Special

The general plan: to present design, make it accessible, and talk about it. The special plan: to broaden the notion of design. Alongside its many other functions, the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK sees itself as a space for experimentation with a ceiling that is built to be broken through. This applies in particular to the format Special, in which there is a cherished custom that unusual things will occur.

Special can be something that happens in an unexpected place. And Special is also when design reveals the dark history of the Northwest Station, when it tests its own limits toward art, or when it shares its work with computer programs. Special also enters the virtual realm, where it investigates how we present ourselves in video conferences.

But Special is also about daily life or, at least, when this is examined through the lens of DESIGN EVERYDAY: This year, the selection curated by Vandasye on behalf of the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK will once again focus our attention on the Austrian product design of the last twelve months – and visitors will also be able to take away a piece of DESIGN EVERYDAY for the very first time. This should be counterbalanced by a collectible design exhibition with the ominous title POSTAPOCALYPTIC KAFFEEHAUS.