Design Exchange

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Design Exchange (DX)

Established	1994
Location	Toronto, Canada
Type	Museum and Education Centre
Visitor figures	225,000 yearly
Director	Samantha S. Sannella, BFA ID, M Arch
Curator	Michael Prokopow Ph.D.
Website	http://www.designexchange.org

The Design Exchange (DX) is a design museum and centre for the advancement and promotion of Canadian design located in the historic Toronto Stock Exchange building. The DX is commonly used to host private functions on the second floor, the former trading floor to provide revenue for its education programs - over 50 every year that promote the value of design as it contributes to the economy, quality of life and environment. In the lobby, and on the third floor, designer's galleries are available to be seen by the public during the museum's operating hours. The DX also contains a resource centre which contains the permanent collection of Canadian Industrial Design and is home to the Clairtone archives and Fred Moffat archives. Forthcoming are the Thomas Lamb archives. The DX is a non-profit organization.

What is design?

Design is an important component of our everyday lives. Product design, package design, brand and corporate identity, retail design, book and brochure design, interactive design (software, interactive information, interfaces), and design of buildings and environments represent the spheres of influence of design on our lives. The design disciplines of concentration for the DX include:

Architecture Fashion Design Urban Design Graphic Design and Visual Communication Industrial Design Landscape Architecture Engineering Design Theatre Design Interior Design Interactive Media Design Environmental Design

Our mission To promote the value of Canadian design, through engaging and enriching programs. our vision "Canada by Design" to establish Canada as a design leader worldwide.

Our guiding principles 1. Leveraging the Power of Design: Design has the power to create and sustain economic advantage for Canada and the role of the Design Exchange is to promote and leverage the value of design-led thinking to enable the business community to take full advantage of the opportunities that good design creates.

2. Establishing a Cohesive Design Sector Workforce: The role of the Design Exchange is to encourage and create incentives for design professionals from all disciplines to work together, across disciplines, in order to more efficiently and more effectively serve the needs of our business and social communities and to create competitive advantage.

3. Promoting Design Excellence: The concept of good design involves a strategic and creative process that integrates technical, functional, aesthetic, cultural and economic considerations. The Design Exchange facilitates new collaborative efforts to produce good Canadian design and promotes and celebrates Canadian design success stories.

4. Showcasing Good Design: The Design Exchange is North America’s premier Design Centre with exhibition, presentation and meeting space to showcase the best in Canadian design and to host public and private forums on design issues.

5. Connecting Through Networks: The Design Exchange builds links between education, business, designers, and the public through its programs, which outreach to national and international audiences.

DX Goals • To be recognized internationally as a center of design excellence for Canada. • To build a Canadian brand identity, nationally and internationally. • To offer DX programs and services locally, provincially and nationally. • To operate efficiently and effectively with a stable financial platform.

Our Values • We value design excellence for all segments of the Canadian population. • We value designers and the design process across every discipline. • We value the role and power of design in the Canadian economy. • We value design’s contribution to quality of life for Canadians. • We value collaboration and interactivity between the DX and all Canadians. • We value the contribution of youth education programs to our future. • We value creativity and innovation.

ORGANIZATION HISTORY

The Design Exchange opened in the autumn of 1994, but its origins are rooted in the 1980s. At that time, the design community was concerned regarding a lack of support for design on the part of the Canadian government and cultural institutions. This belief was underlined by the closing of the federal agency, Design Canada, in 1985, followed by the University of Toronto's announcement in 1986 that it intended to close its school of architecture (fortunately this was soon rescinded).

In 1983 the Toronto Stock Exchange had abandoned its historic home of the last 46 years at 234 Bay Street. Olympic & York (O&Y) purchased the building which was designated a heritage property. In return for the air rights to build an office tower on the site, O&Y agreed to retain and restore the building. O&Y also commissioned a study to consider the idea of using the trading floor as a public facility.

The study indicated that Toronto designers from all disciplines represented an enthusiastic audience for a cultural design centre. Indeed designers were quick to lobby City Hall in support of the initiative. Their first gathering in January 1986 was a standing-room-only event. City officials were so impressed by this response that they immediately recognized a body of ten citizens as the "The Group for the Creation of a Design Centre in Toronto" (incorporated on February 6, 1987 and hence the birth of the organization which came to be known as the Design Exchange).

This citizens' group included: Linda Lewis, Ryerson University (as of 2003, Prof. Lewis is still an active member of the DX Board and its Permanent Collection Committee) Dr. Earl Berger of Environics Alison Hymas of ARIDO (Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario) Lee Jacobsen of AREA Design Robert Jekyll of Visual Arts Ontario Keith Muller of Keith Muller Ltd. Alison Parsons of the Ontario Crafts Council Tiit Telmet of Telmet Design Associates Vincent Tovell of the Canadian Society of Decorative Arts; and freelance curator Virginia Wright, curator

This citizens' group persuaded the City to hold another feasibility study which concluded that a design centre in the old Toronto Stock Exchange "was both possible and desirable." [Lord Cultural Resources Planning and Management Inc., "Design Centre Feasibility Study" (Toronto: report prepared for City of Toronto Economic Development Committee, 1987)].

In 1986, O&Y sold the old stock exchange property to Cadillac Fairview and The Toronto Dominion Bank (Toronto-Dominion Centre West Limited). The sale was conditional on the design centre concept being retained. The new owner was also required to provide $500,000 to the City for 25 years, which would in turn would be passed along (minus a 10% holdback) onto the design centre to offset operating costs. This agreement, in effect, gave the Design Exchange operating rights in the historic building.

In 1988 the design centre was named the Design Exchange and the original citizens' group was made the founding board. The group established a Board of Management (which included the founding board and citizens and a couple of city counselors). Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects was commissioned to renovate and enlarge the non-heritage-designated spaces (exhibition spaces, administrative office space, the resource centre and meeting rooms).

In 1988 the Design Exchange (The Group for the Creation of a Design Centre in Toronto) began a capital campaign drive aimed at both the private and public sectors. All three levels of government sent signals that they were not interested in funding another museum. In 1993, after years of arduous lobbying, the federal and provincial governments finally confirmed funding for capital expenses in the sum of $6.3 million. The Design Exchange was now viewed by all levels of government as a component of Canada's economic recovery and renewal. In 1994 The Group for the Creation of a Design Centre in Toronto became the sub-tenant with a long-term lease (December 1, 1994–May 30, 2091).

On September 21, 1994 the Design Exchange was officially opened by Prime Minster, The Right Honourable Jean ChrŽtien. The mandate for a permanent collection was established in 1996: to collect the best Canadian materials designed since 1945. Today the collection numbers 150 items and continues to grow. The Design Exchange over the past 12 years has mounted over 300 exhibitions, organized numerous seminars, lectures, international conferences and educational programs and publications stimulating the debate over the role played by design in culture, industry and business. In 2007, the Design Exchange will celebrate its 13th anniversary.