Seoul hands the World Design Capital mantle over to Helsinki

The World Design Capital title was officially transferred to Helsinki on Wednesday, 8 December.

At a ceremony organised in Seoul and presided over by Oh Se-hoon, the Mayor of Seoul, the 2010 World Design Capital Seoul passed its title on to Helsinki. The president of The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), Mark Breitenberg, was also present at the ceremony.

As a symbol of assuming the WDC duties, Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti received a World Design Capital plaque that the cities will later display publicly. The Mayor of Helsinki, Jussi Pajunen, and the Mayor of Lahti, Jyrki Myllyvirta, were in Seoul to accept the plaque.

Prior to the ceremony, the guests took part in a conference that examined the results and effects on Seoul’s social, cultural and economic development during the city’s year as the World Design Capital. Through the use of design, Seoul is striving to reinvent itself as a new type of city – one that emphasises the quality and content of life and where the problems of, for example, population growth and traffic can be reliably solved.

Sustainable development, a high quality environment and engaging the population were central themes of Seoul’s World Design Capital year. The same themes will continue to be emphasised in Helsinki in 2012. In Seoul, the new Dongdaemun Design Plaza built in the city centre has emerged as the symbol of the WDC year. The plaza was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid.