A 10 year quest to make Buenos Aires a Design City
It is not very usual in global cities to have a Design authority who cares for the promotion and education of the design culture applied to the productive areas as a tool for development and for the citizens well being. Buenos Aires does!
The Metropolitan Design Center (CMD) stands for an effective management of design with the main goal of making a better urban daily life for the city inhabitants.
Thus, within the Economic Development Ministry, CMD works to integrate design in the Buenos Aires’s enterprises and smaller companies as a motor of innovation and development, spreading the respect for the Environment, the convenience of Eco Design and sustainable proceedings, and the practice of a responsible and fair commerce.
Being a Design City
In 2005, regarding the great activity arround design, the way in which public policies stood for it, how much that helped in getting out of the 2001 crisis; and considering the strong frame of Buenos Aires creative past and legacy, UNESCO named Argentina´s capital the first Design City of a Global Alliance's Creative Cities Network. After Buenos Aires, Berlin and Montreal were appointed.
Economy and design
Between 2005 and 2007, the sector grew an average of 12.2% annually (in contrast with the 8.8% growth of the GDP) and generated foreign currency of USD 700 million in 2007 (about 40% increase compared to 2007, doubling the variation in all domestic exports). On the other hand, design impact is shown in many dimensions of business performance, such as invoicing, new markets opening, productivity and profitability. In the city of Buenos Aires the clothing, leather goods and footwear sectors (in their productive and trade segments), of great importance and design intensive demand, generated a turnover of about AR$10,828 in 2008, equivalent to 4.7% of the economy of the city as a whole and 3.5% considering only the productive segment. Such segment had in 2008 54,928 employees in the city, which represents 3.6% of the city´s employment.
THE METROPOLITAN DESIGN CENTER
Within the Economic Development Ministry of Buenos Aires City Government, CMD was founded in 2001 with the goal of dynamizing the productive net for a better life quality for the inhabitants through an effective managment of the different design disciplines.
Its mission is to be the main public promoter of the economic and cultural significance of relating design with industry.
Among its main goals, CMD seeks for:
- Support and stimulate private and public design initiatives that take place within the city of Buenos Aires
- Cooperate with the internationalization of the area;
- Close support to local entreprenneurs who aim to develop design driven companies through incubation and links to other organisms
- Cooperate in the expansion of a national design net with centers, isntitutions, NGO, etc
- Stimulate and coordinate the relationship between designers, entreprenneurs, executives, head hunters, directors of governing bodies;
- To elaborate, organize and spread useful knowhow for design management.
CMD is organized in five areas: Design Managment, IncuBA (incubators), Fashion Bureau, Metropolitan Institute of Design and Innovation (IMDI) and Architecture.
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CMD counts with a On its different areas, its building hosts: metropolitan areas of design promotion, creative industries and foreign trade, 70 offices for incubation projects; 1 auditorium for 250 persons; rooms and spaces for labs and workshops; |
PROGRAMMES
Design in the enterprises
Assistance to companies, focused on the need to introduce design on their production and on their business strategies.
Companies incubation
The goal is to support small companies during their start up. Along six editions, the programme incubated 94 companies in Buenos Aires city, elected among more than 600 candidates. From 2010 the programme changed to an incubator of incubators, with projetcs offered by other institutions.
Integranting the Future
Form 2008 seeks to led design, production, commerce and consume into sociallly and envinromentally responsible behaviour, through many and different activities as workshops, fairs, programmes.
Buenos Aires International Design Festival
Under the motto “Design for Everyone” the convocation for participating in the International Design Festival was opened to enterprises, professionals and institutions. This festival aims at boosting design as a competitive tool for enterprises, thus expanding the current perception of design applied only to exclusive and niche products towards an overall positive influence in the everyday lives of the citizens.
The first edition of the Design International Festival was held in October 2006 and brought together 150 designers from all disciplines, and it was visited by over 30,000 people.
