Caixa supports design
Design plays a key role in all our lives. It is a creative discipline that has long contributed to making daily life simpler, more functional and more harmonious in the extensive contacts and interactions we have with the various objects, spaces, messages and environments that are part of our day-to-day lives.
From simple objects used during the first meal of the day to the two- or four-wheeled vehicles that transport us to our workplace, to the chair on which we sat when we arrived at the office, to the catalogue we leafed through at the exhibition that we visited late in the afternoon, after all the advertisements were paraded before our eyes while we negotiated the traffic in the stunning design of streets and intersections in our city.
We use hundreds of objects and travel through dozens of spaces during the day which have to allow us to perform a range of functions in a natural way.
In all this, the process of designing the object and the space, even its appearance, is vitally important, combining form and function so that we make our lives easier and, at the same time, we can involve ourselves emotionally.
Design is a fascinating subject and an indispensable part of our culture. The designer creates and brings value, incorporating social and economic concerns, a global view of the world and what surrounds it into the creative process, interacting with other creators and with nature, absorbing what is happening around them and anticipating trends in behaviours and habits in order to achieve a result that provides human beings with a better life.
Caixa assumes the role of the design bank, supporting creativity, innovation and the creation of value in the certainty that the world and our daily lives depend on the contribution that the creative vision of the designer, and the result of their thinking and creativity, generate.
Design Contest
The design contest falls within the scope of CGD’s social and environmental responsibility policies, its main objective being to contribute to the preservation of natural resources through the promotion and facilitation of alternative design and production through Eco Design.
The main concept of the Design Contest boils down to the slogan “Making the Old New”. And in keeping with this slogan, the themes of the Contest require the use of recycled and/or recyclable materials, stimulating among contest participants an awareness and knowledge about the problem of waste, recycling and incorporation within the production cycle. On the other hand, the pieces developed for the contest must embody social, environmental, economic, educational and civic concerns.
The 1st Caixa Geral de Depósitos Design Contest was held during the academic year 2007-2008, and was targeted at higher education students of Architecture, Design and Equipment Design. The challenge was based on designing and creating pieces of indoor furniture with materials garnered from Recycling Triage Areas. The initiative was very successful, not only among students and Higher Education Institutions but also through the new partnerships forged, which have been following this challenge until today.
In 2009, the 2nd Design Contest maintained the theme and the entire structure outlined in the previous year. The innovation introduced to this contest was a Seminar held for students, thus providing new learning and/or consolidation of knowledge about the issues in question. The Seminar involved the Jury of the Contest, whose academic, personal and professional experience added value to the dialogue with students and the drive| encouragement for participation.
The 3rd Design Contest followed the academic year 2010-2011 and the expounded Urban Equipment in the categories “Furniture for Green Spaces”, “Public Lighting” and “Communication Systems”. The development of the theme was in line with the projects that CGD has been developing.
Cities or urban systems are environments in which the balance between Space and Man is paramount, and the urban setting must conform to that which is both functional and aesthetically comfortable, without neglecting the social, technological and economic approach.
It is through the path that Caixa has been following in these areas that the new theme emerged for this year's contest. The other change in relation to the earlier contests is the fact that it is intended, exclusively, for students of Design. The composition of the jury has also been broadened, with the inclusion of figures from the area of Urban Planning.
The 3rd Design Contest also included the Seminar, with the participation of members of the Jury, affording students the opportunity to ask questions, seek clarification and absorb the enriching experiences passed on, not only by the jury, but also by the winners of previous contests.
The Design Contests have always stimulated the participation and interest of the many students who enter and the Higher Education Institutions that promote this CGD contest, including it into the curricula of the respective academic year. After the formalisation of applications, the Contest has, until its closure, two important moments: 1 – Meeting of the students selected for the 2nd phase with the Jury, and 2 – Final Ceremony, where prizes are awarded to the finalists with the subsequent inauguration of the Exhibition of the finalists’ pieces.
More information is available in Portuguese at: http://www.cgd.pt/Institucional/Sustentabilidade/Cidades-Desenvolvimento/Caixa-Banco-Design/Pages/Caixa-Banco-Design.aspx
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