Design week goes Dutch in Beijing

Beijing Design Week will kick off on Thursday, with Florentijn Hofman's Rubber Duck landing in waters of the Summer Palace from Beijing's Garden Expo Park.

As one of the main attractions of the week, the Rubber Duck will continue to wow Beijing citizens. It also shows a unique modern design from Hofman's native Amsterdam - the guest city of the capital's design week.

The event invites a foreign city to present the city's design sensibilities to Beijing citizens each year.

Named "Design Goes Dutch" in BJDW, the Netherlands section features an exhibition of works by Marcel Wanders and Benthem Crouwel at the Capital Museum. It features Wanders' creative chairs, and Crouwel's five recent architectural projects. This is a small preview of an upcoming grand 2014 exhibition of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, a leading modern contemporary art and design museum in the Netherlands.

Starting Something, another exhibition at L Building, 751 D Park in Beijing, is about youngsters of the two cities. It will feature works from alumni of Sandberg Institute of Amsterdam, and students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

This show will also feature something of the e-world. Made by Us, a project consisting of an exhibition and a two-day workshop with Dutch and Chinese experts, will provide works in the fields of e-culture, design, architecture and planning. New media artist Sander Veenhof and the game studio Monobanda will take part in it.

In the world of fashion, well-known Dutch designer Alexander van Slobbe will coach students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. Under van Slobbe's guidance, the students will make garments that have a touch of Holland. These modern chic creations will be shown to the public at the ancient Beijing Temple of Confucius and Imperial College Museum.

Amsterdam's mayor, Eberhard van der Laan, will pay an official visit to Beijing, with a delegation from the Dutch city's design, commerce and culture sectors, according to Zeng Hui, vice-director of the Beijing event's committee.

In 2011, London was invited to show chic and modern British design, and in 2012, Milan presented the latest in Italian fashion, furniture and art.

Continuing through Oct 3, BJDW features more than 200 events during the week, including seminars, ceremonies, shows and exhibitions. It covers many design fields, including fashion, furniture, architecture, home decor and art.

Unlike previous years, BJDW will closely connect with commerce this time, according to Zeng.

The event used to be limited to locations like 751 D Park and the China Millennium Monument. This year it expands to commercial centers like trendy shopping malls Taikoo Li and Indigo. It will also go to Dashila, a century-old shopping street.

gentian@chinadaily.com.cn