The Wuhan “Design Day” event kicked off at People’s Paradise on November 1. Under the guidance of the China National Commission for UNESCO, the event was hosted by the Wuhan Municipal People’s Government, and jointly organized by the Municipal Natural Resources and Urban Rural Development Bureau and the Jianghan District People’s Government. During the opening ceremony, the highly anticipated results of the 4th International Street Design Challenge were officially unveiled. Jianghan University earned the Best Conceptual Design Award for the exceptional design by six graduate students, namely Zhang Pufang, Zheng Ziyang, Shen Junpei, Han Ziming, Guo Wanjing, and Wei Jia, and their mentor, associate professor Wang Yunlong from the School of Design.
Since its inception in 2021 by the design capitals of Curitiba (Brazil), Queretaro (Mexico), and Wuhan (China), the International Street Design Challenge has successfully concluded three editions as a prestigious global event within UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. This activity has become a pivotal platform, facilitating the integration of Wuhan university resources into the city’s construction endeavors as a design capital, bolstering Wuhan’s international standing, and harnessing international resources to fuel the advancement of design education in Wuhan universities
The theme of this challenge is “Creative Community Market: Local Innovation Activates Streets,” delving extensively into the core role of public markets across various dimensions. This year, 16 teams from 9 local universities participated. Following a rigorous selection, JHU, alongside Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology, Brazil’s Federal Institute of Technology, and Mexico’s National Polytechnic Institute, emerged victorious in four distinct categories: conceptual design, urban design, visual design, and the best comprehensive design. This triumph not only acknowledges the relentless efforts of the team but also signifies an international recognition of JHU’s design education.
JHU’s team tailored a plan for Queretaro, Mexico, by employing its ethnic traits as the foundational concept for designing the project’s interface. The street underwent a transformation to become a lively market, not only as a hub for selling locally crafted and designed, handmade goods but also as a forum for addressing societal concerns within the community. This transforming blueprint offers creative impetus for urban rejuvenation and showcases the appeal of the Street Design Challenge.
