City of Design.
What comes to mind when you think of Montréal? Canada, our friendly neighbor to the north. Quebec. Mt. Royal. The St. Lawrence River. The French Quarter. Design.
Wait a minute. Design? If it didn’t come to mind, it should. Montréal was recently named the first North American “City of Design” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This award recognizes urban centers for outstanding commitment of their public and private sectors in fostering economic and social developments in the field of design. It falls under the broader UNESCO initiative called the “Creative Cities Network” and offers awards in the areas of literature, cinema, music, folk art, design, media arts, and gastronomy. Cities vying for this title should possess:
an established design industry;
a cultural landscape fuelled by design and modern architecture;
characteristic urban design (urban spaces, public transportation, newspaper and magazine outlets, benches, garbage cans, public lighting, fountains, gardens, etc.);
avant-garde schools of design;
groups of creators and designers with continuous local and/or national contributions;
a tradition of hosting fairs, events and exhibits focusing on design;
opportunity for native designers and urban planners to take advantage of local materials and urban/natural conditions;
market for collectors in the area of design;
sites created according to a detailed plan of urban design and development;
design-driven creative industries
As a recent MFA graduate, I found this piece of information very compelling. In my re-entry into the job market, now would as good a time as any to move to a foreign country as I’ve always wanted. And Montréal is a city of interest; I speak French and it’s close to Vermont, a place where my husband once happily lived. To find out that it’s also a “City of Design” made it even more attractive.
It also made me wonder about my beloved Seattle; would the Emerald City be considered worthy of such an award? Does Seattle have what it takes to be labeled a “City of Design”?
Going through the list, it’s easy to see that Seattle is a viable candidate. There is definitely an established design industry in Seattle. In nearly every design discipline, Seattle houses some big winners. In architecture, there’s NBBJ; Gensler; Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen; for industrial design there’s the legendary office of William Teague; the Emmy-Award winning Digital Kitchen forges new territory in merging design with film, and of course, there’s the ubiquitious portfolio of Hornall Anderson Design Works. Not to mention the design teams at Starbucks, a company that really understands the value of good design.
Seattle’s cultural landscape has been fueled most recently by Frank Gehry and his swirling, gleaming form know as the EMP. And of course, there’s the world-famous Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau with their sparkling geometric fragmentation known as the Seattle Public Library. City officials here have proven that they’re willing to weather controversial public opinion in order to sponsor innovative civic design.
Characteristic urban design is evident in the Space Needle and Monorail. Freeway Park also comes to mind, minus the homeless problem the city is struggling with there. This is an area that could use improvement, especially in terms of transportation design, but the city is working on it.
There are several design schools in the Seattle area, a few that are nationally-recognized: UW’s School of Architecture and Visual Communication Design programs, for example. There’s also Cornish, Seattle Art Institute, and the School of Visual Concepts (which operates one of the few letterpress studios in the area). I’m not sure any of these would be considered avant-garde, however. That description is reserved for the UW DXARTS (Digital Art and Experimental Media) program which garnered kudos from Seattle’s press last year for its cutting-edge work.
In terms of national recognition, there are many designers in Seattle on this level. In 2005, architect Tom Kundig was a finalist for a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Gensler’s Seattle office is consistently recognized for outstanding work in interior architecture and design. And who hasn’t played a fun game of Cranium? The creators of this popular game call Seattle their home, too.
For any civic leaders reading this article, Seattle has what it takes. I would encourage a UNESCO “City of Design” application. Bon chance!