Designated every two years, World Design Capital is a year-long promotion by the World Design Organization to showcase the accomplishments of cities effectively using design to improve the lives of their citizens.

With previous WDC designations in Torino (2008), Seoul (2010), Helsinki (2012), Cape Town (2014), Taipei (2016), Mexico City (2018) and Lille Métropole (2020), these cities already had design in their soul, and through their WDC year each city showed the world how design impacts quality of life. All these cities have gone on to become even more prominent design hubs, continuing to communicate the importance of design long after the initial designation year.

© Ron Bernthal

For València, this sun-splashed Spanish city on the Mediterranean was already the site of The City of Arts and Sciences, one of the largest scientific and cultural complexes in Europe, designed by noted architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela. The City of Arts and Sciences is situated in a 1.2-mile-long area along the old Turia riverbed, and is composed of six elements: Hemisfèric, IMAX Cinema and digital films; Umbracle, a landscaped vantage point; Príncipe Felipe Science Museum, an innovative interactive science center; Oceanogràfic, Europe’s largest aquarium with more than 500 marine species,; Reina Sofía Palace of the Arts; and Ágora, a multipurpose space in which concerts and other activities take place.

The program for València’s WDC 2022 includes 100 events that will cover all disciplines of design, turning the entire city into an even more colorful and vibrant beach city, where visitors in 2022 can see, eat and touch design every day.