“For the last few years there have been certain conditions which gave greater visibility to the design sector, especially in the city of Buenos Aires: the important growth of commercial corridors, particularly in Recoleta and Palermo, the increase of college tuitions and the spreading of new academic offers in the sector, UNESCO´s appointment of Buenos Aires as the first City of Design, just to name a few. With this new edition of the International Design Festival we consolidate our objectives and boost the industry worldwide” stated Enrique Avogadro, Buenos Aires Creative Industries and Foreign Trade Director.
Under the framework of Buenos Aires International Design Festival there will be exhibitions, conferences, installations, parades, launches, shows, debates, workshops, fairs, contests, urban circuits, among other activities. There will also be the “Summit of Design Cities” where the representatives of those cities appointed by UNESCO as cities of design will participate.
MANAGEMENT TOOLS
Internationalization
Together with the Foreign Commerce Direction, CMD gets involved in international fairs to explore new markets for local products and developments mercados permeables a desarrollos y productos locales. Wit visits to London, Berlin, Tokio and Medellin, emergent design cities are the privileged to get in touch with.
International and sectorial fairs
CMD has a constant institutional presence in the estrategic national and international fairs supporting companies of Buenos Aires city.
Research and promotion
CMD offers free access to its publications and dirctories as industry, design services and materiasl guides, as well as summeries of contents of its conferences.
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND TRAINING
Internacional CMD Conference
This Internation event is organized by CMD Friends Association. During four days, local and global personalities share their experience arround one appointed design theme and explore the advantages of it for enterprices and institutions to promote exchange among areas.
Design business
Methodology and tools ares offered to those willing to develop profitable business. Oriented to Design students on their last academic year, graduates and entreprenneurs.
Professional assistance
CMD offers a diagnosis of the company state to spot special points that could be nurtured by design incoporation in process and products.
Training in crafts
Leather working School
A partir de un proyecto conjunto de la CIMA (Cámara Industrial de las Manufacturas del Cuero de la República Argentina) y el CMD, se desarrolla una escuela de capacitación de mano de obra y un curso de especialización en cuero para diseñadores. Los primeros están dirigidos a gente desocupada que busca reinsertarse en el mercado laboral y el de especialización a diseñadores de indumentaria, industriales y textiles.
Furriery School
Workshops on furr made objets and wear to unemployed people who seeks for craft knowledge within the fashion market.
Sewing networks
Paz Foundation and CMD offer training in the different crafts and trades of fashoin industry. Destined to unemployed people who seeks for a trade to enter the fashion market value chain.
BUENOS AIRES DESIGN CITY
In 2005, UNESCO appointed Buenos Aires as its first global Design City in the frame of the programme Creative Cities Network for the Cultural Diversity. Being the main reasons to be the first city to receive this recognition, its strong public encouragement and private action to incorporate design into industry.
Barracas. It is the name of the neighborhood where CMD is located. This area has been historically linked to indsutry and heavy work since the beginning of XX Century. The Fish Market, a central reference of the neighborhood identity, was the point where all the fish was received, from 1934 till 1982. CMD is located in the old predium of the former Market and its central Building. It has been recicled with the project of Architect Gastón Flores, who won a public contest. In 2007, the Parliament of Buenos Aires City declared the CMD Building area as Historical Protected Area.
CIDIDI. The Labs of Center of Investigation, Development, Innovation and Design in Engeniering are focused on the development of metalmechanic industry. The project is a result of the cooperation among the City, Buenos Aires University Faculty of Enginering (FIUBA) and the Argentine Metalmechanic Industry Asociation. (ADIMRA).
Design District Project. CMD location on a urban industrial area that is going through a gentrification process, next to Riachuelo (the River), the project seeks to establish a Design District in the area, and thus cooperate with the development of the South Area of Buenos Aires City, consolidating the stataus that UNESCO gave to Buenos Aires when declaring it its first global Design City. The projetc also contemplates the settlement of design companies and enterprices in this area of the city.
