15th International Design Contest Trieste Contemporanea

The Trieste Contemporanea Committee announces the 15th edition of the International Design Contest Trieste Contemporanea with the aim of showcasing the most original contemporary design offerings from the countries of Central Eastern Europe. The competition is a biennial event established in 1995 by the Italian scholar of aesthetics and design Gillo Dorfles.

art. 1 – PREMISES
The 15th edition of the contest runs in unison with the EU Slovenia-Italy cross-border project for Nova Gorica and Gorizia,
designated European Capital of Culture (ECoC) in 2025. In preparing the ECoC event, organising bodies from the two
cities (which form one continuous urban area on the border) declare to “share the same commitment: being the European
Capital of Borderless Culture”.
So, the competition is an initiative towards the “GO! 2025 – Nova Gorica and Gorizia European Capital of Culture 2025”
event, and produced by the Trieste Contemporanea Committee with the support of the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is carried out under the patronage of the Central European Initiative, which also has provided for one of its main prizes since 2006, and in collaboration with the Studio Tommaseo in Trieste.

art. 2 – THEME
This edition of the competition seeks a potentially iconic item of street furniture that could represent symbolic meanings linked to historical location of Nova Gorica/Gorizia, and the sharing of cultural values. Street furniture is more than just a functional tool, it embodies social values and community action. As such, does it have the potential to also influence and shape those values and action?
What can be sustainably transmitted in this location, at this point in time, through urban design to future citizens?
The contestant should design a seating installation (e.g. a bench) with the above concept and sentiments and of course for resting, viewing the panorama and socializing. The designed street furniture must be absorbed into the daily social life of the cities and has to be designed merging functionality, formal simplicity, comfort, durability and minimal maintenance. It should be reproducible in a small series.
The object of the study could possibly be placed both in the city of Nova Gorica and in that of Gorizia (at least two places in
the two cities have to be foreseen in the project) and embody the ideal union of the two cities during GO! 2025 event, as well
as future testimony to this ECoC 2025 and its values.
To support preliminary project studies, two webinars and a study visit to Nova Gorica and Gorizia will be organised for contestants. Dates and details will be provided on the website.

art. 3 – TERMS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION
Participation in the competition is free.
There is no age limit.
Individuals and groups can participate in the competition.
The competition is open to designers born in CEI member states (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia and
Ukraine). In view of the enlarged territorial aspects, the 15th edition of the contest has been extended to include designers
born in Austria. All group members must be born in the countries listed above.
Groups, group members and individuals can only submit one project.
Submissions must be original and previously unpublished and do not infringe, for any reason, the rights of any third party.
Contestants should apply using the online form on the www.triestecontemporanea.it website.
The projects must be submitted by May 12, 2024, at 11:59 pm, CET.
All material requested should be written in English and included in the online application. Applications that are incomplete, late, not submitted online or that do not respect the formats and sizes (specified on the online form) will not be accepted.

art. 4 – MATERIALS TO SUBMIT
Every participant entering the competition should mandatorily submit the following documents:

A copy of the Identification Document of the individual candidate/group leader (with place of birth) _ pdf or jpg file.
Groups wishing to participate should fill out the application form with the name of the group leader and list the names, countries and dates of birth of the other group members (if a selected or winning project is by a group and not an individual, copies of IDs of all group members will be requested).
The project of the original design object conceived for the competition, containing all the information required for its production and its eventual site-location in the two GO! 2025 cities _ pdf file, max 5 MB.
An account describing the concept behind the new design object, including a detailed rationale of all design and production choices (together with the explanation of their symbolic roots linked to the history, culture and sentiments of the two GO! 2025 cities) _ max 2500 characters.
Candidate’s descriptive CV text _ max 1500 characters

art. 5 – SELECTED PROJECTS AND AWARDS

The works selected by the jury will be exhibited in Trieste and published in an online catalogue on the Trieste Contemporanea website.
BEBA PRIZE – for the youngest designer individually participating, among those selected: 1.000 €.
CEI PRIZE – for the best design from one of the non-EU CEI countries: 3.000 €.
GILLO DORFLES PRIZE / FIRST PRIZE TRIESTE
CONTEMPORANEA – for 15th contest edition best design: 4.000 €.
Also, the winning project will be presented by Trieste Contemporanea to the “GO! 2025” organising bodies: should they decide on its subsequent realization, the winner will be informed of this and the full details of the production and event in due time.

This edition of the competition seeks a potentially iconic item of street furniture that could represent symbolic meanings linked to historical location of Nova Gorica/Gorizia, and the sharing of cultural values.

The contestant should design a seating installation (e.g. a bench) with the above concept and sentiments and of course for resting, viewing the panorama and socializing. The object of the study could possibly be placed both in the city of Nova Gorica and in that of Gorizia (at least two places inthe two cities have to be foreseen in the project) and embody the ideal union of the two cities during GO! 2025 event, as well as future testimony to this ECoC 2025 and its values.