2018 Taiwan Design Expo will have its grand opening in Taichung Culture and Creative Industries Park on August 15. This year’s theme of the Expo is “Soft v.s Hard – Reimagining the Future of Industries.” 10 national and international exhibitors are invited to participate, and the Expo include 8 exhibition areas and 2 special exhibitions with about a total of 700 exhibits from 14 different countries. Through the conversation between “Soft” and “Hard” and the idea of “Future” weaving through, multiple aspects, such as digital technology, smart materials, professional crafts, and city design, are presented in the exhibition. The Expo will end on September 16. Everyone is invited to explore the features of Taichung cities with soft power and hard foundations.

2018 Taiwan Design Expo pre-exhibition press conference was held today (August 9) in Taichung City Hall. Mr. Zijiao Huang, who is interested in design, music, and arts, is invited to be the host of the press conference and makes it a great opening for the Expo. Taichung City Mayor, Chia-Lung Lin, attended the press conference accompanied by Director of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Chih-Cheng Wang, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ming-Hsin Kung, Expo chief organizer, Mr. Loewy , and other well-known designers including Chia-Ling Liao, Ming-Dao Lee, Yu-Run Zhou, and Chang-Rui Lin to the opening ceremony and announced that 2018 Taiwan Design Expo begins officially.

Mayor Lin said that designing is not only to satisfy our needs for life functionally but also to provide a better life experience for everyone. Taichung has Gaomei Wetlands and Park Lane that enrich our living space. In the city, there are some landmark buildings, such as the National Taichung Theater designed by Toyo Ito and Asia University Museum of Modern Art designed by Tadao Ando. Taichung Green Museumbrary designed by Kazuyo Sejima will be added soon in the future. Taichung City is just like the theme of this year’s Expo, “Soft v.s Hard,” and becoming a rising city with a good combination of soft power and hardware.

Mayor Lin also took the Central District’s Shin Sei Green Waterway that was recently dredged as an example. After the dredging of the Green Waterway, not only does the city landscape change, but also people start to visit the Central District again, which is an exemplary case to show how design changes a city.

Mayor Lin further explained that as the host city for this years’ Taiwan Design Expo, Taichung City is going to show the unique soft power and hardware as well as presenting the representative displaying Taichung design spirit, “99+1.” The part of “+1” is defined by the Expo audience who can choose an exhibit that best represents Taichung. This year’s Expo is the longest in the Expo history. It is hoped that through connecting the Expo with World Flora Exposition that will be hosted by Taichung at the end of this year, Taichung City can share its people-oriented and life-centered spirit of city design with the whole world.

In addition, Mayor Lin also stressed that Taichung City is striving to host 2022 The World Design Capital and looking forward to continuously connecting design with life and aiming for the goal of “Creative City, Living Capital” step by step.

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mr. Kung remarked that every year, Taiwan Design Expo decides its theme in accordance with the characteristics of the host city. The difference between Taichung City and other cities lies in that it is a very young city where there are a lot of possibilities. The theme of this year’s Expo, “Soft v.s Hard: Reimagining the Future of Industries” integrates the characteristic of Taichung City which is recently assigned by the central government as a smart machinery city. By presenting the humane and soft side of the hard and cold machinery through design and organizing an “International Exhibition Hall” to present design images of 10 cities around the world, the Expo connects with the local, envisions the future, and goes international.

Taichung City Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau stated that this Expo invites the Design Director of Scandinavian Design Consultant Co., Ltd. Mr. Loewy to be the Chief Organizer. Along with other well-known designers including Chia-Ling Liao, Ming-Dao Lee, Yu-Run Zhou, and Chang-Rui Lin, the designer-organizer team plans three main theme halls, “Taichung SPIRIT Hall,” “Taichung LIFE Hall,” and “Taichung FUSION Hall,” in Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park on the basis of the “Design for LIFE” spirit. National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute cooperates Miaoli, Nantou, and Changhua to plan “A String of Art Hall” to showcase the craftsmanship of central Taiwan. Moreover, the “International Exhibition Hall” curated by an active Asian talented designer, Wei-Yian Shao, will again present design images of 10 cities around the world.

In addition to including 8 major exhibition halls and “Food Selection Store” in the Expo park, Taichung City Government also plans a wealth of peripheral activities, including the “Taichung Design Lab” that is a space for design thinking and design experiment and comprises of 5 experienced designers and 40 young designers that are invited by Taichung City Government to participate, “Excellent Shop” Tour with 50 special stores in Taichung, “Celebrity Seminar” with 10 esteemed design master speakers, and “Weekend Event” that gathers 32 street art groups.

What’s more, Fengyuan Huludun Cultural Center and Tungshih Hakka Museum also host 2 special exhibitions with the themes of wood lacquer arts to showcase Taichung’s traditional crafts and old fashion special exhibition to explore Taichung’s top three old-fashioned phenomena respectively. People can take shuttles that run 3 times a day to visit the satellite exhibition areas. For more information about 2018 Taiwan Design Expo, please visit the official website or Facebook fan page .