New design and architecture event launches

A new festival, the first of its kind in Birmingham, is being planned to celebrate interior design and architecture in the city.

Design Quarter 2013 will take place on Thursday September 26 at St Paul’s Gallery in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, with additional fringe events taking place throughout the Jewellery Quarter.

The event will be an opportunity for Architects and Interior Designers to see the latest innovations and designs in the industry.  The event will include interactive workshops, and some great seminars from some of the most respected product designers in the industry.

Comments event director, Lynne Maynard of Eos Interiors: “Birmingham’s design community is a force to be reckoned with and is responsible for some of the most creative and unique interiors in Europe.  We think it’s time for Birmingham to hold an annual interior design event, giving all of us the opportunity to celebrate architecture and design in our city.”

The main venue for Design Quarter 2013 will be St Paul’s Gallery, which displays the largest collection of album cover art in the world.  On September 26 the art and music memorabilia will be joined by industry leading products from Humanscale, Bene, Royal Mosa, Camira, Interface, Vescom and Artemide.  There will also be a programme of events and a number of fringe activities taking place in the Jewellery Quarter.

Design Quarter 2013 is free to attend for anyone involved in architecture and design, who should register on the website. The website will be constantly updated with what’s going on and you can also follow developments on the Design Quarter 2013 twitter feed.

Event director, Lynne Maynard adds: “We are delighted to confirm that renowned product designers Pearson Lloyd will be speaking at the event. There will also be seminars from internationally renowned Swedish Architect, Per Nimer, and social Media Gurus, Wolfstar.”

Wouter Schuitemaker, Investment Director at inward investment programme, Business Birmingham, comments: “Hosting an event like Design Quarter 2013 demonstrates that Birmingham is an established national hub of design. The Jewellery Quarter – where, remarkably, 40% of all British jewellery is made – is a natural home for showcasing the creative industries’ innovation and originality.”

Peter Price from Artemide, comments: “As a brand that has design at its very core, Artemide is delighted to participate in Design Quarter 2013, an initiative that we strongly support, as we fully recognise Birmingham’s growing importance as an architecture and design hub.”

David Sellars, from Bene comments: “Bene understands that there is a clear connection between the design of office and working environments, company culture and the success of a company.  Bene’s concepts, products and services turn this philosophy into reality.

“We are looking forward to participation in the Design Quarter Event 2013 - a celebration of architecture and design in the city of Birmingham, providing a great opportunity to exchange with other manufacturers, designers and architects.”

Milan Cvetkovic, from Vescom, said: “Vescom are delighted to be participating at Design Quarter, the first event specifically developed for the A&D community in the West Midlands – a wonderful opportunity to bring together leading suppliers and specifiers in a marvellous venue.”