CODE: Shaping the Identity of A UNESCO City of Design is a project in which every member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the design category participates within the same framework. The theme for this second annual event was Souvenirs, and student teams were invited to contribute souvenirs that both were unique to the region and would remain in visitors’ memories. This was a collaborative effort between Nagoya and the similarly certified City of Design, Kobe, but the differences in their orientation were expressed, making this an event through which the variety of the region became apparent.  In addition, due to the opportunity of the mutual presentations, this event served as a vital exchange that transcended the boundaries of both cities and schools, as well as a cultivation of our creative talent.

The theme of urban identity became the keyword on every front for Creative Design City Nagoya 2011’s activities. In PechaKucha Night 2012/Creative Design City NAGOYA, our participation in Global Cities Week in which more than 60 cities around the world opened for the same time period, 18 teams made presentations on the theme of “City”. In Civic Pride: Talk Session, participants discussed how, when people really feel that a city or town belongs to them, they identify themselves as interested parties and with self-awareness change the communication among people as well as between people and the city, and how important it is to design “civic pride” in a place. The event produced lively comments, and it was obvious that the participants shared a high level of interest in the topic.

In 2011, we further developed our appeal for Design City NAGOYA both at home and abroad. The Nagoya Naruheso Shinbun, begun in 2009 as a project of the International New Designers’ Workshop, was shown by invitation at the well-established design festival DMY Berlin 2011. (Berlin is also a UNESCO Design City.) This workshop, opened as Berlin Naruheso World Newspaper, which replaces a city with the front page of a newspaper, was popular even among the local population. Then, in the summer, we opened “Architectural Gymnastics”, a family workshop targeting a wide range of age groups. We believe that with this event, in which people posed as pieces of symbolic architecture of Nagoya and the rest of the world, they were able to experience the design of these structures with their bodies.
  We hope to connect our future activities to Nagoya’s assets and challenges, revealed by these projects that delved into the city’s characteristics and possibilities.

Creative Design City Nagoya 2011 Major Projects

■Network Cities Exchange Programs

CODE｜Souvenir 2011>>> NAGOYA＋KOBE
CODE: Shaping the Identity of A UNESCO City of Design is a project in which members in the design category of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) participate within the same framework. The theme for this second annual event was Souvenirs. In Nagoya and Kobe, in the interest of nurturing creative talent and promoting exchange, student teams selected by a call for entries presented souvenirs that highlighted unique qualities of each city. (Nagoya and Kobe/February 2012)
CODE｜Souvenir 2011>>> NAGOYA＋KOBE (Event Schedule)
CODE ｜Souvenir 2011>>> NAGOYA＋KOBE Public Presentation (Event Schedule)

2011 Shanghai International Interior Design Festival (Presented)
We sent Makoto Tanida, Associate Professor, PhD., Engineering at Meijo University as a lecturer to this international forum. His presentation dealt with the initiatives undertaken by the city of Nagoya, examples of home conversion projects undertaken at the university’s research lab, sustainable design and so forth. (Shanghai/June 2011)

International Design Festival 2011 (Presented)
We sent Takashi Honda of Design Studio CRAC and the supervisor of the Mei-butsu project to this International design conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose theme was New Scenarios for Design. Participants explored how design could construct scenarios for a new society. There he introduced some products he had worked on as well as Mei-butsu and Nagoya Project 8 as examples of “design for local revitalization”. (Buenos Aires/October 2011)

UNESCO Creative Cities Network Conference/General Assembly (Attended, presented)
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network General Assembly was attended by representatives of 24 of the 29 cities that were members at the time. The Network’s mayors’ roundtable was held concurrently. CDCN chairperson Yukinari Tsuboya presented at an inter-city working group on industry collaboration and examples thereof. (Seoul/November 2011)

Showcase for UNESCO Creative Cities Network (Exhibited)
Each of the 29 member cities of the Creative Cities Network exhibited in its respective UNESCO-certified field. We displayed products by young designers and creators as well local industries’ products that had garnered design awards. (Seoul/November-December 2011)
Showcase for UNESCO Creative Cities Network (Event Schedule)

■Human Resource Cultivation ・ Urban Branding

DMY International Design Festival Berlin:
Berliner Naruheso Weltzeitung Project (Executed)
By invitation, we executed a project originally designed for the CDCN New Designers Workshop 2009 called Nagoya Naruheso Shinbun [Newspaper]. At the festival, we held a newspaper redesign workshop in which we created the Berlin Naruheso World Newspaper. (Berlin/June 2011)

Family Workshop “Architectural Gymnastics”
Depicting architecture through gymnastics: While watching clips of architecture, participants expressed not only the outward appearance of the buildings, but also structure, utility and first impressions. (Nagoya/August 2011)
Family Workshop “Architectural Gymnastics” (Event Schedule)

PechaKucha Night 2012｜Creative Design City NAGOYA
With the theme, “city”, about 20 presenters introduced their projects or thoughts. We presented it as a venue where people would come to love Nagoya, promote Nagoya, come to know the UNESCO CCN, talk about unique endeavors, and get to know people. (Nagoya/February 2012)
PechaKucha Night 2012｜Creative Design City NAGOYA (Event Schedule)

Civic Pride: Talk Session
“Come to Love Nagoya More, Contemplate Civic Pride”
If you’re conscious of yourself as a member of the community that makes up your city, you get involved in making it a better place to live and it becomes more fun. Conscious of ourselves as “citizens”, we got together to think about communication, both citizen-to-citizen and citizen-to-city. (Nagoya/March 2012)
Civic Pride: Talk Session (Event Schedule)

Family Design Workshop
Let’s make Pikasa, a safe umbrella that glitters even in the dark.
Make it! Beat it! Fun Drum.
In this project, by taking part in a workshop held with the cooperation of local design groups, businesses and educational institutions, in which designers’ skills are applied, participants not only learn about how things are made, but also think for themselves, actually make something by hand, and experience the appeal of design. (Nagoya/February 2012)
Family Design Workshop (Event Schedule)

NAGOYA, UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN
Organizer:
Creative Design City Nagoya Organizing Committee (CDCN)
Constituent organizations:
City of Nagoya
International Design Center NAGOYA Inc.
Nagoya Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Council of Chubu Design Organizations

*For more information, please visit CDCN’s website.