OPEN CALL| Seats of Understanding: 15th edition of its International Design Contest

The Trieste Contemporanea Committee is pleased to announce the 15th edition of its International Design Contest. Participation is open, without charge, to professionals from Central Eastern Europe. Besides the Award Ceremony for the winning designs, a number of projects selected by the panel of judges will be exhibited at Trieste Contemporanea and an exhibition catalogue will be published online.

The winners will have their Trieste Award Ceremony travel and accommodation expenses covered by the organizing Committee.

Trieste Contemporanea, a contemporary art hub of research and dissemination in Central Eastern Europe, is excited to announce the latest edition of its international design competition, which this year is unique because it runs in unison with the EU Slovenia-Italy cross-border project for Nova Gorica and Gorizia, designated European Capital of Culture (ECoC) in 2025. In preparing the ECoC event, organizing bodies from the two cities (which form one continuous urban area on the border) declare to “share the same commitment: being the European Capital of Borderless Culture”.

So, the competition is an initiative towards the “GO! 2025—Nova Gorica and Gorizia European Capital of Culture 2025” event, and produced by the Trieste Contemporanea Committee with the support of the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia and in collaboration with the Central European Initiative (CEI), which has provided for one of its main prizes since 2006, and the Studio Tommaseo in Trieste.

Eligibility
The competition is open to designers, of any age, born in the following countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.

15th edition theme
This edition of the competition seeks a potentially iconic item of street furniture that could represent symbolic meanings linked to historical location of Nova Gorica/Gorizia, and the sharing of cultural values.
Street furniture is more than just a functional tool, it embodies social values and community action. As such, does it have the potential to also influence and shape those values and action? What can be sustainably transmitted in this location, at this point in time, through urban design to future citizens?

The contestant should design a seating installation (e.g. a bench) with the above concept and sentiments and of course for resting, viewing the panorama and socializing. The designed street furniture must be absorbed into the daily social life of the cities and should be designed merging functionality, formal simplicity, comfort, durability and minimal maintenance. It should be reproducible in a small series.

In the image details of some designs from latest editions: F. Gigone – A. Gigliotti (2012); D. Ljubić – K. Čendak (2014); D. Uhlíř (2016); J. Landsiedl (2018); O. Vereshchagin (2021)