beijing will be followed by Design Shenzhen, launching for the first time 9th-12th December 2021. These must-see events in the international design landscape further strengthen China’s position as the world’s biggest design market. With innovative projects being developed across Beijing and Shanghai, led by the world’s key players in design and architecture, further establishes China’s significance to the global design community.
Set across 12,000² metres of the remarkable National Agricultural Exhibition Centre, one of the largest exhibition centres in Beijing, the event exhibits over 100 designers including some of China’s most exciting brands, both established and emerging, as well as the latest products from leading global design brands showcasing their commitment to regenerative design.
The fair will focus on the theme of Nature, Nurture and Sustainable Beauty which will be expressed with sustainable design materials and industrial research, including not only architectural and urban innovation but also new modes of cultural and social interaction through design. Design China Beijing’s ambition is seeking to engage not just the designer and industry but also the broader audience and bring awareness to the expanded technological, cultural, social and economic field of sustainability.
Design China Beijing’s Show Director, Zhuo Tan comments: “After all the challenges we have been through over the past three years, Design China Beijing has developed into a hub of architectural and design innovation and has built a strong reputation in the design industry. In the 4th edition of Design China Beijing, we would like to go beyond original designs and industrial research, and to deepen our understanding of ‘sustainability’ through designs from our exciting exhibitors and features.”
A highlight not to be missed is the world-renowned talks programme, this year featuring talks from over 30 design icons and global thought leaders, including Amanda Levete, Morag Myerscough, Teresa van Dongen, Satyendra Pakhalé, Dayong Sun and Shanshan Qi, to name but a few.
As a premium platform for international brands to gain visibility in China, Design China Beijing has always attracted design brands from around the world including this year’s exhibitors, Italian brands Abet Laminati and BTicino alongside Tarkett, one the world’s top design brands leading the way in sustainability and British lighting brand Anglepoise, who will be showcasing their iconic Giant collection. Exhibiting for the first time in Beijing, heritage British brand Downland will present sophisticated innovations in sleep solutions borne from multi-field research into sleep and human development. British paint brand Mylands will bring their latest collections of water-based paint to the show. Mylands paints have a low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) content, making them virtually solvent free and kinder to the environment.
Aquafil, a global leader in the synthetic fibres industry and a pioneer in quality, innovation and sustainability, will present ECONYL®, a regenerated nylon product. ECONYL® has pioneered closed loop regeneration processes to deliver brand new sustainable products. Leader in performance fabric, Sunbrella, will launch a new Odyssey collection designed by Christophe Catteau and office furniture innovator Interstuhl will showcase their efforts to integrate and consolidate sustainable thinking into the company as a whole; by using renewable energy, such as district heating and solar energy, Interstuhl save approximately 243 tons of CO2 annually.
In addition to international brands, Design China Beijing has always shined a spotlight on and celebrated exceptional Chinese design brands and designers. Key exhibitors include furniture brand Thrudesign and Baluxne, a brand based in Northern China (Hebei) who use 100% recycled melamine board.
Other highlights include a new product launch from XUE in collaboration with Industrial designer Chen Min. Burgeree will launch a series of new collections at the show including a Modular Acoustic Block system, Flourish and Phoenix and SEEDDESIGN will showcase new collectionsPAOPAO, TRAM, SQUARE.
China’s leading art and design school, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) will present a showcase of up-and-coming design talent and Yi Design will introduce their new material made from ceramic waste at Design China Beijing with The Regeneration Tree, a sculpture by Aldo Cibic.
There are 18 Million tons of ceramic waste produced annually in China and Yi Design collected and recycled this waste to develop a new material, which is 90% recycled, strong, light and porous. Bricks made from this material can absorb and re-use rainwater, thus helping to build ‘Sponge Cities’.
With the new agency of sustainability, Design China Beijing seeks to go beyond its role as an industry trade fair and positions itself as a social event raising awareness and infiltrating the idea of sustainability to a greater audience. Alongside the main show programme, a series of satellite ‘Feature’ exhibitions, curated sections and the Forum talks will investigate the transformative power of design and its role in and response to building a sustainable future for a post-pandemic world.
THOUGHT LEADERS GATHER AT THE DESIGN FORUM
A highlight not to be missed is the world-renowned talks programme, this year returning with a roster of over 30 design icons, global industry leaders, visionaries, and innovators. Over four days, this highly regarded thought leadership platform will grapple with the theme ‘Nature, Nurture and Sustainable Beauty’. Spanning design disciplines from across the world, influential speakers will be exploring the cultural shift towards Regenerative Design as a response to social and environmental needs in China and beyond. Keynote speakers include Morag Myerscough, Teresa van Dongen, Amanda Levete, Sun Dayong, Shanshan Qi, Satyendra Pakhalé, renowned architect Xuan Chen and Principal and Founder of waa architecture studio, Di Zhang to name a few.
GREEN CONNECTIONS
Initiated by Design China Beijing and Jae Li, an international designer, curator, and educator with distinctive award-winning creative design experiences, Green Connections is a cross-disciplinary design industry leadership platform, with a vision to bring together leaders in various sustainable design and innovation realms. Through workshops, exhibits and collaborative projects, Green Connections community is dedicated in sharing the most cutting edge sustainable design trends and ideas, and in searching for the best sustainable practices in future design. Green Connections offers a chance to discover new materials and progressive sustainability research.
A number of brands, including Canadian Wood, Baluxne Byrne, 3M, Hay, BottleDream, Tongji University School of Design, University of California and Berkeley School of Environmental Design, are also participating in the live presentations to showcase the latest products, solutions and know-how to the market and audiences.
UNFINISHED GARDEN
The bespokely curated Unfinished Garden will be located at the entrance of the show and leads visitors to the Sustainable Hutong area. Designed by the Founder of Studio YUDA, Yuchen Guo, the concept aims to create a never-seen-before environment and social area with recycled materials (ceramic waste) to attract visitors’ attention and also to encourage more conversations about sustainable design.
SUSTAINABLE HUTONG
Another brand new addition to the show this year is the conceptual ‘Sustainable Hutong’ area designed by architect and designer Guo Yuchen. These traditional residential courtyards are typical of old Beijing, and modernised architectural concepts have become topical in China in recent years with high profile architects and cultural institutions developing modern-day takes on the traditional Hutong.
Design China Beijing’s Sustainable Hutong is a curatorial grid hutong and innovative materials lab, exploring the impact of rapid urbanisation and the concept of public space as a community shared resource, and ultimately how the design of that space directly affects the interaction between community members. The creation of ‘sustainable hutongs’ is an example of sustainable space design that can continuously adapt to the development of the times, taking historically significant Beijing landmarks and developing them together with urban space in a longer-term and sustainable way.
