【Thursday Exhibition】The Largest in Taiwan!* Taipei Design City Exhibition

By the MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network Editorial Team

The “2014 Taipei Design City Exhibition” is open to the public for free from October 4 to October 26 at Warehouses 4 and 5 of the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, welcoming visitors to come and explore. This year’s exhibition theme is “Urban Fusion,” featuring 22 world-class special cases and exhibits from nine countries including India, Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and Taiwan. These are being shown in Taiwan for the first time, gathered together at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park to kick off a new wave of design aesthetics for all citizens. The exhibition conveys the concept of social design integrated into daily life, allowing “the world’s outstanding social design” works to be shared with the Taiwanese public for interaction and exchange, sparking even more creative ideas together.

This year’s exhibition focuses on social design. For example, one of the highlight exhibits — the color-changing syringe — ties in with social issues. With simple design, it allows users to distinguish which syringes have been used, educating the public about the importance of healthcare and poverty issues while emphasizing its relevance to everyday life. All foreign exhibits this year are more high-quality than in previous years, bringing Taipei to the world stage. Curator Chuang Hsi-Ping also specifically introduced the theme of the exhibition — Urban Fusion. He explained how, through interactive energy like atoms, it reflects the brilliance of design culture. The spirit of social design is that “design should benefit the public, a collective effort formed by collaborative power, rather than being an aloof, solo endeavor.” This leads the Taipei Design City Exhibition to new heights.

The “2014 Taipei Design City Exhibition” brings together 24 designers and teams, showcasing up to 150 exhibits, hosting 13 forums and 6 workshops. What sets it apart from previous years is the special invitation extended to 10 international designers to come to Taiwan for exchange. These include 2014 World Design Impact Prize winner Dr. David Swann, as well as Carson Smuts from Columbia University and Lin Chia-Liang from MIT, who were present to share their design philosophies.

This year’s featured exhibits includethe “Foldable Eco Vehicle”(MIT City Car)”, designed by the MIT Media Lab Changing Places Group. It breaks away from conventional notions of vehicle form. The most distinctive feature of this eco-friendly electric vehicle is its foldability and provision of comfortable seating for two. Its wheels offer flexible steering of over 80 degrees, helping busy urbanites save time searching for parking spots and effectively reducing parking space needs. To further bring the concept of social design closer to the public, this year’s selection of international exhibits communicates the idea of integrating design into everyday life. Through practical works, they help improve inconveniences and social problems in people's lives. For example, the “21st Century Nursing Kit”designed by the UK’s David Swann achieves major breakthroughs in both appearance and functionality. Designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, it easily opens up into a temporary nursing platform, with drawers on both sides for storage — completely redefining the traditional notion of a nursing kit., it has achieved significant breakthroughs in both design and functionality. With simplicity and elegance as its core principles, it is easy to open and can serve as a temporary care platform. The two sides feature storage drawers, completely redefining the conventional notion of a traditional care bag.