New exhibitions spark amazing conversations, get creative ideas flowing and give us all some of that much-craved brain food. Now just imagine how things come to life when the venue is as fresh as the exhibition.

Remember that old, tired office building on Castle Wynd in Inverness, just around the corner from the Inverness Tourist Information Centre? Well we’re sprucing it up and transforming it into a cultural hot spot: the Six Cities Design Festival Centre. During the main Festival period, 17 May—3 June, the Six Cities Design Festival Centre is home to a brilliant line-up of exhibitions, educational and business workshops, walks, talks, and tours.

You can also pick up your free Festival Guide, buy limited edition Six Cities designer t-shirts, and let us help you plan your Festival visits. So stop by—we look forward to seeing you!

Six Cities Design Festival Centre
Castle Wynd, IV2 3EB
Monday—Saturday: 10am—5pm
Thursday, 24 & 31 May: 10am—7pm
Sunday: 12pm—5pm

Read on for a taste of what’s on at the Six Cities Design Festival Centre in Inverness.


New, Old, Green

From 17 May—3 June, the Six Cities Design Festival Centre is home to New, Old, Green.

This international exhibition from the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki, delves into the world of Sustainable Architecture, an approach to architectural design that emphasises the place of buildings within both local ecosystems and the global environment. Designed by the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the exhibition invites the visitor to explore sustainability using words, pictures, spaces and structures. Step inside one of the three-dimensional constructions and investigate durable, recyclable materials first-hand. Examine models that show how contemporary architecture seeks to minimise the negative environmental impact of buildings, by improving efficiency and being clever about the use of materials, energy and space. Schoolchildren’s ideas and models are shown alongside the views of professionals, as the exhibition proceeds from large to small, from landscape and community to individual buildings, interiors and details. 

 
Greenhouse/Blackhouse: New Housing in the Highlands for the 21st Century

Another major exhibition, Greenhouse/Blackhouse, is on view 17 May—3 June at the Six Cities Design Festival Centre in Inverness.

Arguably, the Highland black house was the original sustainable house design. Built from local materials and using renewable sources for heat and light, it didn’t make the ideal internal environment, but at least it was ‘at one with nature’. Will 21st century ‘green’ houses give us the best of both worlds: sustainability in construction and services as well as home comforts? Sitting alongside New, Old, Green, Greenhouse/Backhouse explores new solutions and traditional methods, from renewable and energy saving, reducing waste to new approaches in housing design in Scotland and Europe. At its centre will be the entries into the Highland Housing Fair competition, which aims to create a new Highland eco-community.  In association with Highland Housing Fair and RIAS 
 

That’s Clever

Have you ever picked up an object and thought, “That’s clever. I wish I’d thought of that!” The Inverness Courier has gathered six cleverly designed objects and wants your thoughts on which is the cleverest. Everyone who casts a vote will be entered into a competition to win a luxurious designer prize.

Make sure to pick up a copy of the Inverness Courier on Friday April 27 and Friday 4 May; these two issues will list the objects that are the That’s Clever candidates and details on how to cast your ballot.

Throughout the main Festival period, 17 May—2 June, the Six Cities Design Festival exhibition, That’s Clever, at the Eastgate Shopping Centre will spotlight innovative design objects and ask the public to think about how they adapt design items to suit another purpose. 
 

For information on the above and the Six Cities Design Festival happenings nationwide, log on to the fully searchable website: www.six-cities.com .