“In design I have rediscovered my roots”
Immersed in the maelstrom of the world capital of design in Valencia, Vicent Martínez received Spaincontract with a
full agenda. This “pro-design activist” is experiencing an excellent moment after a long career marked by implementing
52
the business, cultural and social implementation of design. “When in the 60’s and 70’s we travelled to Scandinavian
or other European countries, we admired their cultural and social infrastructures that had been based on design
and we dreamed of joining that group. Now I believe that this dream can be achieved”..
2022 WDC Valencia, Valencian Design Foundation,
Hábitat Valencia, professional projects
... Excited?
The truth is that at this time, in the third act of
my professional and personal life, I did not expect
to be so busy and excited about the work
of the studio and the different events in which
I am involved.
2022 is around the corner. Do you think that
the World Design Capital is already assuming
a force for revitalization in the culture of design?
Are we witnessing a historic moment?
My opinion is that yes, it is a special and historical
moment, but I would say that, above
all, it is a moment of inflection and one for
projecting into the future the work that has
been collectively carried out for many years.
We have managed to shift the focus onto a Valencia
that has managed to become the 2022
World Capital of Design. And this has already
generated dynamization, enthusiasm and an
awareness of responsibility in the face of the
expectations that are being created.
From this event onwards, València will form
part of a cast of reference cities for design
culture, such as Turin in 2008, Seoul in 2010,
Helsinki in 2012, Cape Town in 2014, Taipe in
2016, Mexico City in 2018, Lille in 2020, and
like San Diego-Tijuana will be in 2024.
Now in 2022, València, and by extension the
entire Spanish design collective, will form
part, in the prepared program, of the international
imagination of design.
Years ago, the International Council of Industrial
Design Societies initiated the WDC project
to promote cities around the world, to recognize
and reward their achievements in the
field of design.
It should be noted that this achievement is
very choral and very transcendent. It has been
achieved thanks to a major collective effort.
Within it, almost everyone from the design environment,
business people, companies, schools
and universities, institutions and public administrations
have joined in. Excitement and a
collective passion for design have been the fuel
that has made possible this great revitaliza-
VICENT MARTÍNEZ
LITERATURA SELECTION
DISEÑO PARA PUNT MOBLES
WEAVE
DISEÑO PARA POINT. FOTO MONTSE GARRIGA