China News Service, Shanghai, September 28 (Reporter Zheng Yingying) The 2026 World Design City Conference (WDCC2026), co-sponsored by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and UNESCO, opened in Shanghai on the 28th. With the theme of "Design Without Boundaries, Character and Intelligence Generating", the conference is based on the forefront of a new round of technological and industrial changes led by artificial intelligence, and contributes Shanghai's strength to the sustainable development of global creative cities.
Among the 2026 "Frontier Design Innovation Awards" announced that day, the winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award is Dava Newman, professor of astronautics of the Apollo Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and former director of the MIT Media Laboratory. In her acceptance speech, she said that mankind is in an important period of technological convergence, constantly expanding the boundaries of advancement, and generative AI can amplify human creativity.
As an internationally renowned aerospace engineering scholar and design innovator, Dava Newman has further integrated design with artificial intelligence, data science and earth system research in recent years.
This conference is dedicated to promoting the deep coupling of artificial intelligence and design. As a leader in manufacturing in Shanghai, SAIC encountered a common problem in the industry during the development of the Zhiji model: the aesthetic appeal of styling design and the engineering goal of low wind resistance were mutually restrictive. The R&D team uses AI design tools and relies on AI aerodynamic intelligence to integrate shape simulation and optimization, reducing aerodynamic optimization work time.
Since the first World Design Capital Conference was held in 2022, the scale of Shanghai's creative design industry has exceeded 1.7 trillion yuan, and a total of 21 national-level industrial design centers and 200 municipal-level design innovation centers have been cultivated.
Adidas entered China in 1997 and set up its Greater China headquarters in Shanghai. Its Shanghai Creative Center has been established for more than 20 years. Xiao Jiale, managing director of Adidas Greater China, said that among the products currently sold in the Chinese market, more than 65% are designed by local teams and more than 95% are manufactured in China. Some designs completed by the Chinese team have entered the brand's global product network. “We are moving from ‘designing for China’ to ‘designing in China, for the world’.”
During the event, the annual awards for the 2026 "Shanghai Design 100+" global competition were announced. This year's competition attracted a group of outstanding works from more than 10 countries, including China, the UK, France, and Italy, and competed around four major sections: design empowers industries, lights up life, serves cities, and provides insight into the future.
This conference will last until September 30 and will hold a series of design activities with diverse themes and wide coverage. At the same time, the main exhibition of the conference has been opened to the public in advance on September 26. Among them, the main exhibition hall is equipped with core special exhibitions such as AI design theme exhibition and green design theme exhibition, as well as five special exhibition areas of intelligent mobility and intelligent manufacturing, life and space, beauty and technology, fashion and health, and culture and creativity.
The conference also created an outdoor "Design Carnival" and launched the "WDCC2026 City Walk Experience Season" that linked the entire city. It selected more than 20 unique scene points and created 4 City Walk theme routes. It also linked up with Huangpu and other districts to hold district-level branch venue activities to promote design beyond the exhibition hall and integrate into the urban fabric. (over)
