Design Exchange facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Type | Design, Education Centre |
| Location |
|
| Website | designexchangetoronto.com |
The Design Exchange (DX) is a special place in Toronto, Canada. It's used for many different events. You can find it in Toronto's main financial area, inside the old Toronto Stock Exchange building. This historic building became part of a bigger skyscraper, the Toronto-Dominion Centre, in 1991.
While the Design Exchange used to be a design museum, it closed in 2019. Now, since 2017, it hosts a big design festival every two years called the Expo for Design, Innovation, & Technology (EDIT). The Design Exchange is a large space, about 40,000 square feet, perfect for parties, weddings, and other events in downtown Toronto.
History of the Design Exchange
Back in 1983, the Toronto Stock Exchange moved out of its building at 234 Bay Street. This building was already recognized as an important historical site in 1978. A company called Olympia and York (O&Y) bought the building.
O&Y asked for a study, which showed that many people supported using the building as a cultural design centre. In 1986, a group of people came together to ask the city government for this. The city recognized them as "The Group for the Creation of a Design Centre in Toronto." This group officially became an organization in 1987 and later became the Design Exchange. The city also studied the idea and found it was "both possible and desirable."
In 1986, the Bay Street building was sold to new owners, Cadillac Fairview and the Toronto Dominion Bank. But O&Y made sure that the idea for a design centre would continue. The new owners had to pay the city money each year to help run the centre. In 1988, this centre was named the Design Exchange. The citizens' group that had worked for it was given control.
In 1996, the Design Exchange started its own collection of design items. It also held exhibitions, offered educational programs, and gave out design awards. For a while, it operated mainly as a design museum. For example, in 2015, it organized an exhibition about sportswear design called Smarter.Faster.Tougher.
In 2017, the Design Exchange launched a 10-day festival called Expo for Design, Innovation & Technology (EDIT). This festival was created with the help of the United Nations Development Programme. It took place in an old soap factory called East Harbour.
In 2019, the Design Exchange decided to focus more on the EDIT festival. The museum part of the Design Exchange closed, and its collection was moved. Also in 2019, another Canadian non-profit called Elevate, which runs a yearly tech festival, made the Design Exchange its home.
In 2022, the Design Exchange reopened its doors as an event venue. It has over 40,000 square feet of space. The building was updated and opened to the public again in April 2023. The new design honors the building's history while also making it feel modern.
See also
- List of design museums
- Industrial design
