Heatherwick Studio's Building Soulfulness exhibition and the inaugural edition of the Guangzhou Design Triennial are among the Chinese architecture and design events featured in Dezeen Events Guide this month.

Also in the guide are the Seventy Years Leading Italian Design Trends exhibition by Compasso d'Oro, Pradasphere II and Beauty Changes: 100 Years of Italian Fashion and Costume.

Compasso d'Oro Award: Seventy Years Leading Italian Design Trends
9 November 2023 to 24 February 2024, Shanghai

Seventy Years Leading Italian Design Trends is award organisation Compasso d'Oro's first public exhibition in China, displaying over 100 winning pieces.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary, Compasso d'Oro showcases projects from 1954 to the present day across seven design themes, including Craft and Industry, The Power of Communication, Invention and Creation.

Designed by Aldo Cibic and Joseph Dejardin, the exhibition takes place at Bund 18 Jiushi Art Gallery and aims to explore how craft, technology and culture interact with one another in the process of design.

Beauty Changes: 100 Years of Italian Fashion and Costume
17 November 2023 to 29 February 2024, Shanghai

The Beauty Changes: 100 Years of Italian Fashion and Costume exhibition presents Italian fashion and costume designs spanning from 1900 works to contemporary pieces, which demonstrate the country's evolution of fashion, women and cultural identity.

Over 100 fashion items are on display at the 170-year-old historical No. 1 Waitanyuan, as well as sketches and videos highlighting fashion, opera and film.

Highlights include classic designs from 20 leading international fashion designers, such as Maria Monaci Gallenga, Emilio Schuberth, Roberto Capucci, Sorelle Fontana, Emilio Pucci, Giorgio Armani and Valentino Garavani.

Pradasphere II
7 December 2023 to 21 January 2024, Shanghai

Pradaphere II is a retrospective exhibition by fashion house Prada. Drawn from its archive, the showcase spotlights the brand's engagements across architecture, art, culture and sport in recent decades.

This free exhibition is curated by the brand's co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, and includes more than 400 physical and digital artefacts that document its history and culture since its beginning in 1913.

The exhibition is on show at the Start Museum, located in the historical building of the Nanpu Railway Station, which was renovated by French architect Jean Nouvel and opened in 2022.

Guangzhou Design Triennial
16 January to 31 May 2024, Guangzhou

The first edition of Guangzhou Design Triennial launches in January 2024, located at the Guangdong Museum of Art.

The event – which follows the theme The Warm-beings – invites interdisciplinary designers, architects, scholars and cultural practitioners to re-think politics and ethics through design to address global challenges.

Curated by researcher Naiyi Wang, the triennial aims to be an international platform for creative exchange between the local Greater Bay area and the contemporary design community.

Heatherwick Studio: Building Soulfulness
17 January to 14 March 2024, Shanghai

British architecture practice Heatherwick Studio opens its Building Soulfulness exhibition at the Bund Finance Centre in Shangai, after having previously taken place in Japan and South Korea.

Curated by Mami Kataoka of the Mori Art Museum, the Shanghai exhibition features models of the studio's completed buildings and collaborative projects across the globe, such as a full-scale model of Airo car and spun chairs. A dedicated section introducing West Bund Orbit, the studio's newest project in Shanghai, is also on display.

Dezeen's China editor Christina Yao joined the practice's founder Thomas Heatherwick on 16 January at the opening forum to discuss cross-boundary synergies between architectural design and urban planning, as well as sustainable urban development under the theme of Polyphony of the City.

About Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year. The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.

Inclusion in the guide is free for basic listings, with events selected at Dezeen's discretion. Organisers can get standard, enhanced or featured listings for their events, including images, additional text and links, by paying a modest fee.

In addition, events can ensure inclusion by partnering with Dezeen. For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide and media partnerships with Dezeen, email [email protected].