Beijing Design Week focuses on Barcelona with manifold exhibitions, conferences and activities

Barcelona (ACN).- The Chinese and Catalan capitals will come together during the Beijing Design Week (BJDW), to be held between the 26^th of September and the 3^rd of October . The city of Beijing will host the international exhibition, and will dedicate 8 spaces to Barcelona, which is this year's guest city. The largest space focusing on the Catalan capital will be 79 Tank, a pavilion of 3,500 square metres housed in an old gas tank. Within this venue, a wide range of objects, institutions and design facilities will be housed, representing the city of Barcelona. In addition, 3 projects emphasizing alternative creations in Barcelona will be presented in the neighbourhood of Beijing known as the Dashilar District. In the world of design, this is an event of huge significance, attracting top designers and architects from all around the globe. Last year, nearly 5 million people attended the BJDW exhibition, which focused on the architecture of Amsterdam, while in the years before the focus was Milan (2012) and London (2011). This makes Barcelona the 4^th largest and latest invite to the Beijing Design Week. The Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, has referred to the event as a “very ambitious project” and a “great opportunity to exchange ideas and projects” between the Chinese and Catalan capitals. Such an ambitious project necessitates great organisation, according to Trias, it was thanks to “extraordinary cooperation” between the City Council of Barcelona, and the Ramon Llull Institute, the public body dedicated to promoting Catalan language and culture abroad.

79 Tank

79 Tank will be the Barcelona Pavilion, a 3,500 square metre exhibition space in an old gas tank in Beijing, which will host a show on design in the future, presenting the Catalan capital as an ecosystem of design and creativity. The show will include a range of styles through 30 objects representing the current city of Barcelona. On the most futuristic end of the scale, Project BBMADE will build a structure using only 3D printed elements, and using laser technology, a project from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

The Dashilar District

One of the oldest neighbourhoods of Beijing, the Dashilir District, will be home to the most innovative designs of Barcelona during this week. It will showcase three projects to be presented along the streets, including ´House of Barcelona´, which will display 15 small exhibitions representing the creative DNA of the city; ´Allioli´ a series of activities/works exploring the boundaries between design and other disciplines, and ´Meet the Twin´, a discussion between 5 design studios of Barcelona.

The Horse of Barcelona

This cultural and artistic exchange between the cities of Barcelona and Beijing will be symbolised by a large metal horse, built by the Catalan theatre company Antigua i Barbuda. The automaton horse was already displayed at the Three Wise Men parade, an enormous traditional procession that takes place each year on the 5^th of January in the honour of the Three Kings who brought presents to Jesus Christ. According to the Catalan tradition, each 5^th of January the Three wise Men visit each home and leave presents for the children, who find them on the 6^th in the morning. The Magic Horse will be showcased in various locations throughout Beijing for 10 days, and be seen in 14 travelling shows accompanied by music and dancing.

This exhibition will further strengthen Barcelona´s relationship with Beijing, as was stressed by Ferran Mascarell, Catalan Minister of Culture. Mascarell confirmed the "persistent work" of Catalan institutions to "create a presence" in the Chinese capital over the past few years.