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| Dwell on Design | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dwell on Design |
| Genre | Design exhibition and trade show |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location | Los Angeles, California; formerly San Francisco |
| Country | United States |
| Organizer | Dwell Media |
Dwell on Design is an annual design exposition and trade fair focused on modern architecture, interior design, and product design. Founded as a platform linking practitioners, manufacturers, and the public, it brings together architects, designers, journalists, curators, institutions, and industry bodies. The event functions as a marketplace, conference, and exhibition hub that intersects architectural practice, industrial design, fabrication, and retail.
Dwell on Design began in 2005 amid the growth of contemporary design publishing and the rise of firms and institutions such as architect, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Shigeru Ban, Herzog & de Meuron, David Adjaye, Bjarke Ingels, and publications like Dwell itself, responding to movements represented by exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and events such as the Salone del Mobile. Early editions leaned on networks connecting designers associated with studios, galleries, and manufacturers including Herman Miller, Knoll, Vitra, IKEA, and smaller ateliers. Over time the exposition expanded programming inspired by precedents like the Cooper Hewitt, Design Miami/, New York Design Week, and the Chicago Architecture Biennial. The show adapted through economic cycles influenced by policy shifts such as those debated in state legislatures and municipal planning departments in California, and by changing corporate sponsorship models practiced by entities like Google, Apple Inc., Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and trade associations including the American Institute of Architects.
Programming typically includes keynote lectures, panel discussions, product launches, showrooms, and exhibitions featuring work by firms like OMA, SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), Gensler, Perkins and Will, Foster + Partners, and practitioners such as Philippe Starck, Michael Graves, Charles and Ray Eames estates, Patricia Urquiola, Marcel Wanders, and Tadao Ando. The agenda often mirrors curricula and discourses from institutions such as Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Yale School of Architecture, Princeton University School of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning, and professional groups like the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Society of Interior Designers. Specialized sessions have drawn representatives from retailers and manufacturers such as Design Within Reach, HAY, Vipp, and technology partners including Tesla, Inc., Sony Corporation, and Samsung Electronics. Workshops and maker sessions have featured fabrication techniques linked to labs like MIT Media Lab, Stanford d.school, Fab Lab, and museums such as the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Events have been staged in major convention centers and cultural venues tied to the design scenes of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the broader Southern California region, often occupying exhibition halls resembling those at the Los Angeles Convention Center as well as warehouses near districts like Arts District, Los Angeles, SoMa, and institutions such as The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and The Getty Center. Satellite programming has occurred at venues linked to universities and civic bodies including UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, USC School of Architecture, California College of the Arts, and municipal cultural departments. Logistic coordination mirrored large-scale fairs such as Milan Furniture Fair, Maison&Objet, and Frieze Art Fair, requiring partnerships with local chambers of commerce and tourism bureaus.
Highlighted exhibits have ranged from conceptual pavilions inspired by works at the Venice Biennale of Architecture to product retrospectives comparable to exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Modern, and the Design Museum (London). Installations have showcased prototypes by design studios and manufacturers including AIA San Francisco, Arup Group, Foster + Partners Research, Snøhetta, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), Kohn Pedersen Fox, and independent designers such as Neri&Hu, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, and Hella Jongerius. Collaborative exhibits have included sustainability-focused projects connected to initiatives like the LEED rating system, adaptive reuse case studies referencing work by John Lautner and Rudolph Schindler, and smart-home demonstrations featuring partners such as Nest Labs.
The primary organizer has been a design media company whose partnerships reflect relationships with publishers, trade associations, and corporate sponsors. Sponsors and partners over various editions have included major manufacturers and tech firms like Herman Miller, Knoll, IKEA, Samsung Electronics, Google, Apple Inc., Microsoft, Tesla, Inc., Adobe Inc., and media organizations such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian. Institutional collaborators have included the AIA (American Institute of Architects), Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, local arts councils, foundations like the Guggenheim Foundation, and academic programs from universities such as Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University, and University of California, Los Angeles.
Attendance figures have varied with venue size, industry cycles, and public interest, attracting professionals from architectural firms, product manufacturers, design studios, retailers, and journalists from outlets such as Architectural Digest, Dezeen, ArchDaily, Wallpaper*, and Metropolis. Coverage by mainstream media and trade press included features in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg L.P., and television segments on networks like PBS, CNN, and NBC News. Critics and commentators from journals and academic presses have compared the fair's marketplace dynamic to that of Salone del Mobile.Milano and Design Miami/, noting tensions between commerce and curation.
The event influenced product introductions, commission pipelines, and public awareness of contemporary architecture and design, intersecting with professional trajectories at firms such as Zaha Hadid Architects, Foster + Partners, SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), and independent studios that later exhibited internationally at venues like the Venice Biennale, Serpentine Galleries, and Tate Modern. Its legacy includes fostering collaborations between manufacturers and designers, contributing to career visibility for studios associated with schools like Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and influencing exhibition models used by museums including the Design Museum (London) and the Cooper Hewitt.
Category:Design exhibitions