The City of Torino did an Agreement Act with the Polytechnic University of Torino for the implementation of the World Design Library (WDL) – a public, national and international reference for in-depth study and research in the fields of design and environmental sustainability.
This project represents one of the goals of the “UNESCO Creative City of Design”. At the same time, it manifests the will of the City Council to aggregate in a single place – both physical (the new venue of the Central Civic Library at the Torino Esposizioni centre is a great example) and digital – the culture and documentary heritage of design. The result is a place and a platform intended for study, dissemination of information and research for those who work in the sector, besides being a centre where everybody can learn about the culture of design.
The WDL intends to promote two main areas through the conservation and cataloguing of documents (including drawings, sketches, models, prototypes, patents, books, letters, magazines, posters, photos and audiovisuals): sustainability and mobility (car design).
This documentary collection – which gathers and connects the historical books and archival heritage of the city, the Polytechnic, companies, professionals and firms – is set to become a national and international reference available to all also through the catalogue of the Civic Libraries of Torino.
Moreover, the World Design Library is an opportunity to create a further link between the places and services intended for university education and research and those of the new Central Civic Library and the New Theatre.
The World Design Library will also be part of a network of libraries connected to the World Design Capitals Network (Seoul, Helsinki, Cape Town, Taipei, Mexico City, Lille) and will collaborate with several local and national institutions linked to the world of culture and industry along with the system of Italian and international libraries and archives, thus becoming a reference also for the entire city library and archival system.
In addition, other notable collaborations are being developed: the participation in the Design Observatory to constantly monitor the trend and the impact of the industries related to design in Turin and the Piedmontese area through data analysis and an Agreement Act for the creation of a Research Centre on the history of design, to enhance the regional historical design collection.