Lighting and domestic design is booming in China|||
March sees another edition of the Design Shanghai exhibition, with the usual mix of international brands tapping into the Chinese market and giving the city a chance to showcase the flourishing domestic design sector.
This time round, proceedings will not only be based at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre between 8-11 March but also at several offsite events. Following on from a debut collaboration last year, 2017 will see more activity around the Xintiandi area, with a festival featuring art and design installations curated from 6-19 March by Song Tao and Hou Zhengguang.
Moroso is one of the international exhibitors
The Shanghai Exhibition Centre is the centre of activity
Back at the exhibition centre itself, visitors can peruse the Classic and Luxury Design Hall and the Collectible Design Hall, the latter featuring design art exhibitors such as Zaha Hadid Design. As well as a kitchen and bathroom design hall, one of the other new additions is a workplace design hall featuring the likes of flooring firm Shaw Contract, seating manufacturer Kusch + Co and Scandinavian furniture producer Kinnarps. Elsewhere Europe is well represented with the exhibitor list taking in Moroso, Magis, Bolon and Hay.
Paul Cocksedge
Bethan Laura Wood
Bethan Laura Wood
As in previous years, the Design Shanghai AD China Design Forum Programme features a stellar lineup of Chinese and international speakers, which ties in with the east-meets-west nature of the rest of the event. These include Ole Bouman, founding director at Shekou Design Museum, as well as OnOffice’s May 2016 issue cover star Luca Nichetto, Bethan Laura Wood, Benjamin Hubert and lighting supremo Paul Cocksedge. The theme of the 2017 programme is “Global design, global craft, global manufacturing” – reflecting the rapidly changing design industry.
Next month’s exhibition sees the debut of a new workplace design hall and boasts a growing presence in the city beyond the main site
