Designmai 2006 - International Designfestival Berlin May 17, 2006

DESIGNMAI 2006
International design festival Berlin
May 18 ? 21, 2006

Focal topic: DESIGNCITY

From May 18 to May 21, 2006 Berlin will host the fourth international DESIGNMAI
festival. Once again, the city will be transformed into the focus of the
international design scene with its many events providing an insight into current
design trends. For 2006, we have a special concept in mind for the festival: most
events will be held on the roughly 9,000 sq m of the former Gleisdreieck railway
station that served the track to Dresden. DESIGNMAI 2006 will concentrate
particularly on the interface between design, architecture and urbanism alongside
the role designers play in city design and planning ? in keeping with the focal
topic: DESIGNCITY.

The City of Berlin has been officially declared the UNESCO ?City of Design? ? the
only metropolis to receive the distinction alongside Buenos Aires. Without doubt,
DESIGNMAI contributed greatly to the city?s receiving this distinction; after all, each
year the festival truly does transform Berlin into a ?City of Design?. And this will be
the case once again in May 2006 ? thanks to the many exhibitions, discussion events
the presentation of a design award, and countless other events that make up
DESIGNMAI. As the focal topic suggests, DESIGNMAI will examine the relationship
between design and the city ? a fitting subject given the city?s distinction by
UNESCO. In 2006, DESIGNMAI will be dishing up two innovations: apart from
concentrating on a central venue, the festival will be shortened to just five days. This
will make it a more intense experience, and be more convenient for visitors traveling
in from abroad.

In 2006, a wide range of highly diverse examples and cities will serve to explore the
DESIGNCITY focal theme: from marketing cities as design locations via urban design
and guidance systems, façade design, advertising and public spaces, through to
product and project ideas for the urban nomad, not to mention pressing social issues
and urban wastelands. As the venue of DESIGNMAI, Berlin perfectly illustrates how
designers? actions and interventions can influence a city?s development.

A major component of the focal theme will be the creation of a temporary
DESIGNCITY at the DESIGNMAI FORUM in the buildings at Gleisdreieck. Here,
individual contributions by participants and partners will portray a city?s wideranging functions and locations. This large-scale exhibition will include highly
diverse contributions ranging from the participating designers? new products via
presentations by agencies and manufacturers through to presentations by design
schools, not to mention artists and architects with an affinity to design. Connections
to the city of Berlin but also crossovers to the development of cities in the 21st
century will be addressed through workshops, discussions, films and so on.

The DESIGNMAI AUDITORIUM will serve as a forum for discussions related to the
DESIGNMAI topic and a place for associated lectures and conferences by festival
partners. An integral feature of the festival, the panel discussion about shelter
architecture ?Build or Die? provides a platform for international experts from various
disciplines to discuss one important aspect of the focal topic. Further major events
will be located at the DESIGNMAI FORUM in 2006. These include part of the
DESIGNMAI YOUNGSTERS exhibition, which in previous years proved enormously
success amongst visitors and press. This year, we not only seek to make the festival
a more intense experience but also a more enjoyable one by catering to visitors?
needs. To this end, the DESIGNMAI FORUM will also provide a central information
counter, a press office, drink and food stands, not to mention a library with
publications and journals on the festival?s focal topic and other relevant design
topics.

DESIGNMAI 2006

Date: May 18 to May 21, 2006
Press conference and opening: May 17, 2006
Venue: Buildings of the former Dresdner railway station am Gleisdreieck,
Luckenwalder Straße 4 ? 5, U-Bahnhof Gleisdreieck
Website: www.designmai.de

Contact:

Transform-Berlin e.V. Press inquiries / Sponsoring:
Geschäftsstelle ANGELIS UND THIELE PR
Swantje Neumann konzepte für design und architektur
Bergstraße 69, D-10115 Berlin Bergstraße 69, D-10115 Berlin
T +49 30 505 63 539 T +49 30 505 63 539
F +49 30 280 94 067 F +49 30 280 94 067
[email protected] [email protected]