idw: Istanbul Design Week almost literally spans the width of the Golden Horn, occupying the faded green structure of the Old Galata Bridge at  Eyup, the last port of call of the Golden Horn ferry.  The wharf is greeted by a concise bazaar, and the Barbie pink incarnation of idw.  This is not a sprawling trade show.  It occupies one half of the 466 metre long bridge, but both levels; the industrial pleasures of the bridge’s undercroft, exposed to the water’s lappings, contrasting the marquee above.  The range of design exhibited is broad: architecture, fashion, industrial design, souvenirs, furniture, graphic design, and more conceptual testings, such as Muurbloom design studio’s “Sand Carpets.”

The exhibition of the Dutch Design Awards 2010 was the highlight for me … but not necessarily the winners.  Next Architecture’s “Beijing Forum Stair,” the design of two circular staircases, and MVRDV’s “The Why Factory Tribune” for the Faculty of Architecture at Delft, both finalists, caught my eye with their spatial astuteness.  Given the topical nature of road design in Wellington at the moment, VHP’s tubular noise barrier for the A2, and VDL/APTS’ “The Phileas System,” a hybrid bus-light rail system, also stood out.