Asia’s largest international design event series enters its eleventh year and expects to welcome over 70,000 visitors over four days (19th-22nd June 2024). Returning to the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre, the show continues to witness the rapid development of Chinese design. Over the course of 10 years, Design Shanghai has become one of the biggest design shows in the world and the highly anticipated event will once again attract leading international and Chinese manufacturers, design-led brands, global industry leaders, architects, collectors, interior designers and design enthusiasts, alongside dynamic cultural programming unique to the city. It is comfortably the most significant international design show in Asia. Showcasing curated exhibitors, features and talks, it brings together integrated and innovative design from China to the global stage.
New to the show this year is the unveiling of Hall 4: “New materials and Applications”. The new hall will showcase innovative materials from global brands and will complement the existing three exhibition halls that highlight the very best in Furniture and Lighting design, Kitchen and Bathroom design and Living & Lifestyle. The innovative application of materials has always been one of the core topics in the design field and in Hall 4, the latest materials and application solutions will be on display from many international brands including Italian leader in wood dyeing TABU, the world’s leading synthetic fibre manufacturer Aquafil, international lighting group L&S Lamps, ceiling solutions provider Armstrong, Covostro producer of high-quality polymer materials, synthetic textile Alcantara and surface specialist Schattdecor – to name a few. Material designers, engineers, product designers, architects, interior designers and artists will take to the show to reveal cutting-edge inspiration and solutions. Hall 4 is a testament to Design Shanghai’s continued vision of promoting the exploration and exchange of ideas that are shaping the future.
“Design Shanghai has gone from strength to strength over the last ten years. We have persuaded a large number of overseas brands to join this emerging market in China, and also help Chinese brands communicate and export to the outside world, and strive to change everyone’s perception of Chinese design,” said Zhuo Tan, Event Director of Design Shanghai. “In the next ten years, we will continue to do this, and at the same time, we will use more energy to convince the overseas media and overseas market. I believe in Chinese design and Chinese creativity. I look forward to witnessing more innovations and breakthroughs brought by ‘Design Shanghai’ in June this year!”
As a core component of Design Shanghai’ 2024, Hall 3 Living & Lifestyle will bring together leading domestic and foreign brands, craftsmen and artists to present products from soft furnishings, fragrances, accessories, textiles, tableware – as well as design quality products in multiple categories such as carpets, wallpapers, paints, and artworks. Due to its popularity in 2023, the 2024 exhibition hall has been expanded and upgraded with many European fragrance and accessory brands heading to Shanghai to unveil their latest collections. Visitors can expect to see collections from Belgian high-end luxury home fragrance BAOBAB, Italian fragrance design brand Dr.Vranjes, Danish home accessories brand Reflections Copenhagen, Italian national treasure blown glass lighting and accessories brand Venini, British porcelain brand Wedgwood and German porcelain pioneer Meissen. In continuing to celebrate Eastern and Western design, a number of brands with Chinese ceramic culture will appear in Design Shanghai, including crystal craft brand Jingzhan, banquet porcelain brand Guoci Yongfengyuan and Huaqianwu Ceramic Art Studio – to name a few.
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- Armstrong
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- Reflections Copenhagen
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- Laufen
The much-anticipated Kitchen and Bathroom Design Hall 2, will showcase high-end bathroom and cabinet brands such as Poggenpohl，Siematic，Leicht，Laufen，Villeroy&Boch，ASKO，Liebherr，and Porcelanosa. Global brands will head to Hall 2 to present innovations such as product components and high-efficiency space optimization. The new designs are providing high-end innovative design solutions. Hall 1, Furniture and Lighting Design will bring together the works of a large number of international high-end design brands and outstanding independent designers. Many international brands will be in Design Shanghai Hall 1 to create a modern space design journey that blends art and design, including Italian furniture brand EMU, French Lalique known as the “Sculptor of Light”, Italian high-end furniture brand FORMITALIA and Italian lamps and decoration brand Icone Luce, outdoor furniture Ethimo, furniture and lighting brand Gervasoni, innovative Italian lighting Masiero, Italian furniture brand Monography, Japanese furniture brand Karimoku, French crystal glassware brand Baccarat and Shanghai and London based design practice Stella Works. Chinese local brands are also celebrated here: ziinlife, Solution, U+, Original outdoor home brand VINEKO, Seed Design’s lighting, the outdoor home brand KUN DESIGN and Rough, who have reshaped their designs with new design languages and methods.
The 2024 edition will continue to celebrate Eastern and Western design concepts which will be demonstrated through specially curated and thought-provoking exhibitions and installations. Returning for its ninth edition, the “Rong Casting Design Exhibition” this year will exhibit in Hall 4 the “Integrated Casting Design Exhibition”. The Rong Design Library is committed to deconstructing traditional handicrafts into materials and techniques, and actively exploring the future of tradition. “Casting” is the ninth traditional Chinese handicraft research topic in the “Rong Design Exhibition” after bamboo, silk, clay, copper, paper, mortise and tenon, colouring, and weaving. 46 designers and artists from different fields have been invited to explore the relationship between technology and contemporary design in casting.
This year’s show will also see the continuation of TALENTS, first launched in 2020 and curated by designer Frank Chou, the initiative is dedicated to helping young designers grow, focusing on the localisation of Chinese design. The theme of TALENTS 2024 is “Quest the Question”, designers will present under this theme and will be challenged to set their sights on identifying and solving problems, leading to improvements and design innovations. In the pursuit of creativity, designers will need to retain rational perspectives and decision making abilities.
Neooold (Hall 3), curated by designer Chen Min, takes “Art Extension” as its theme for 2024. The exhibition design, presented by architectural firm line+ under the direction of architect Meng Fanhao, extracts the cultural symbol of the bracket arch, a traditional architectural element, to construct a precise and melodious space. The works of local and overseas artists and craftsmen such as Alao Bakker, Makoto Suetomi, and Hans Tan will be on display, covering ceramics, metalworking, weaving, lacquer and other traditional crafts and modern art.
DESIGN STREET (Hall 1) in partnership with Design Shanghai and the design platform Design Burger is an exhibition area that will display a selected series from top design studios from around the world. Studio Sessions will bring live conversations with the world’s leading design workroom to share the latest design trends and unique insights. Design Street creates a unique exhibition experience for visitors, allowing them to focus on design in a lively and innovative way, and appreciate the design of each work in detail. Each studio will have its own dedicated area, presenting the design results displayed, allowing the audience to intuitively experience the whole process of design from conception to finished product, and deeply appreciate the designer’s unique thinking and brand connotation.
The Kohler Exquisite · Design Shanghai Design Forum (Hall 2) has always been the main stage for ideological exchange during Design Shanghai. This forum will focus on “Designing New” with the theme of “The New Universal Language of Design”. Thinkers and authoritative figures in the global design field are invited to discuss the universal language of design. Guests participating in the forum include Aldo Bakker, founder of Aldo Bakker Studio; Jay Osgerby, co-founder of Barber Osgerby; Pearson Lloyd co-founder and Director Luke Pearson; Hosoo Co., Ltd. President and CEO Masataka Hosoo and Paul Cocksedge Studio co-founder Paul Cocksedge.
Another new addition to the show this year is the “Sustainable Design China Summit”. Launched in 2022, the Summit has been committed to becoming an advocate and leader of sustainable development in China. From June 19th to 21st, the third “Sustainable Design China Summit” (Hall 4) will take place for the first time at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, and will be held concurrently with “Design Shanghai” to inspire each other and jointly create a new wave of sustainable development.
