Tag Archives: East City Design Initiative

What’s in a name? Have your say on what Cape Town’s East City Design Initiative should be called

29 November 10 7 Comments

The East City Design Initiative (ECDI) in Cape Town is looking for a name.  The ECDI is a proposed ‘premier African environment for design innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship’ being developed in the Cape Town Central City.  It explores issues and ideas related to the creation of an innovation hub/science park…

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A year of blogging dangerously

25 October 10 2 Comments

I see that I have written 148 posts on ‘Cities for People’ since I started blogging in October 2009. That’s more than a post every three days, which I’m told is the least one must do to keep one’s readers vaguely interested. Blogging has been a great opportunity to get back into the art of…

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Creativity alive and well and living in Cape Town

16 October 10 0 Comments

Cover - Copy

If you are interested in design trends, you need to get the new Creative Cape Town Annual, produced by Bell Roberts Publishing in conjunction with Creative Cape Town. You can flip through the pages here, or get hold of a hard copy from the Cape Town Partnership offices in Bree…

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Why Cape Town is bidding for World Design Capital 2014

05 September 10 4 Comments

Open Innovation3

For an overview as to why Cape Town is currently bidding for the title of World Design Capital 2014, and changing the name of the design game in the process, read the excellent article by my colleague, Lorelle Bell, followed by the editorial by the Cape Argus, which gets it spot on. Then…

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“Work. Learn. Share. Change the World.”

15 July 10 0 Comments

Open Innovation1

One Saturday morning, a few weeks ago, I took my youngest son, Angelo, for a robotics lesson in the East City. Hidden behind a pair of small red doors in Buitenkant Street, we stumbled upon a magical world of creativity at the Open Innovation Studio.

“Work. Learn. Share. Change the World.” This is the…

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Storming the ramparts: How the Castle of Good Hope can become part of city life

12 July 10 2 Comments

Castle3

One of the good things about hosting a large global event like the 2010 World Cup is the way we were able do things that previously seemed impossible. Like regular road closures to create safe pedestrian spaces, reliable public transport, dressing the city in bright colours, colourful wall murals and outdoor advertisements,…

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Creating Spaces for Creatives

02 May 10 0 Comments

Given our commitment in Cape Town to supporting and developing creative industries, I was interested to see what Toronto is doing when I visited there two weeks ago. After all, it’s where Richard Florida, influential writer on the role of the creative classes in cities, now directs the Martin Prosperity Institute,…

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Sm(art) opening

14 March 10 0 Comments

I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the opening of the Spier Contemporary 2010 Exhibition at the Cape Town City Hall last night. The event was well attended and a great success. Well done to Tanner Methvin and the Africa Centre for pulling it off.

This is what I said at the…

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Imagine City Hall

21 February 10 1 Comment

I’ve never been a fan of the Cape Town City Hall from an architectural and aesthetic point of view. I always find it a bit gloomy – two buildings in one rather awkwardly joined together with a rabbit-warren of corridors and rooms. However, there is no denying its symbolic and…

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Bloody brilliant!

13 February 10 0 Comments

I normally eschew using the description ‘world class’ – it often means trying to measure up to someone else’s standards rather than setting our own. But in the case of the opening of The Fugard Theatre in the Cape Town Central City last night, I’m prepared to make an exception.…

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East City – two good, one bad

27 January 10 3 Comments

I toured the East City precinct in the Cape Town Central City yesterday – and saw two amazing projects, and one disaster.

I first went to the City Hall to see the installation of the Spier Contemporary biennial Arts Competition and Exhibition, set to open on 14 March.…

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