Many metropolitan elected officials are questioning the relevance of the Cité du design 2025 project.
During the last metropolitan council, the vice-president for culture, the former journalist Marc Chassaubéné requested a grant of 8.8 million euros for this project.
Opponent Pierrick Corbon was concerned about the constant increase in the budget. The debate will resume this Thursday in the Metropolitan Council. Between the two sessions, the elected official, who is also assistant to the culture of Saint-Etienne, made a stay in Armenia, a country which will be at the heart of the next design biennial of 2025. The Stéphanois was received by Daniel DanielianDeputy Minister of Culture.
THE 2025 PROJECT:
Supported by Saint-Étienne Métropole, the project City of design 2025 marks a new start for the Saint-Etienne creative district. Thoroughly transformed, it will become a lively district, open to all, bringing together a new leisure and culture hub and a platform for design innovation of international scope.
The only French creative UNESCO design city, Saint-Étienne is strengthening its leading role in the promotion of design through the “Cité du design 2025” project. The aim is to fundamentally transform the City of Design and place it in a lively district, a showcase for the excellence of Saint-Etienne know-how.
In terms of cultural influence, the ambition of the project is clear: to do more and better and make design accessible to all. The district will thus host the first National Design Gallery, which will present a permanent collection of design works from the four largest French collections. A brand new socio-cultural third place will also house a municipal media library. The district will also assert itself as an economic hub dedicated to creative industries: a true center of innovation through design, it will offer multiple resources and services to the creative industries of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
More open and pleasant, the neighborhood will also be much livelier, with the establishment of recreational and play spaces. A hotel concept, offering a unique offering in the metropolitan area, will be set up there. It will be surrounded by cafes, restaurants and shops. A large central “street” and green islands of freshness will be created, while art and design will be in the spotlight with the implementation of numerous specific developments.
