World Design Capital Torino 2008

The World Design Capital project was launched with Turin (Torino) of Italy, which was designated as the World Design Capital 2008 to form a pilot programme.
 
Turin welcomed the designation as an important opportunity to come up with new ways to develop the city and the whole Piedmont (Piemonte) region. The region is characterized by a wide range of competencies in design, and a process is underway to transform Turin’s image from an industrial city to a European city. Development in the region is based on a combination of innovation and creativity, starting from a solid tradition of entrepreneurship and planning. Design is an important key to understanding this process of transformation.
 
Turin’s theme and common denominator in the events of the design year 2008 was Flexibility. This theme underscores the qualities that contemporary cities need as they are faced with continuous, deep and sudden changes affecting every facet of urban life.