The host has been reveled. The World Design Congress 2025 comes to Barbican Centre, returning to London for the first time in 56 years. The 34th event, taking place in September 2025, will bring together over 1,000 individuals from the international design community. It will also attract thought leaders from business, research and education who’ll come to discuss and debate design issues of global importance…
The World Design Organization’s prestigious congress, which will be hosted by the UK’s Design Council, is a biennial, multi-day event. As you’d expect, it’s been hosted at many leading cities of the world, including Tokyo, Mexico City, and Seoul.
The event will run in partnership with the London Design Festival in September 2025 and will be supported by regional activations designed to put the UK at the heart of the global design community.
The World Design Congress 2025 comes to the Barbican Centre
The Barbican was chosen as the venue for the Congress due to its iconic status as a unique and audacious building, recognised globally for its famous brutalist architecture.
The Design Council is also supporting with the Barbican Renewal Programme. This is an ambitious project to reimagine what an arts centre can be whilst still protecting what people love about the Barbican. At the same time it will aim to deliver improved the centre’s public and creative spaces. Furthermore, the project will deliver a sustainable revitalisation that brings underused spaces into new creative use. And importantly, this will all be done without adding a single square metre of extra building.
The theme for the World Design Congress 2025 is ‘Design for Planet’
Barbican Renewal supports the Congress’ “Design for Planet” theme. The two days will focus on considering the effects of climate change and the crucial role design has to help reduce carbon emissions and increase biodiversity.
Charlie Smith, Deputy Head of Sales at the Barbican, said: We’re incredibly proud to have won an event that aligns so perfectly with the Barbican’s unique design, cultural offerings and sustainable values. We play an important role in providing a platform for artistic and educational work. The way we discuss and develop solutions for our planet and this event is an example of that. And to add to that, we are excited to have been chosen for such a high-profile global event and look forward to welcoming delegates from around the world in 2025.”
The Design Council, who have been selected to host the event, are the UK’s national strategic advisors on design. It was founded in 1944 by Winston Churchill’s government to help drive the post-war economy. Today, they are supporting the 1.97 million people working in the UK design sector. This is done by tackling the biggest challenge of our time through their Design for Planet mission.
Minnie Moll, Chief Executive of the Design Council added: “Both London and the Barbican represent the height of creativity, inspiration and design, which is why they are the perfect choice for the 2025 Congress. particularly with its focus on sustainability. The Barbican has demonstrated time and again that it is a world leader in event sustainability, and we look forward to developing the themes of the event around its incredible offering.”
London hosted the sixth edition of the World Design Congress in 1969, which was attended by almost 1,000 delegates from 39 countries, including special guest of honour H.R.H. Princess Margaret.
