The Chair will take part in the festival with the event “Spaces that activate creativity”, conceived together with the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana to explore how the design of spaces can foster creativity, innovation and well-being.
The Espacios Chair expands its collaboration network with Valencia’s design ecosystem at València Design Fest
The Chair will take part in the festival with the event “Spaces that activate creativity”, conceived together with the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana to explore how the design of spaces can foster creativity, innovation and well-being.
The Espacios Chair for Culture, Creativity and Innovation, promoted by the University of Valencia and the Spanish Ministry of Culture and led by Econcult, will participate in València Design Fest with the event “Spaces that activate creativity. How the design of spaces transforms innovation, culture and people”, organised in collaboration with the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana.
This collaboration represents a further step in the Chair’s work to connect university research with the stakeholders involved in the conception, design, management and transformation of spaces for culture, creativity and innovation. Its participation in València Design Fest will broaden the dialogue to include interior and product design, architecture, urban planning, cultural management and innovation, bringing new professional and institutional perspectives into the Chair’s lines of work.
The event is based on a central idea: spaces are not neutral settings. Their configuration shapes the way we think, learn, collaborate, interact and create. For this reason, the design of working and learning environments, cultural spaces and public facilities can play a decisive role in generating knowledge, collective creativity, well-being and social innovation.
Two complementary sessions
“Space as a driver of creativity”
The programme will be structured around two complementary sessions. The first, “Space as a driver of creativity”, will explore how design and architecture influence the individual and collective capacity to imagine, collaborate and innovate. The session will address issues such as neuroarchitecture, environmental design and the configuration of spaces for work, learning and creation, and will present experiences in which the physical environment is used as a strategic tool to stimulate creative processes.
“Cultural infrastructures for the future”
The second session, “Cultural infrastructures for the future”, will examine the evolution of cultural facilities from their traditional conception as specialised buildings towards more open, flexible and hybrid models. These new spaces operate as platforms for encounter, cultural production, experimentation and social innovation, redefining the relationships between culture, territory and citizens. The discussion will identify the main challenges and opportunities associated with the design of the cultural infrastructures of the future.
The initiative will bring together professionals from the creative and design sectors, specialists in architecture and cultural management, researchers and representatives of institutions. This cross-disciplinary approach will make it possible to combine scientific evidence, international experiences and successful cases applicable to cultural facilities, universities, companies and public administrations.
By joining València Design Fest, the Espacios Chair reinforces its vocation as a meeting point between the university and professional and institutional ecosystems. Its collaboration with the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana expands its capacity to generate shared knowledge, foster new cooperation networks and place the quality of spaces at the heart of cultural, creative and innovation policies.
This participation also consolidates a broad understanding of cultural space: not only as material infrastructure, but as an active device that facilitates relationships, activates capacities, encourages experimentation and contributes to building more creative, inclusive and innovative communities.
Valencia Design Fest 2026 Presentation
