Chimera Reading Salon．New Urban Perspectives | Cities and Design

Introduction

“Chimera Reading Salon．New Urban Perspectives” continues the spirit of The Chimera Group, a transdisciplinary arts society founded in the 1950s by Wang Da-Hong, who often invited artists for cultural gatherings at his home. This event began with “architecture” and gradually expanded to performing arts, art, literature, photography, and review, recreating the free and open transdisciplinary communication at Wang’s home. With “city” at its core, the first series invites Professor Chih-Hung Wang from the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning at National Taiwan University, and a special guest to explore new perspectives on urban space and culture through six of his translated books on the subject. The first lecture, “Cities and Design,” will be based on the book Cities and Design, which will lead participants to an in-depth discussion through an introductory reading by Wang and a sharing by special guest Chi-Rong Sun.

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Cities and Design

Good design for a good life, a good life for a good city.

Cities were originally products of the manufacturing era, yet they have been thoroughly reshaped according to the image of a consumer society. Competitive spending among affluent households has reinforced the paramount importance of style and design across all domains. The rise of design as a profession, coupled with its rapid expansion in scale, reflects unique geographical characteristics. Moreover, we observe that the design industry predominantly settles in cities most closely connected to the service systems of key global enterprises. Design and cities are inextricably linked.

This book examines the intricate relationship between design and the city through a social science lens, exploring design within the economic and cultural contexts of contemporary cities. It first traces the intellectual origins of urban design, offering a critical assessment of the design profession’s imprint and efficacy in shaping the urban environment. It examines design’s role within the material culture of contemporary cities and analyzes the complex interplay among designers, producers, and distributors in contemporary cities, such as New York’s fashion and graphic design; London’s architecture, fashion, and publishing; Milan’'s furniture, industrial design, interior design, and fashion; Paris’s haute couture, among others.

The year 2006 marked a pivotal moment when over half the world’s population resided in cities. Cities became the stage for design, design services, and the “emotional” connections tied to design. Conversely, design has evolved into the starting point for marketing cities—a current political highlight in Taiwan.