About

Inspiring events initiated during last seven years of intense collaboration between University of Sarajevo and Dutch Universities, Urban Planners, Architects and Designers about the future of cities, architecture, product design and the role of creative and production industries in the sustainability agenda of the 21st century, resulted in the number of international workshops, debates, international design studios, book publications and presentations worldwide. Although these events were firstly initiated on the line between Sarajevo, Amsterdam, Delft and Enschede, in the course of time the network has been extended to a much greater number of experts and students from countries all over the world (including Turkey, Croatia, Japan, Belgium, UK, Italy, Austria, etc).

The initiator of the green design festival dr. Elma Durmisevic integrated developed international network and knowledge in the field of green design into a unique multidisciplinary, multilayered and creative event that will position Sarajevo as a centre for debate, development and application of green design principals and technologies in the future. Sarajevo Green Design Festival has become a broad platform for: collaboration between creative and production industries; knowledge transfer through workshops with students; and exchange of ideas on different scales of design though international lectures, debates and exhibitions.
Besides, the event has become a platform for the promotion of innovative ideas as for example the first B&H electric car, presentation of the first B&H national report on climate change, book presentation on B&H architecture in last 15 years, promotion of Eco /slow food concept, but also a platform for business to business meetings between international investors and local green industries organized by Dutch Embassy.

Spinoffs form the last year’s event are already visible through:

– Development of a new master program at the University of Sarajevo that will provide sustainable support to the industries and educate new designers and professionals that will be implementing green design principles;

– Joint works of students from the Faculty of Architecture at University of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Faculty of Engineering Technologies (University of Twente, The Netherlands), The Faculty of Architecture (Yldiz University, Turkey) with the Dutch construction industry on the development of experimental Green Building Lab that will be built on the campus of the University of Twente in the Netherlands;

– Drafting of the guidelines for the development based on the expertise form the last year’s event.

Sarajevo Green Design Festival with its unique multidisciplinary and integrated approach, including its side events and projects, positions Sarajevo as a leader in the debate and green design development in the region.

At the times of global climate crises and when natural materials supplies are gradually depleting and becoming increasingly expensive the durability of products is becoming a major issue. Issues as lovability, adaptability, reuse and recycling are critical to the product value in the future. In other words effective use of materials through the intelligent and good quality design is a receipt for sustainability. Gradually, the business focus of product manufacturing should be switched from the production of tones of material to the design of its end performance. This is where design and manufacturing need to join their forces.
Sarajevo Green Design Festival involves all scales of design from urban scale to product scale. Number of exhibitions, lectures, panel discussions and workshops will be organised that will address the state of the art in green design and dilemmas that product-design, interior, graphic design, multimedia, architecture and urban design are facing in the 21st century.

Green Design 2009

The first Sarajevo Green Design Event was organized last year as a part of Sarajevo Design Week initiated by the Academic Club of B&H Scientist and Artists in the Netherlands (NAUK). Because of the great interest in the subject of green design and immense support by knowledge institutions and Canton Sarajevo this year’s event has evolved into Sarajevo Green Design Festival.
The idea to organize a broader design event, Sarajevo Design Week (proposed by Edo Barak, NAUK) would together with Sarajevo Green Design Festival enrich the cultural scene in Sarajevo and help Sarajevo to reinstall its cultural leadership in the region.